In his State of the Union speech last Tuesday, President Obama spent a great deal of time discussing education in America. Recognizing the importance of an affordable higher education, Obama highlighted his administration’s goal of reducing college costs in order to make college more accessible.

Anyone who doubts the need for such changes surely has not dealt with college financial aid recently. It is a widely accepted fact that a college education is necessary for higher earnings; in an age in which employability is determined by education, students from every walk of life must be able to access higher education. Unfortunately, the costs of tuition at the nation’s colleges and universities has increased four times faster than the rate of inflation, pricing out many middle- and lower-class families. As a result, student loan debt now outpaces credit card debt, leaving young adults to face years of indentured servitude in order to pay off their education debts.

College costs and rising student loan debt have become a rallying point in the Occupy movements, something that the Obama administration is very aware of. Many believe that this newfound attention to college costs is simply a political move to bring young voters back into the Obama fold. But regardless of Obama’s possible motivations, his proposals have great merit and ought to be seriously considered by legislators from both sides of the aisle. Continue reading →