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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Kicking off a two-day, swing-state tour focused on keeping student-loan rates from increasing, President Obama told an arena full of college students that he can relate to their struggles paying off loans because he has had his own tuition woes.
“I just want everybody to understand: I didn’t just read about this,” Obama said as the audience at the University of North Carolina crescendo from gradual applause to a full cheer. “I didn’t just get some talking points about this."
He continued, referring to himself and wife Michelle, “We didn’t come from wealthy families. We paid more in student loans than we paid on the mortgage when we finally did buy a condo.”
He noted the length it took for him to pay off his student loans, even though he now holds the nation’s highest office.
“We finished paying our student loans. And check this out -- I’m the President of the Untied States -- we only finished paying off our student loans about eight years ago.”
Obama criticized Republicans, who he said pay “lip service” to the concepts of student aid, a day after presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney said he “fully support[s] the effort to extend the low interest rate on student loans.”
“You’ll hear people say, yeah, education, it’s important,” he said. “That requires not just words but deeds.”
Romney spokesman Ryan Williams, who attended the event at UNC, responded to those remarks saying, “Governor Romney has made his position on this issue clear. He feels that we need to help college students during these tough economic times when they’re unable to find a job under this president.”
The House Republican budget, trumpeted by Wisconsin Republican Congressman Paul Ryan, would not increase funding for Pell Grants, and keep funding for them at current levels for the 10 years of the budget, Politifact notes. Romney has embraced the Ryan budget, saying the two are "on the same page."
The president was speaking to students and recent graduates here ostensibly to gin up awareness that student loans will double on July 1, from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent, unless Congress votes to extend the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, signed into law in September 2007.
As his administration has done frequently when it wants to generate buzz over a certain policy initiative, the president urged his audience to get involved through -- in addition to phone calls and email -- social media and in particular, Twitter.
“Call your member of Congress,” Obama urged. “Email them, write on their Facebook page, Tweet them… we have a hashtag.”
He introduced the hashtag as #dontdoublemyrate, and seemed to feed off the enthusiasm of the rally-like atmosphere by telling the audience to repeat the phrase after him.
“Everybody say it so you can remember it!” he urged.
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I worked hard to pay off school debts and get a job with health care. Now the President wants me to pay off everyone else's school loans and buy them health care too. At some point I will have to join the poor when my middle class runs out.
Alot of us worked hard to pay off student loans....after all, we took them in good faith, we had a sense of moral conscience to honor that debt. And alot of us never got our chance at the brass ring, and are now struggling, and losing, to stay in the middle class. We wanted better for out kids, which is one of the reasons we keep trying, but even that looks pretty dismal.
These are two sides of the same coin. The middle class cannot pay the bill for every problem. Jobs are needed so that people can make their own way out of financial difficulty. Our government cannot afford all of the relief programs. I recently visited Greece with their debt problems and I have seen that we are not headed in a good direction with our national debt. Our politicians need to start acting more responsibly. People need real jobs that pay real money.
Obama can feel your pain, but Bill Clinton can feel you up.
trying not to vomit - this turd in the whitehouse pretending he understands the hardship HE HAS CAUSED.Using mushhead college kids as a benchmark of who NOT to vote for is as accurate as ever
THE SOCIALIST FOURTH REICH feel your pain and because of its policies all of you gradutuated dont have those skiiled positions to enter the workforce
instead, you have to compete with nongrads for diswashing and car washing jobs while your education and skills erode away waitng for a position in your field to open up.
then you have to compte with many other grads for a single position not to mention that your tuition is so high because universities turn the campuses into 5STAR resorts passing the cost onto you and the taxpayers.
UNIVERSITIES ARE SUPPOSE TO BE PLACE OF HIGHER LEARNIG NOT RESORT VACATION SPOTS
Kids are only interested in party time these days.
