Education, skills-based training and real career readiness must be accessible to all. Access to affordable education and training is the gateway to a lifetime of economic and social mobility. All over America, millions of hard-working families agonize over financial choices because of the prohibitive cost of college and trade schools.
This is an undue burden to working families and is systematically destroying America’s middle class, eliminating the hopes and dreams of far too many – of ever rising above unfortunate life circumstances. It is bad public policy, bad politics and is tremendously divisive. It is ineffective and represents a tremendous risk to our nation as those that are deemed ineligible for aid resent those that are deemed eligible, as they watch their hard-earned tax dollars go elsewhere – the very nature of divisiveness.
Making higher education, training and career-readiness more accessible is frankly a matter of political will. Workforce readiness is essential to driving our economy and sustaining our nation. A more reasonable costs of education is a sensible start, but the longer-term solution includes a shared responsibility between the government, business and America’s hard-working families. The future of our nation requires that our best and our brightest are able to focus on learning, acquire skills and become truly career ready — unleashing the potential in all of us.