Vice President Joe Biden told students at West Los Angeles College on Friday that President Barack Obama’s plan to offer “free” community college would prepare young Americans to compete for opportunities in the global economy.
“The rest of the world is catching up. We have to stay ahead of the curve,” Biden said, according to the Associated Press.
Republicans, led by Speaker of the House John Boehner, have criticized the plan, partly because it proposes to make community college “free” by taxing the earnings of the “529” college savings plans that are popular among many families.
Katie Boyd of the Speaker’s communications office wrote Friday:
The president’s plan to raise taxes on college savings accounts – known as 529 plans – hits middle-class Americans directly and undermines their ability to save for their children’s college education. Taking heat, the White House is deflecting criticism by arguing that the current, tax-free withdrawal system “unfairly benefits high-income people.” Hardworking, middle-class Americans who are sacrificing to save for their children’s education beg to differ…
The plan has little chance of passing the Republican Congress.
Senior Editor-at-Large Joel B. Pollak edits Breitbart California and is the author of the new ebook, Wacko Birds: The Fall (and Rise) of the Tea Party, available for Amazon Kindle.
Follow Joel on Twitter: @joelpollak
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