For many of us who graduated in the late 1970's to early 1980's....we had educations and nowhere to use them but in menial employment (you know, the work Americans won't do....) and by the time things had improved in the economy, our educational credentials were considered out of date, as if there is an expiration on intelligence, the ability to complete a task. The fact that we paid off student loans without any assistance and even without the great jobs we were promised also didn't matter. The fact that we had to learn to budget and prioritize to survive, didn't matter. And after many years of trying to put the pieces back together, Mr. Obama in approximately 3 years managed to destroy the work of 30 years, and even jeopardize the futures of our children as well.
This worked exactly as planned in 2007. The Democratic controlled Congress and Senate passed this land-mine legislation to "go off" in the middle of November campaign season. And then turn around and insult the Republicans and the evil rich. And again NOTHING is said about forcing our Universities of Higher Indoctrination to LOWER costs.
That's because it would piss off he buddies at the Universities who profit from the high costs.
The college students of the here and now are the ones that will first feel the most pain of from the impending debt crisis. if this is left to Obama for another term(waste of precious time) saving this republic will be in all likelihood a daunting if not impossible task. We have an opportunity in November to change this course we are on. At this point we still have a chance to reverse the damage and maintain control of our destiny. The coming economic boom from the production of domestic energy will help to create a better future for prosperity in this country. If the private sector is allowed to flourish unfettered by government intrusion there will be millions of equitable employment positions created and available. Our country is in dire need of full employment to save our society.
The college students of today did not go to school with the idea of graduating and then putting their life on hold, otherwise why bother. Their aspiration is to live the American dream like so many of their predecessors are and have.
Vote
good morning Mruseurhead
have a good day. i gota go to work
keep the faith
vote Nov abo
The scary part of this Democraticly passed bill is it's Failure.
How can college loans be more than all credit card debt ? Unbelieveable but true.
The Dems put this stupid bill into play,, and they put a cut off on it to raise the rates.
Obama is simply trying to get ahead of this disastrous bill passed by the Lefties,,,, even though he was too busy to vote on it.
Obama is a total failure,, who happens to appeal to brain dead people like Seeking Sanity ,,, who are not smart enough to see the damage the Democrats are doing to the USA.
Being Socialist is fashionable ? Not for me. Socialism always fails,, check Europe . But you Obama lovers want America to follow Obama to the Road to Serfdom,,, you may regret your unexplainable love affair with our first Marxist President who hates our country.
Another "official" trip on Watermellon One pissing away more tax payer money. When is he going to start personally paying for the pond scum when he uses Watermellon One for his campaign BS and lies?
The only thing OBAMA feels is their votes. He was spoon fed through college by his radical friends and has never had a job in his life. I had a cousin in Chicago that sold his family a home and he needed a friend explain the process. No wonder this dumb killer of Americans and America is supported by the socialist press. He has to use race cards. These poor children do not stand a chance to succeed in a Democracy and his plans are to replace it with their votes. I hope enough women can also see through his smile and think for what he has done with their $15 Trillion Dollars in less than four years. Four more years of not understanding Spending requires revenue and the Democrats in the senate need to pass a balanced budget amendment. Does not matter the Chinese can dream now and go to the moon and the Muslims will continue to force the speculators that America is not going to drill for its own oil and create jobs.
But the worst of it all is you will have to continue to watch this liar smile on Jimmy Fallon shows that never ask him a real question because he is now the king and they are your masters. I live in China and build the best Aircraft engines for COMAC that plans to compete with Boeing. The engines are made by GE. Fools give him another term and see how much worse you will be than Greece with a $30 Trillion US Taxpayer paid deficit no revenue and all the third tier Oil companies and first tire companies incorporating outside of the Paper Happy Union Happy Fat Government. Americans were never smart enough to create a democracy anyway. China and India are the real new Capitalistic countries and whey build companies and jobs when you are going to have to deal with a King again? UGH.
Just why doesn't Obama feel the pain of 1 out of 2 graduates can't get a job in their field? This guy is a waste of skin!
