The College Fix

President Barack Obama on Thursday unveiled his big plan to make college more affordable, but critiques of the proposal are already rolling in:

“Obama’s College Proposal Long on Hints, Short on Specifics,” is the headline on DailyFinance.com.

“President Obama’s vague promises aside, chances are that his proposals won’t be nearly as bold or revolutionary as the ones currently being passed around at the state level,” writes Bruce Watson, DailyFinance‘s savings editor.

The Wall Street Journal quoted  Rep. John Kline (R., Minn.), chairman of the House committee that oversees education, as saying: “I remain concerned that imposing an arbitrary college-ranking system could curtail the very innovation we hope to encourage—and even lead to federal price controls.”

CATO Institute’s Neal McCluskey wrote the plan doesn’t solve the real problems facing colleges and students today.

“Thanks in large part to federal aid, the price of college has risen astronomically, kneecapping students and taxpayers,” he wrote. “Price controls will only mask the root problem while creating new pains of their own. Only phasing out student aid – eliminating the root problem – will get us the higher education system we need.”

Reuters turned to Andrew Kelly, director of the Center on Higher Education at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, for some thoughts. He told Reuters that the president’s proposals “could motivate institutions to make some changes. But he said higher education lobbyists and some lawmakers may argue such a system could create a great disparity among colleges.”

“The political fight is going to be very interesting,” Kelly said.

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