Political Quotes

“Benjamin Franklin once said: ``Genius without education is like silver in the mine.'' It is unquestioned that a college education is the single greatest weight on the scales of success. Yet today, more and more working-class Americans are shut out from the promise and opportunity of a college education because the price is out of reach. The Higher Education Access Act is a bill that will restore that promise to hundreds of thousands of American students. Over the past 20 years, the cost of a college education has tripled. Yet the average family's median income has been virtually flat, and Federal student aid has not kept pace to make up the difference. As a result, the goal of higher education has never been further out of reach for many working class students and their families. Nearly 400,000 students who would otherwise have the credentials to go to college are shut out because they cannot afford it. Imagine the doors to opportunity that a college degree would have offered these students, the benefits to our society and the benefits to our economy. Over the course of their lifetime, a college graduate will earn $1 million more than a high school graduate. And the Department of Labor projects that almost 90 percent of the fastest-growing and best-paying jobs require at least some postsecondary education. Too many students are losing out on all that opportunity.”