If Obama really wanted to solve the problem, he would get at the root cause of rising tuition costs.
Yes, the over paid professors who spout socialism.
Dear College Students - nothing in life is free. Recent graduates are paying by not finding a suitable job and you and your children, grand children will struggle forever under Obama's growing mountain of debt. One day soon, this debt will bury you like an avalanche.
For those who do not want to pay off college loan debt...don't go to college.
The world needs ditch diggers too.
Let me get this straight. He was a College Professor in Ill. for how many years, got into politics and was finally elected a Senator making a quarter million a year minimum for how many years, and finally elected President, but in all that time he had not paid off his student loans?? The guy was well employed all that time, but didn't pay of the loans till only then? This sounds like total BS! Either that, or he originally intended to not pay off the loans, and it was brought to his attention that a bid for President would look bad if he didn't. Sounds like politics to me.
Was wondering the exact same thing myself as I am about the same age, graduated about the same time, and managed to pay off my student loans by washing dishes, scrubbing floors, painting apartments, mowing lawns.....(all very scholarly pursuits which challenged my brain and utilized my education-NOT)....but my student loans were paid off over 20 years ago, even without good career and salary.
Now let me understand.
When students opt not to work will attending college and instead take out a student loan, they should be subsidized because of the interest they will have to pay back - right? And this investment will clearly enable them (if they applied themselves) to higher earnings in the future. And that investment will only increase in value as time passes.
Then why is it that when that same student goes out and buys a fancy car for say $30,000 immediately upon graduation, that they also should not receive an interest subsidy. It is the same amount of spending. In one case, it is an investment in an appreciating asset that will continue to pay dividends that can be used to pay for the investment. In the other case, it is a losing investment that will only decline in value. In fact, the monthly payment on the car will likely be much greater than the payment on the student loan given the length of time that is available to pay off the student loan and the relatively low interest rate being charged.
Where can I go to get a subsidy on the margin interest I pay on the investments I opt to make? No where to be found. But then I am not part of a voting block being courted - am I?
I really wish Obama would just do the job he was elected to do instead of being on a re-election tour for the past 3 years. No, he doesn't need to go to all of the colleges trying to "bond" with the younger generation. No, he doesn't need to go on yet another talk show to promote himself yet again. And NO he doesn't need another damned VACATION! Do your @#$% JOB!
I love these Obama supporters that say it is the Republicans in Congress that are ruining everything for Obama. Why didn't he do all this stuff the first two years when everything was controlled by the democrats?
EXACTLY!!!!!
Yeah, Obama "feels the pain" tsk... what a joke.. .his whole education was given to him. (Not that he will release the records)
He will say and do anything to get re-elected, especially since his first term was a complete failure and he is desperate for the young vote. The sad part is that most of the young "sheeple" out there vote for who is "cool" and not for who can actually govern.
The article fails to mention this initiative he is complaining about now was written by Democrats.
Obama went to two very expensive schools,his wife also had loans plus they had two small children.Lets face it Romney never had a student loan, daddy paid his way,Just like mittens has paid his kids way.Do you think those five boys can make it on $100 million each?
Say what you like! OBAMA will get our votes.
So, what! That's life in the big city! Life is about the choices you make. And, I choose anyone other than this criminal. Government is just a legalized syndicate anyway. Just now we have one from Chicago where it's the worse, and we're stuck with him for just a little longer. If not, here's hoping for the December 21st end of the world to be right!
people needs loans to go to school.. what wrong with that.
obama has to win this election. he has better ideas for people who
are fighting to get better. what wrong with that... Obama 2012-2016
Another attempt to pander to the kids! Hey, here's an Idea. The government will help pay for your college tuition. Just join one of the services. My three oldest did. And, where are they now you ask. One travels the world for a large USA company as a trouble shooter. Not using his degree in Aeronautical engineering. One is still in, and my daughter who was Naval intelligence works for a contractor for the government. Life is full of ups and downs. Get over yourselfs, you'll live better, and have less stress!
