Tag: Education

Public School Children Could Pay For A Trump Tax-Dodge Lie

Donald Trump’s attempts to duck taxes at a New York golf course could cost local public school children, according CNN.

At issue is how much Trump owes in property taxes, dictated by the property’s valuation. On his FEC filings, Trump values the property at “more than $50 million.” But Trump is fighting hard to pay as little as possible, so his attorneys say the property’s true value is just 2.7% of that: $1.35 million.

Trump says voters have no right to know how much he pays in taxes, but he brags that he “[fights] very hard to pay as little tax as possible,” so it’s no surprise that he’s doing his best to avoid paying his fair share.

But here’s the real kicker: If Trump gets away with his tax dodge lie, “public school children then lose out.” Because “more than half that [tax] loss will be felt in the district’s budget.” 

Enriching himself […]

Read more after the jump.

Trump, Who Wants To Scrap Dept. Of Education: We Will Make Education Important

It’s nice to see Donald Trump express support for teachers. Too bad he doesn’t mean it.

Trump says he’ll “make education a far more important component of our life,” but if elected he’s pledged to ensure the Department of Education is “largely eliminated.”

And it gets worse: Trump’s also promised that Ben Carson would be “very much involved in education” in a Trump administration. Carson, of course, famously said that he wouldn’t eliminate the Department of Education but instead re-purpose it “to monitor our institutions of higher education for extreme political bias.”

Neat!

Background:

Trump: Bad For K-12 Education

✓  Trump blamed a “very high union wall” for creating a “competition-free zone” in public schools.

✓  Trump said the Department of Education could be “largely eliminated” and that, “You could cut that way, way, way down.”

✓  Trump supported charter schools and vouchers as the “American way.”

✓  Trump promised that Ben Carson would be very involved in education policy in his […]

Read more after the jump.

Kelly Ayotte Puts Big Banks Ahead Of NH Students

In a laughable attempt to cover up her terrible record on college affordability, Kelly Ayotte introduced a new bill that has been called a “handout to the loan industry.” The senator apparently hopes New Hampshire voters will pay more attention to that bill than her actual record.

And let’s be real. Ayotte’s record on college affordability is insulting to borrowers with student loans and students trying to afford a college education with the help of Pell Grants.

Ayotte has voted multiple times to cut funding to Pell Grants. She skipped voting on a bill that would have made a huge difference to borrowers with student loans. Instead of providing much needed support to families and students in New Hampshire and across the country, Ayotte is helping special interests and big banks.

Background:

2013: Ayotte Voted To Cut Pell Grant Funding As Part Of A Proposed Repeal Of The ACA And The 2010 Reconciliation Act. In March 2013, Ayotte voted […]

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Walker’s Ties To New Wisconsin Common Core Test Complicates Things

Scott Walker wants voters to believe that nothing’s changed as Wisconsin adopts a new Common Core test and he took $10,000 from the CEO of the company producing the new test, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Something there isn’t right. Jeb Bush is contorting himself to distance from his Common Core support in a primary that has gone so far right that there might not be much room left, and Walker the strategist is clearly paying attention.

Walker is hoping to avoid anything that irritates the 2 percent of GOP voters who still support him, but links like these to Common Core will do just that.

Read more after the jump.

Watch: The GOP’s Welcome Back To Students

With students returning to classrooms across the country this week, American Bridge put together a helpful video guide for all your back to school GOP candidate shopping needs.

Whether you’re looking for a candidate who enjoys insulting teachers, or who wants to increase class sizes; a candidate who would hurt public schools and abolish the Department of Education, or a candidate who’ll work to increase tuition and keep college unaffordable, look no further than the GOP field, and American Bridge’s latest video: “The GOP’s Welcome Back To Students.”

 

Read more after the jump.

The GOP College Affordability Rhetoric Just Doesn’t Add Up

The GOP presidential candidates profess their interest in making college affordable. They claim they want to increase access to the opportunities fostered by a college degree. But when it comes down to it, when there are clear policy solutions that would reduce the crippling strain of student debt and improve college affordability, Republican opposition to substantive reform speaks volumes.

The GOP presidential field opposes solutions such as student loan reform and forgiveness. They decry plans for debt-free college and free community college as “free stuff.” Some of them have even advocated slashing education funding. And some of them have succeeded: Scott Walker’s 2015 Wisconsin budget cut $250 million from Wisconsin’s public universities.

These Republicans oppose increased investment in higher education, and even call for divestment. They claim they want to improve access to quality, affordable education, but they don’t offer much in the way of substantive solutions.

It’s all empty rhetoric — and it doesn’t add up.

Background:

Jeb Bush
Opposed Free […]

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Rubio, For-Profit College Beneficiary, Supports Plan Benefiting For-Profit Colleges

Absentee U.S. Senator and for-profit college beneficiary Marco Rubio this morning went on Fox & Friends to talk about college affordability. Here’s what he had to say:

The problem we have today isn’t just that college is too expensive, it’s that college, our system, is outdated. We need a flexible system that allows people who have to work full time, like single mothers who are raising children and are working also need flexible ways to go back to school.

Perhaps in his eagerness to criticize, Marco neglected to mention his long-time advocacy for and support of for-profit colleges. And Marco neglected to mention that his own proposed college affordability overhaul would specifically benefit for-profit colleges — institutions with a reputation for willfully misleading students, targeting veterans, in particular.

Perhaps he forgot to mention his advocacy on behalf of Corinthian Colleges — a school that, according to Bloomberg Politics, “was fined $30 million by the Department of Education for a scheme […]

Read more after the jump.

Marco Rubio would make students pay more for college

Marco Rubio took the bold step of offering a plan that even he acknowledges might make some people pay more for their college degrees. He wants to set up a system where private investors could cover a student’s tuition in exchange for a percentage of their earnings after college, but clearly hasn’t thought it through.

Will it limit someone’s freedom to choose their job afterwards since a financier will be breathing down their neck?
How much uncertainty will students face about the fine print and what could get sneaked into their contract?

In his Chicago speech today, Rubio left out his call to eliminate the Department of Education, which would also drive up the cost of college by getting rid of federal student loans and Pell Grants. He did, however, re-up his extreme proposal that would likely open the door to more for-profit colleges. A prime example is Corinthian College, which recently went bankrupt and left the federal government  Read more after the jump.

Kelly Ayotte Goes Full Washington

Kelly Ayotte is launching her reelection campaign as one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the country. Granite Staters don’t trust Ayotte to put them first ahead of the special interests bankrolling her campaign, and it’s easy to see why after five years in D.C.

Ayotte’s resume reads like a who’s who of out-of-touch Republican positions:

  • Ayotte supports raising the retirement age and cutting Social Security benefits.
  • Ayotte voted to roll back Wall Street reforms, while her largest donors are Wall Street execs.
  • Ayotte opposes equal pay measures and voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act.
  • Ayotte voted to voucherize Medicare in the Ryan Budget.
  • Ayotte is anti-choice and would overturn Roe v. Wade.
  • Ayotte voted to defund Planned Parenthood.
  • Ayotte would allow employers to make health care decisions for female employees by supporting the Blunt Amendment and Hobby Lobby decision.
  • Ayotte opposes marriage equality and same-sex adoption.
  • Ayotte voted against allowing people to refinance their college loan debt.

It’s no wonder that Republicans are already vowing to shatter previous New Hampshire spending and groups like Karl Rove’s are jumping into the race to prop up Kelly Ayotte. Special interests are doing everything they can to keep Ayotte in D.C. because she’s a rubber stamp for their priorities.

Read more after the jump.