President Barack Obama Friday traveled to Ann Arbor Michigan to promote the cause of keeping college affordable.
Speaking at a rally at the University of Michigan, Obama said that the best path to economic success is a college education.
"Today, the unemployment rate for Americans with a college degree or more is about half the national average," Obama said. "Their incomes are twice as high as those who don't have a high school diploma."
He added, "College is the single most important investment you can make in your future."
Achieving a college degree, Obama said, is a key path toward realizing the American Dream of achievement through hard work.
"How we keep that promise alive is the defining issue of our time," he said. "I don't want to be in a country where we only are looking at success for a small group of people."
He added, "We want a country where everybody has a chance."
Obama said that he wants to see Congress change the tax code to stop rewarding companies that send jobs overseas while rewarding those that keep jobs in the U.S. - especially in the manufacturing sector.
"When manufacturing does well, then the entire economy does well," he said. "The service sector does well if manufacturing is doing well, so we've got to make sure that America isn't just buying stuff, but we're also selling stuff -- all around the world, products stamped with those three proud words: Made In America."
Obama also argued that ending oil subsidies and investing in green energy would be critical for the future of the country.
"I don't want to cede the wind or the solar or the battery industry to China or Germany because we were too timid, we didn't have the imagination to make the same commitment here," he said. "And I want those jobs created here in the United States of America."
He added, "If we are focused on this, we can control our energy future. That's part of creating an America that's built to last."
While America still has the best colleges and universities, Obama said, student loan debt is becoming an increasing problem, one that potentially threatens the economic viability of the country.
"Student loan debt has now surpassed credit card debt for the first time ever," he said. "That's inexcusable. In the coming decade, 60 percent of new jobs will require more than a high school diploma."
He added, "Higher education is not a luxury. It's an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford."
Obama said that the country needs to do more to make college affordable, beyond capping student aid repayments and increased grants that his administration has already enacted.
"We can't just keep on subsidizing skyrocketing tuition," he said. "If tuition is going up faster than inflation, faster than even health care is going up, no matter how much we subsidize it, sooner or later, we're going to run out of money."
He added, "That means that others have to do their part. Colleges and universities need to do their part to keep costs down as well."
Obama said his administration would soon be launching a "Race To The Top" for higher education, modeled in part on the administration's efforts to reform K through 12 education by providing incentives to universities that keep costs low.
"We're telling the states, if you can find new ways to bring down the cost of college and make it easier for more students to graduate, we'll help you do it," he said. "We will give you additional federal support if you are doing a good job of making sure that all of you aren't loaded up with debt when you graduate from college."
He added, "The bottom line is that an economy built to last demands we keep doing everything we can to bring down the cost of college."
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