The leading Republican budget hawk in the Senate, Senator Tom Coburn, R-OK., is coming out Tuesday with a new book that provides a harsh critique of Congress and a dire warning for the future economic situation of the nation.
The picture Coburn paints in his new book, “The Debt Bomb: A Bold Plan to Stop Washington from Bankrupting America,” is not a rosy one of the state of the U.S. Congress. He lambasts the upper chamber as a body that is “heavily sedated” and calls for 90% of the unproductive members to be fired.
“Congress today is a stagnant pond that needs to be drained and refilled with a steady stream of new public servants,” he writes, according to excerpts provided to ABC News in advance of release.
“I’m a fan of the Jack Welch principle in reverse for Congress … fire 90 percent of members every election and only keep the 10 percent who were productive.”
Coburn says that the “root of almost all that ails Washington,” is careerism.
“Careerism is the dark matter of the political universe. It is the unseen force that bends decisions, and character, in ways that defy common sense and obvious explanations,” he writes. ”If members of Congress knew their current term would be their last, I have no doubt we could defuse the debt bomb within a matter of days … Bridging the gap between conservatives and liberals is easy compared to bridging the gap between courage and cowardice. ”
Coburn has himself spent 13 years in Congress; he was first elected to the House in 1995, as a 48-year-old doctor, and served three 2-year terms before declining to run for a fourth. He was elected to the Senate a few years later, in 2004.
Coburn says that the federal debt is now so out of control that doing nothing “is a recipe for mutually assured destruction,” for both parties, which will represent “real betrayal and the heresy” to their constituents.
He says the fiscal threat is greater to the nation, in no uncertain terms, than any foreign army or terrorist network.
The senator refers to the situation facing the nation as, the namesake of his book, a “debt bomb” that is in dire need of being diffused.
As a former doctor, Coburn provides a harsh prognosis – he says that if America were his patient, “I would tell her she had a 100 percent chance of experiencing a major cardiac event—a potentially fatal heart attack or stroke—if she failed to take immediate steps to get healthy.”
Getting “healthy” for the nation means getting control of the nation’s debts, he writes. Coburn warns that the nation will face a debt crisis within two years if a long-term deficit reduction plan is not enacted.
And neither party is immune from criticism.
“Democrats have used shameless class warfare rhetoric to advance the fiction that taxing the rich will solve our long-term debt problem,” Coburn writes. ”Republicans, on the other hand, have desecrated the limited-government legacies of Reagan, Goldwater, and our founders by embarking on spending orgies with borrowed money—a form of deferred taxation and financial repression—while hiding beyond false pledges of tax purity that have made tax reduction and simplification much more difficult to achieve.”
Doing nothing, he argues, will lead to massive tax increases and to benefit cuts in entitlement programs.
Coburn, however, says Republicans have already put revenue on the table. The bigger obstacle, he writes, is the refusal of Democrats to embrace entitlement reform.
“The days of universal entitlements as we’ve known them are over. Maintaining the status quo is a mathematical impossibility. Telling seniors otherwise is dishonest and will delay needed reforms,” he writes. ” Congressional leaders sometimes believe they are demonstrating their progressive purity by taking Social Security and entitlement reform off the table. The problem is, you can’t take demographics off the table.”
Coburn says that many in Congress and in the Obama administration understand the severity of the debt problem, yet few are willing to risk their political careers to solve the problem.
“Most politicians were content to sit in their partisan bunkers and cling to the illusion that they were holding a line, when the reality was, there were no more lines left to hold. Both parties had betrayed their core beliefs and positions. We were under siege and surrounded on all sides, not by a foreign army but by foreign creditors.”
The book calls for members of Congress to break free of that false illusion and to face up to the “inescapable” choices that need to be made.
The book "the debt bomb" get it read it be mindful of what it warns.
Vote Nobama November