Scott Shackford and Matthew Lesko Discuss What's Bad About Free Community College
You may know him more for his question-mark-addled attire than his name, but chances are you are at least a little familiar with Matthew Lesko's love of all things free and his exhaustive (and energetic!) efforts at getting the word out about free grants and government funding mechanisms.
So President Barack Obama's proposal for free community college was right in Lesko's wheelhouse. Who would be opposed to two years of free college? But Lesko does know full well that there can be problems when the federal government offers such a potentially huge program. After reading my analysis criticizing the proposal, Lesko reached out for an interview to help understand why this "free" program could end up being a bad deal. In a nine-minute interview we talk about the massive administrative bloat that has driven up the price of college without improving the quality of education, how making community college free would increase this bloat, and the role the government would play in deciding what types of educational programs qualify for the program and how that could drive up tuition for those who don't choose approved training paths. I also discuss my own background as a graduate of community college back in the day. This interview was recorded before I knew about the plans in the Obama budget to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to create new and additional workplace credential programs, or I would have had even more to say. Watch below:
Special bonus video! Below, ReasonTV turned to Lesko in 2009 to help explain who got all the free government money from the big federal bailout (spoiler: It wasn't you). Watch below: