Believes Student Aid Is “Too Easy To Get” And That Students Think It’s “Kind Of Free Money”
After Ron Johnson explained that the GOP budget strategy is to remain vague and cagey on actual details, it seems he may be warming up to one possible detail – he wants to cut federal student aid. Johnson, who is a multi-millionaire, showed just how out of touch he is with average Wisconsin families in a recent townhall when he expressed his belief that student aid is “too easy to get” and that students are taking longer to graduate because “they don’t feel any urgency to get to work and start contributing to the economy.”
From the Wisconsin State Journal:
He cited studies that the average college student takes 5½ to 6 years to earn a degree. He said that’s because they don’t feel any urgency to get to work and start contributing to the economy.
“Loans are pretty easy to get and college is a lot of fun,” he said. “All three of my kids went to (UW-Madison), and I’ll guarantee you they had a really good time.”
Yep, Ron Johnson blames 5 and 6 year college degrees on lazy college students who are having too much fun partying. What’s missing in his explanation? Any acknowledgment or understanding of the students from lower and middle-income families taking reduced course loads in order to work and put themselves through school.
The Hill reports on the townhall and explains that Johnson went on to say that students think aid is “kind of free money, young people don’t necessarily understand finance.”
“Ron Johnson needs to come clean about the cuts he wants to make to federal student aid in this budget,” said Sadie Weiner, DSCC National Press Secretary. “It’s clear Johnson has very little understanding of what it takes for so many Wisconsin families to be able to afford college, and if he’s going to lay the blame on students, he should at least tell them how he plans to gut their financial aid.”
