We’ve been hearing a lot about the war on women, which is real enough. But there’s also a war on the young, which is just as real even if it’s better disguised. And it’s doing immense harm, not just to the young, but to the nation’s future.

Let’s start with some advice Mitt Romney gave to college students during an appearance last week. After denouncing President Obama’s “divisiveness,” the candidate told his audience, “Take a shot, go for it, take a risk, get the education, borrow money if you have to from your parents, start a business.”

The first thing you notice here is, of course, the Romney touch — the distinctive lack of empathy for those who weren’t born into affluent families, who can’t rely on the Bank of Mom and Dad to finance their ambitions. But the rest of the remark is just as bad in its own way.

I mean, “get the education”? And pay for it how? Tuition at public colleges and universities has soared, in part thanks to sharp reductions in state aid. Mr. Romney isn’t proposing anything that would fix that; he is, however, a strong supporter of the Ryan budget plan, which would drastically cut federal student aid, causing roughly a million students to lose their Pell grants.

So how, exactly, are young people from cash-strapped families supposed to “get the education”? Back in March Mr. Romney had the answer: Find the college “that has a little lower price where you can get a good education.” Good luck with that. But I guess it’s divisive to point out that Mr. Romney’s prescriptions are useless for Americans who weren’t born with his advantages.

… What should we do to help America’s young? Basically, the opposite of what Mr. Romney and his friends want. We should be expanding student aid, not slashing it. And we should reverse the de facto austerity policies that are holding back the U.S. economy — the unprecedented cutbacks at the state and local level, which have been hitting education especially hard.

Yes, such a policy reversal would cost money. But refusing to spend that money is foolish and shortsighted even in purely fiscal terms. Remember, the young aren’t just America’s future; they’re the future of the tax base, too.

A mind is a terrible thing to waste; wasting the minds of a whole generation is even more terrible. Let’s stop doing it.

Paul Krugman, The New York Times, “Wasting Our Minds.”

Go read the whole damned thing.

(via inothernews)

EXACTLY! THIS! He is so detached from reality.

(via blua)

1. aerodr0me reblogged this from barackobama
2. thenshewonders reblogged this from idkwhatiwantmyurltobe
3. alliieennss likes this
4. zandypants11 reblogged this from villkanin
5. villkanin reblogged this from imanassspankme
6. spanz-spectral reblogged this from wilwheaton
7. malicekisses reblogged this from lethally
8. newyorkaddicts reblogged this from inothernews
9. noonereadstheurl reblogged this from tinfoilandtea
10. koimbra likes this
11. kel-thulu reblogged this from steamfitter
12. sushigrade reblogged this from steamfitter
13. steamfitter reblogged this from wilwheaton
14. blooblastoise reblogged this from barackobama
15. blooblastoise likes this
16. the-young-crazed-peeling reblogged this from stfueverything
17. indeed-chartis-boston-insurance reblogged this from barackobama
18. indeed-chartis-boston-insurance likes this
19. marcetho likes this
20. laurennnem reblogged this from worldat-large
21. helenluvsboo reblogged this from wilwheaton
22. poppies-for-ophelia likes this
23. nowherezone11 reblogged this from kogiopsis
24. kogiopsis reblogged this from stfuconservatives
25. lethargicprofessor reblogged this from durinesque
26. vonrouge reblogged this from igotkittypryde
27. gettingmadiscrucial reblogged this from heroin-e
28. heroin-e reblogged this from yvonensadultsleepover
29. ejshea reblogged this from foregotheparable
30. sapirwhorf likes this
31. smdy reblogged this from anarcho-queer
32. littlemooncake reblogged this from aliciaburnett
33. whirls likes this
34. honeyhammer likes this
35. aliciaburnett reblogged this from birdcut
36. aliciaburnett likes this
37. birdcut reblogged this from telogram
38. telogram reblogged this from yvonensadultsleepover
39. esacat reblogged this from barackobama
40. insectosomniac reblogged this from vifetoile
41. alinapleskova likes this
42. yvonensadultsleepover reblogged this from blua
43. hannibal-lecters-chef likes this
44. think-free reblogged this from fuckyeahliberalatheists
45. faaustinaa likes this
46. readingandwatching likes this
47. vorhonet likes this
48. realityhelix likes this
49. peachsynth likes this
50. doomquasar reblogged this from septuplelutz
51. Show more notesLoading...