On The Issues offers insights on presidential candidate Gary Johnson’s views on education.
No student loans; they cause higher tuition:
Q: How would your plans for education include student loans and grants?
JOHNSON: My plans don’t include doing anything when it comes to student loans. The reason for the higher cost in higher education rests with the fact that there are those student loans available. Because those loans are guaranteed, kids are graduating from college, literally strapped with [the equivalent of] a home mortgage. I’m a believer in free markets. I suggest that if student loans did not exist–and I am not advocating that–tuition would be a lot lower because colleges and universities want to deliver their product, and if there weren’t as many kids going to school because it costs too much, they would find ways to lower their price. They haven’t met that necessity; they don’t see that as a necessity because all students can get student loans. Hence the high cost of college education, where you see the costs of other goods and services dropping.
(Source: Online Town Hall – Web Q&A on UncensoredTV.net , 2 Nov 2011)
Education Dept. takes 16 cents for every 11 cents it gives:
Q: What as president would you seriously do about a massive overreach of big government into the classroom?
JOHNSON: I’m promising to submit a balanced budget to Congress in the year 2013. That’s a 43% reduction in federal spending. I am going to promise to advocate the abolishment of the federal Department of Education. The federal Department of Education gives each state 11 cents out of every dollar that every state spends, but it comes with 16 cents worth of strings attached. So what America does not understand is that it’s a negative to take federal money. Give it to 50 laboratories of innovation, the states, to improve on, and that’s what we’ll see: dramatic improvement.
(Source: 2011 GOP Google debate in Orlando FL , 22 Sep 2011)
Abolish Departments of Education and HUD
Q: Which programs will you terminate?
JOHNSON: There are currently two that I advocate abolishing: the Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Q: Do you favor a balanced budget amendment?
JOHNSON: I do–but the problem is that passing balanced budgets for future years is what we do and it takes away the immediate problem and kicks it down the road.
(Source: Interview by Scott Holleran on scottholleran.com blog , 21 Aug 2011)
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