Ever since economists revealed how much universities contribute to economic growth, politicians have paid close attention to higher education.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I believe that access to a university education should be based on the ability to learn, not what people can afford. I think there is no more nauseating a sight than politicians pulling up the ladder of opportunity behind them.
Over time, my students have gotten richer and more educated.
Poorer students take out larger loans and will have to contribute more to the cost of higher education.
We know that a college degree is rapidly becoming the price of admission to the global economy.
No other investment yields as great a return as the investment in education. An educated workforce is the foundation of every community and the future of every economy.
College graduates work in every sector of the American economy, and the research engines incubated within our universities generate a wealth of ideas and innovations that have an enormous impact on our lives.
The traditional story of economists has been to say education explains what the returns are to school. I say, 'Okay, that's fine, but what explains the education? How much is just a matter of my giving you a poor kid versus a rich kid?'
Public education is our greatest pathway to opportunity in America. So we need to invest in and strengthen our public universities today, and for generations to come.
There's no particular relationship between spending and educational results. Most education spending is actually on salaries, and that's allocated according to political muscle.
Economists who have studied the relationship between education and economic growth confirm what common sense suggests: The number of college degrees is not nearly as important as how well students develop cognitive skills, such as critical thinking and problem-solving ability.