Night Owls, a themed open thread, appears at Daily Kos seven days a week
Will Fischer at the Independent Media Institute's Economy for All project writes—A veteran explains why we need a new version of the G.I. Bill — for everyone:
Knowing that the United States would be flooded with millions of veterans at the end of the Second World War, in 1944, Congress passed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, better known as the G.I. Bill. Among the most impactful pieces of legislation in history, the G.I. Bill opened the doors of opportunity for millions of Americans, making attending college, a university, or a vocational school not only a possibility, but a reality.
The fact is that the G.I. Bill stands as one of the greatest economic achievements in our nation’s history—seeing a return of seven dollars for every one dollar invested.
But this isn’t merely about dollars and cents. By making higher education available to a generation of Americans at little to no cost, the United States saw the overall educational and economic power of her citizens boom. Three presidents of the United States, three Supreme Court justices, and dozens of House and Senate members have benefited from the post-World War II G.I. Bill, which also helped create 238,000 teachers, 91,000 scientists, 22,000 dentists, 67,000 doctors, 450,000 engineers, dozens of Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, and an untold number of nurses, artists, and everything in between. There is a strong argument that even undertakings such as the moon landing were made possible by the G.I. Bill. [...]
Imagine what it would do for our country and those who live here if we were to take the ethos behind the original G.I. Bill and apply it to everybody—canceling all student debt and making public colleges, universities, and vocational schools tuition-free.
The results would be astounding. For starters, in a report from 2018, the Levy Institute found that student debt cancellation would result in boosting real GDP by an average of $86 billion to $108 billion per year, lowering unemployment, and increasing home buying potential.
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“No matter what men think, abortion is a fact of life. Women have always had them; they always have and they always will. Are they going to have good ones or bad ones? Will the good ones be reserved for the rich, while the poor women go to quacks?”
~~Shirley Chisholm, Unbought and Unbossed (1970)
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At Daily Kos on this date in 2011—CPAC kicks off GOP primary season, but no-show Palin still dominates:
So a week after our inaugural 2012 cattle call, the first real-life Republican cattle call starts today, at the three-day CPAC shindig in DC. Most of the contenders (and not a few of the pretenders) for the nomination will speak at some point over the next couple days, and then a straw poll will reveal that Ron Paul is the frontrunner to win the nomination, or something. (Fun fact: the CPAC straw poll is about as accurate in predicting the Republican nominee as a close inspection of the entrails of a goat sacrificed to honor Ronald Reagan's birthday. In '07, Mitt Romney won, and we all remember his valiant campaign against Obama in the general. In '99, Gary Bauer came out of nowhere to seize the hearts and minds of CPAC attendees, catapulting him into 8 years in the White House. And in '95, Phil Gramm triumphed over Bob Dole, and wasn't at all the first candidate to drop out of the '96 race.)
And with all this hot and exciting talent on the agenda—Herman Cain! Donald Trump! (please run, Donald, please)—who's everyone talking about?
Sarah Palin, of course. Who won't even be at CPAC, for "reasons" that she "explained" with an inimitable word salad last week
On
today’s Kagro in the Morning show:
Greg Dworkin preps us for New Hampshire and coronavirus. (Not as a combo.) But there's still granular Iowa fallout to sort through, which we do with help from those on the ground. Meanwhile, Republicans are back to jamming phone lines.
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