Education is one of the most important factors in improving and maintaining a better community. It improves every citizen's quality of life. In monetary terms college and high school grads earn a greater income than non-grads. This translates to a greater tax base to fund our military, law enforcement, roads, medical care, schools and all the other services we depend upon to fund our way of life. Education, like computers, long since ceased being a luxury of the rich; it is a necessity for all citizens. It enriches the citizen and inspires he/she to make the world we all live in a better place. All citizens including school officials and members of Congress should do their share to ensure that it is not short changed.

And Schools like Alabama and Auburn need to stop with this never ending increase in tuition.

Before the government began lending so freely, colleges had to keep tuition costs down. Now, the college staffers just tell students how much they can borrow. When students had to pay as they went, they chose local community colleges and then transferred for their last two years to a university they could commute to from their parents' home. Stop having colleges push government loans, and students will return to working their way through school. With lower enrollments, colleges would start cutting tuition costs to bring in more students.

you borrow? pay it back!

Years ago, for the poor, borrowing was rarely avalable. Those that were able to borrow worked, went to school and repaid as they went. Today, this is tougher due to escalating costs and a free falling standard of living. Our standard of living has been dropping for over 30 years. Until we bring jobs home to America, larger and larger portions of our population will be unable to access the same education opportunities. Simutaneously, larger and larger portions of our population are poor. This is not a good sign of things to come......

It appears people know the value of a college education, but don't want to pay the price to get one. Yes, the cost keeps rising but that doesn't devalue the education. When I became college age, my parents couldn't afford to pay for it and I wasn't willing to take out student loans. Instead, I joined the Army and enrolled in their college savings program. As a result, I was able to attend college later and owed no money. I'm not sure if the military still offers those kinds of programs, but I suspect they do.

More students would be served by getting technical skills that do not require a 4 year degrees. It is possible to make $100,000 in Decatur with a certificate that takes less than 6 months to get. Career Coaches are needed to steer students to a realistic view of the workforce, potential jobs, and rewards. It makes no sense to spend $60,000 on student loans for a job that will never pay more than $35k, but it happens ever day.

We have talked to our Grand Kids, About following the political issues.

But they have no interest in following it what so ever.

Of the two party's ,Only the Democrats was willing to help them with their student loans.

The Republicans tried their best to over turn any help for them.

Was wanting to double the interest rate.from 3.4 % to 6.8 %...

They did agree to pass the bill at the dead line .

To keep from looking more foolish . After pressure from sound thinking people in congress.

Of which there isn't many.

Mitt Romney said,Just borrow the Money from your Parents.

So Clifton's answer to not being able to afford college without a loan is to join the military...if we did that, the military would end up turning people away because they couldn't take us all. (And yes I use "we" and "us" because I am one of those who will start paying back his loans this year). If we saved to go to college and the universities continue to raise tuition, we would never catch up and would never be able to afford it anyway.

My spouse and I have loans to assist in paying the costs of higher education for our children. Yes, we will repay every dime, plus interest. Still, we don't believe there is any better investment on this earth.

By the way, I agree with most of what vanessa says. For many, many years, a college education was seen as an opportunity afforded only to children of the upper class. Others typically opted for a career in the military, or learned a trade/technical skill. Over time, financial aid (whether through military service, government grants, or subsidized loans) made a college education available to the vast majority of the population. Once aid was available, college after high school became more of an expectation than a choice. Those who did not choose to attend college (or join the military) began to be perceived as slackers, lacking ambition, headed nowhere. In most communities, there was no distinction between kids who chose to do nothing after high school and those who chose to attend a technical or trade school. It was during this time that certain high school classes began to diminish and/or disappear. Some may remember, auto shop, wood working, metal shop and the REAL home ec - not the watered down version of today. But, society no longer accepted these fields as viable goals for the future - academics was the only socially acceptable step following graduation.

The problem with this mindset is that NOT ALL CHILDREN ARE ACADEMICALLY INCLINED. Some simply have greater gifts in the technical field and some just DON'T LIKE ACADEMICS. Either way, this shift in social acceptance over the past 40 - 50 years has generated a plethora of issues - primarily for students who are brilliantly inclined toward trades or technical fields. Many of these kids are struggling in high schools who cater only to academically inclined students and are living in a household with parents who have bought into the idea that college is the only way to be successful in life. These are the kids that end up wandering through life for some time after high school. Many eventually find their way, but too many don't. I'd like to see a real grass roots effort to bring back instruction in trades/technical fields to high school across America. To make it happen, however, we must first remove the negative connotation associated with choosing a trade over academics.