Hillary Clinton's $350 billion plan to rein in the growing cost of college and student debt won't solve all the problems that make education so expensive, Sen. Marco Rubio said Monday.
"The problem we have isn't just that college is too expensive; it's that our system is outdated," the Florida Republican and presidential candidate told
Fox News' "Fox & Friends" program.
"We need a flexible system that allows people who have to work full time, and single mothers raising children and working also need flexible ways to go back to school."
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Rubio, who commented during last week's debate that he only recently finished paying off his own student loans, on Monday also called for revamping the education system so it focuses on results, rather than profit.
"We should be giving people degrees on the basis of what they know, not how many hours they sat in a classroom," said Rubio. "I'm not saying we don't continue with traditional higher education but we have to allow some competition to compete with traditional colleges [through] online coursework, competency based education. Some of this is already out there."
But all Clinton is talking about, the senator told the Fox program, is a plan to "raise taxes and pour a bunch of money into a 20th century outdated model."
Much of the cost is coming from graduate schools, said Rubio, because often, for many professions, a four-year degree is not enough, and "every time you add more money and financial aid, they raise their tuition rates."
And then there is the issue concerning jobs, because many students are graduating with degrees that don't lead to a career.
"The market for Roman philosophers has tightened significantly and people are still majoring in things that aren't going to lead to a job," he said. "Before you take out a loan, everyone should be told how much people make when they graduate from that school with that degree so people have an understanding of what they're studying and where it's going to lead."
Also on Monday's show, Rubio lauded New York Democratic
Sen. Chuck Schumer for saying he won't be voting for the Iran nuclear deal.
"Even though we may disagree on a lot of issues we need to recognize that someone is taking a decision based on statesmanship, not partisanship," said Rubio. "I've been very clear with my Democratic colleagues. This is a vote you will live with the rest of your life and the rest of your career and a decade from now when Iran has a long-range nuclear weapon that can reach the United States, you'll have to explain why you voted for that. Chuck Schumer plans to be around in eight or 10 years and doesn't want to explain why he voted for this."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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