A student asked Barack how he will make college more affordable and make it easier for students to pay back their loans. Barack said:
I want to expand the Pell Grant for those who have very few resources at all. Pell Grants need to be increased to match to inflation. I will also provide a $4,000 per year tax credit if you commit to going into public service after you graduate, such as teaching or nursing, or participate in community service while in college. Part of the way to pay for this is to cut out the middle man like Sallie Mae. If we cut out the middle man, we could use those millions of dollars to lower interest rates and give out more loans. We've got to really emphasize more math and science, and what I want to do is invest in science and research. We are generating fewer PHDs, and fewer people with Masters degrees in computers and sciences, and that's got to change.
We have an obligation to protect Social Security and make sure that the American people can count on it today and in the future...If we don't do anything, benefits will decline. If we don't want benefits to decline, we have a few options. We can raise the retirement age, which I don't think is a good idea because it's not fair to our seniors. You can raise the payroll tax on everyone, which I don't think is a good idea because that's the most regressive tax we have. I don't believe in privatizing Social Security because Social Security is supposed to be secure, and a promise that we make to our workers. I believe in changing the payroll tax system by increasing the maximum amount of earnings covered by Social Security. Right now, the Social Security payroll tax applies to only the first $97,500 a worker makes. I will work with Congress and the American people to choose a payroll tax reform package that will keep Social Security secure for future generations.
Barack concluded the Town Hall by saying:
I'm kicking off my six day bus tour through Pennsylvania today. The reason I got into politics was not to get my name in the papers, it was because I remembered that somebody, somewhere stood up for me. I know that people fought to make sure that I have the same rights in this country that anybody else does. That is the essence of the American story. Each of us, we're not just looking out for ourselves. When we're at our best, we're working to make everybody's lives better. We're thinking about future generations. That's what we've lost, and that's what I want to restore. If you help me, we can bring about the kind of change that makes Americans proud.
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