Speaking on Saturday, May 11, to the students and their family members at the Mesa Community College commencement ceremony in Tempe, Arizona, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden bragged about her own degrees and indicated that she thinks community college should be “free,” meaning paid for by taxpayers through the government.
Beginning by talking about herself, Dr. Jill said, “‘You shouldn’t go to college.’ That’s what my high school guidance counselor told me. I was crushed. His assessment was that I wasn’t college material. He said, “if you don’t really know what you want to do next, college just isn’t right for you. You shouldn’t waste your time.” My whole life, I’d wanted to go to college. And now the person who was supposed to guide me there was saying I couldn’t do it. Well, I got my college degree. In fact, I got three more degrees. I got two masters and a doctorate while raising three children and going to school at night and working full time. It took me 15 years.”
Continuing, she bragged about getting her doctorate in middle age (she got a doctorate in education), saying, “And at 55, I walked across that graduation stage to receive my doctorate. I really wanted to call that damn guidance counselor to tell him I just got my doctorate! Today, I stand here as Dr. Jill Biden, and I join your family and friends in congratulating you, Class of 2024.”
She then slipped the idea that community college tuition should be “free” in while speaking about the virtues of community colleges. She began that part of the speech by saying, “I teach at a community college for the same reason students go to community colleges. They’re flexible and meet people where they are. And, as my husband, President Biden, says, they provide the ‘best career training in America.'”
Then, slipping in the “free” idea, she continued, “When I visited the Intel Campus in Chandler two years ago, I heard about how MCC was preparing students for the jobs of the future. Mayor Giles and the community leaders here know that. That’s why they started the Mesa College Promise Program. Community colleges should be free in America.”
Continuing as if that was not a radical idea, she went on to praise the leadership of the school in her next line, saying, “President Britt, and all the MCC and Maricopa County Community College District leaders here, thank you for all you do for your students.”
Watch her here:
Dr. Jill’s comments about free college comes as the Biden Administration takes heat for trying to cancel some student debt loans, something that many conservatives argue would be extremely financially irresponsible. Further, the US national debt is already well over $34 trillion, a gargantuan sum that will only grow higher even without the government paying for college as entitlement programs grow massively, as do the unfunded liabilities for them, and the deficit remains at what many argue is an unsustainably high level.
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