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2016 Millennial Memo (June 17, 2015): Keeping tabs on higher education debates

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In the News, Higher Education
2016 Millennial Memo (June 17, 2015)
 
509 days to go…
 
Good morning, Millennial Memo readers. It may be Wednesday, but I am having a serious case of the Mondays. How do I get my hands on the Wheaties the Bush campaign fueled its crowd with? If you missed last week’s edition, be sure to check it out here.
 
BREAKING: CLINTON TO CALL FOR MORE APPRENTICESHIPS: Politico Playbook’s Mike Allen reports that in South Carolina today, Secretary Clinton will call for an expansion of registered apprenticeships in exchange for a $1,500 tax credit for businesses for every apprentice they hire. The unemployment rate for 18- to 34-year-olds is over 40 percent higher than the national average and costs the United States $25 billion annually or the equivalent of $171 per taxpayer. Young Invincibles‘ research notes that increasing the current number of apprenticeships could also lead to student debt reduction.
 
CLINTON STUDENT DEBT PLAN COMING IN MID-JULY: Politico’s Annie Karni reports: “In one of the clearest signs of the importance the policy team — headed by senior advisor Ann O’Leary — is placing on the issue, student loan reform is expected to be one of the earliest policy rollouts after Clinton’s campaign kickoff [last] Saturday. The campaign is expected to unveil its student loan plans in detail in mid-July, multiple sources said.”
 
CHRISTIE ASKS CONGRESS TO “PROPERLY FUND AND EXPAND” AID FOR LOW-INCOME STUDENTS: According to Politico’s Allie Grasgreen, in a speech unveiling his higher education reform agenda last week at Iowa State University, Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) called on Congress to “‘properly fund and expand’ financial aid programs for low-income students, noting that Pell grants have expanded while Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants and Perkins Loans have tapered off.”
 
YI’s platform notes that boosting Pell Grants to have a value equal to the national average in-state tuition and making these grants available to students year-round would cost a combined $23.1 billion and would have an enormous impact on reducing student debt.
 
RUBIO FUNDRAISING OFF HIS OWN STRUGGLES WITH STUDENT DEBT: In a fundraising email to supporters last week, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) wrote: “According to the [New York] Times, ‘Rubio entered public life in a deep financial hole of his own making.’ Sounds pretty bad, doesn’t it? But what exactly was this deep financial hole of my own making? My student loans! I didn’t have the money for college, so I had to take out loans. And now the [Times] is attacking me for it.”
 
WHAT THE CAMPAIGNS SHOULD BE READING: “A new study by LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute shows retirees are bringing unprecedented levels of student loan debt into their later years. The research showed student loans made up only 4% of debt for pre-retirees in 1989. However, in 2013 student loans now account for 30% of pre-retiree debt. The same is true among retirees, where education loans made up less than 1% in 1989, but not totals 15%.” (The Street, 6/15/2015)
 

CLINTON HIGHLIGHTS CHALLENGES OF STUDENT PARENTS IN KICK-OFF SPEECH: In her Roosevelt Island launch speech, Secretary Clinton told the story of a young mother of three struggling to juggle parenting, work, and attending community college. While on the trail, the young mom asked Clinton: “What more can be done so it isn’t quite so hard for families like [mine]?” Clinton said in her speech, “I want to be her champion.”

A recent report from Young Invincibles found that the number of student parents increased by 50 percent in the last decade years. Only 50,000 student parents receive public campus-based child care support, yet the number of spots needed is roughly one million.
 
BUSH DELIVERS LAUNCH SPEECH, NO HINTS YET ON HIGHER ED PLANS: On Monday, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush (R-FL) announced his run for the presidency at the nation’s largest and most diverse college in the nation, Miami Dade College. Tuition at 2-year schools — like Miami Dade College — in Florida has skyrocketed 88 percent since the Great Recession.
 
COST OF ATTENDANCE VERSUS TUITION-FREE SCHISM SEEN AMONG COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY PLANS: The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Kelly Field reports: “The biggest barrier to debt-free college could be defining what it means… So far the only concrete proposals have come from Mr. Sanders, Demos, and Young Invincibles… Mr. Sanders’s plan would cover tuition only. The plans from Demos and Young Invincibles would cover the cost of attendance, too, but at a lower cost relative to the Sanders plan.”
 
JINDAL VETOES COULD IMPACT HIGHER EDUCATION FUNDING: The Times Picayune’s Julia O’Donoghue reports that “Louisiana’s public colleges and universities could lose as much as $282 million if Gov. Bobby Jindal vetoes tax bills that don’t comply with his ‘no tax’ pledge and the Legislature declines to overturn those decisions.”
 
GRAHAM’S LONG HISTORY OF BACKING STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS: According to Education Week, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has been a long-time supporter of student loan forgiveness programs. “Graham was a big proponent of President George W. Bush’s plans to expand a college-loan-forgiveness program for teachers and set up a federal tax-deduction plan to repay those who have spent their own money on school supplies. He introduced a bill on the president’s behalf that would provide up to $17,500 in student-loan forgiveness to mathematics, science, and special education teachers who serve in needy schools for five years.”
 
DEAN’S LIST READS:
 
 
 
 
 
 
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