Time and time again the ideals and vision that Progressives fight for are proven to be the right ideals and vision for the issues we face today. Often, our Progressive ideas are deemed “fantasy”, “pie in the sky” and “not based in reality”. Then studies come out showing how wrong those observations were. We’ve seen it time and time again with many policies that are now not only widely accepted in society but extremely popular across the political spectrum with Social Security and Medicare being examples.
Now, the issue of Tuition-Free public college and universities for all high school graduates is one of these issues that is deemed “out of reach for America”. However, studies show that if we were to implement this policy, it would not only be good for our economy but also well within our financial reach, IF we make the right decisions with our resources. A review of government data by the HuffingtonPost has shown that if we reinstated the corporate tax rate of 31.7% that we had during the Reagan Administration (currently the corporate rate is at 22.8%) the revenue difference would be an additional $166.7 billion, enough to cover public pre-k education as well as the tuition for every student who attends public colleges and universities. This sum would also leave approximately $78 billion that would allow us to fund other critical priorities and programs, which we have had to put off for decades.
Since around 1980, we have been making the wrong choices when it comes to the distribution of our monetary resources. These are choices that our elected “leaders” make time and time again, often against the public’s opinion which consistently show that we would like our resources used on helping our country and our citizens. We consistently make poor choices when it comes to tax policy that predominately affects the top 1% of individuals and corporations in a positive way, and this isn’t an accident.
What we need to do instead is start applying our resources for the betterment of the people and our country. We need to start making the right choices in Washington and stop the endless tax cuts that are detrimental to our country’s future and ability to have an equal and prosperous economy. By raising the tax rates of the top 5%, closing loopholes such as the carried interest loophole and making corporations pay taxes on their earnings so that they pay their fair share, we can once again have a more equal and prosperous economy.
I am for Tuition-Free public colleges and universities for ALL high school graduates due to the economic benefits that would come from having a populace that had degrees in the industries of today and tomorrow. This debate is an economic argument. Studies have shown that an individual who earns a college degree will earn over $272k more over a lifetime than an individual who has earned just a high school diploma. Unfortunately, the choice of attending college to better yourself is often dictated by the financial status of one’s parents which is directly related to the neighborhood one grows up in or the schools they attend.
My plan for Tuition-Free public colleges and universities for ALL high school graduates is a fully paid for a plan through righting our broken tax system by taxing corporations at the same rates they were taxed under President Reagan as well as pushing for a tax on Wall St. transactions and speculation. I believe that any child who wishes to go to college should have their ambitions rewarded. We need the next generation of high school graduates to decide whether college is right for them based on their goals in life, not whether or not they have parents who can afford to send them there. We need to end the education for debt business that buries students in overwhelming debt that does not allow them to participate in the economy. Dreams such as owning a car, a house or starting a business are off the table for at least a decade, if not longer if a student accumulates four years of student debt. That’s not the American Dream we should be fighting to protect.
As a nation, must start asking ourselves what is more important; Should the wealthy continue to amass massive amounts of wealth with our resources at the expense of all of our values and priorities? Should we continue not properly funding education and instead invest in private for-profit prisons? Should our corporations continue to break records in their quarterly earnings reports while paying their workers poverty wages?
Or…
Should we start using our country’s resources in a more constructive way that helps the masses and not just a select few? Should we start investing in public education, from Pre-K, K-12 and higher education with Tuition-Free public colleges and universities, which will stimulate the economy now and into the future as well as allow us to compete globally in the careers of tomorrow? Should we invest in our aging infrastructure so that we can once and for all transition into a more efficient and green energy economy?
These are the questions we must ask ourselves as a nation. These questions are fueling my run for Congress here in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District. We can continue down the same road and try the same old politics while expecting different and better results. Or, we can elect Progressives who have new and fresh ideas that are inclusive, more progressive and promote equality. As Progressives, we know we are right on the issues, and it’s time we had a fighter who believed in these issues because they are the right answers to the problems that we face.
If you are looking for a Progressive fighter whose campaign isn’t funded by the establishment, massive personal wealth or SuperPAC’s and is instead funded 100% by the people, as a 100% grassroots campaign, then I am your candidate.
My name is Alex Singer, Progressive Democrat running in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District.
Thank you,
Alex Singer
SingerforCongress.com
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