What is $12 billion among friends?

When I went to the press conference yesterday at MCC, I had planned on writing something very funny, and very snarky. I mean, I already printed the press release in full (RTF) for them, what more could they want from me?

So I showed up late, ready to turn the wit on high. Then I listened.

After stories like Pepper, the mother of 4 who was only able to attend college because of student loans, and Arianna, the first member of her family to go to college and who is now the chair of the annual Hispanic Heritage Festival, I couldn't be funny. This subject was just too serious; too depressing. I couldn't make a snide comment about the need for an open bar when you hear stories about foster parents who would have to shoose between college and taking care of needy kids.

And it wasn't just them. I stood in line next to Rep. Edwards for thirty minutes after the speeches and Q&A listening to student after student, some young some old, talking about how they would not be in school right now if it weren't for these federally guaranteed loans and grants. They would be priced out of community college, for God's sake.

We're talking about $12 billion dollars over five years. That's more than $2 billion for FY 2007 alone.

Rep. Edwards said that he could at least understand, if disagreeing, with this move if it were to balance the budget and reduce the national debt. But this same budget includes a $220,000 tax cut on dividend earnings over a million dollars. To fund a tax cut for the very rich, we sacrifice continuing education for America's middle and lower classes.

I could make this argument by quoting stats like people who go to college and graduate with an associate's degree earn $400,000  more over their lifetime than those with just a high school diploma. Those with a bachelor's degree earn almost a million dollars more.

I could ask what is the point of fixing the state's education system if none of those kids will be able to afford college? During the sitdown interview, one of the things we discussed with Rep. Edwards was the possibility that some high school dropout were doing so because they realized they would never be ablet to afford college.

I'm not even going to use the argument put forward by one of the students himself, that zeroing out vocational funding for the firefighter training and nursing programs (MCC happens to have one of the best nursing programs in Texas) is a serious threat to our national security. After all, who are our first responders?

Those are all good arguments. But I'm just going to ask a question: Where is the American dream if most high school students cannot go on to college? Without that ability to improve your life, the lives of your family, the dream is dead. And America is all about that dream.

Without that dream, America is dead. Certainly the America I know and love. The America that so many soldiers a scattered throughout the world to protect. The America that promises a better tomorrow for everyone willing to work for it.

I will make one funny remark. I dropped out of college for a number of reasons, one of them being the cost. That's also why I never went back. Now look at me, I'm a blogger. Does the world need any more bloggers? I don't think so.