Biden floats policy for education that is left centric, but a bit less than Sanders and Warrens….
U.S. Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden would make community college free and invest $70 billion in historically black colleges and universities as well as those serving other under-represented groups, his campaign said Tuesday.
Biden’s plan comes as the former vice president is seeking to hold on to his lead among black Democratic voters in the contest for the party’s nomination to run against Republican President Donald Trump in the November 2020 election.
At historically black and minority-serving institutions, Biden has promised to invest in research incubators, new labs and facilities and other infrastructure. Of the $70 billion he has pledged to spend to help the schools, about $10 billion would be spent to help them increase enrollment and graduation rates.
Some $5 billion would be to help the schools fund teaching, healthcare and so-called STEM programs, which emphasize science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Biden would also expand federal college awards known as Pell Grants, making them more generous, his campaign said….
image…VOANews.Com
He just outbid Warren by 20 billion dollars (and Harris by 10 billion dollars) on the HBCs.
I philosophically disagree with James and Biden’s belief that black people should be able to go to community colleges for free, but white people must pay. It is also a political position that might appeal to Biden’s supporters, but it is a losing general election strategy.
Oh, and for the first time, Elizabeth Warren now leads Biden in RCP polling.
An HBC is not a community college. They are universities. And yes, white people sometimes choose to go to Historically Black Colleges as well (and have even been on the football teams.)
Biden is proposing two different, distinct things in the realm of Higher Education.
Whether one agrees with him on the merits or not, let it not be said that I am unwilling to defend a Democrat on a factual basis.
I know this doesn’t sound very liberal, but I really don’t think that there is a need for black colleges any more. I know they are technically integrated (Grambling is something like 1% white), but the intent of colleges should be to prepare students for the real world, and in the real world, blacks have to interact with whites.
On a related matter, that is also why colleges should actively seek a diverse student body. Because in the real world, we have to interact with people who are different than us. I still remember a black woman named Sharon in my sociology class who came from Newark. She contributed greatly to the class, and had a profound influence on me.
Biden has bit the bullet and got in line with sanders and Warren….
He KNOWS this has no chance…
But in order to counter Warren’s ‘soak the rich’ he’s had to join her….
Month’s ago he knock such plans…
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The plan would cost $750 billion, funded over 10 years.
Here’s how some of the money would be distributed:
— $50 billion would be spent on workforce training, including community college business partnerships and apprenticeships.
— $8 billion would be spent to improve community college facilities.
— Over $70 billion would be invested in historically black colleges, tribal colleges and institutions that serve minorities.
Biden’s proposal “will be paid for by making sure that the super-wealthy pay their fair share,” says a campaign document shared with reporters on Monday night.
It adds that changes in tax law would pay for the Biden proposal, including capping itemized deductions taken by the wealthiest Americans at 28 percent and eliminating what’s known as the stepped-up basis loophole, which affects mostly the wealthy. Former President Barack Obama put forward a similar proposal affecting taxes in 2015…
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