by Stacy Hutto
Staff writer
For the next 47 days, commercials as normal will be a thing of the past. In between viewers’ favorite shows, commercials for the upcoming presidential election will be nonstop. This year Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will face off against current President Barack Obama in the polls.
As the incumbent, Obama has the home field advantage. According to whitehouse.gov, Obama lowered the cost of going to college by passing a tax credit worth up to $10,000.
He also expanded Pell Grants to reach three million more students and raised the maximum award from $4,730 to $5,625 in the 2013 budget.
For those who have Stafford loans, the interest rate was set to increase from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent over the summer. The 2013 budget suspends the increase, so rates stay the same.
According to his website, Romney has identified strengthening and simplifying the financial aid system as a challenge that needs to be addressed. While he has identified the challenge, he has yet to say how he plants to meet it.
An article in the Huffington Post talks about Romney’s running mate, Paul Ryan, and Ryan’s budget plan, which “Romney has endorsed in principle.” According to the article, “Ryan has not spelled out exactly how his budget axe would fall, but he has said he would cut the number of students eligible for Pell Grants.”
The Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson feels that student loans should not exist. In ontheissues.org Johnson mentions that students are graduating from college with debt equivalent to a home mortgage since getting a degree is so expensive and lists the main reason as student loans being guaranteed.
Johnson said, “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.”
Although major media outlets have not given him much airtime, Johnson has experience as the governor of New Mexico from 1995-2003. He retired from public office when he reached the term limits.
According to his website, garyjohnson2012.com, “Johnson is best known for his veto record, which includes over 750 vetoes during his time in office, more than all other governors combined, and his use of the veto pen has earned him the nickname ‘Governor Veto.’
“He cut taxes 14 times while never raising them. When he left office, New Mexico was one of only four states in the country with a balanced budget.”
Johnson feels that decisions should be made based on a cost-benefit analysis rather than a strict ideology.