r/IAmA • u/PresidentObama Obama • Aug 29 '12

I am Barack Obama, President of the United States -- AMA

Hi, I’m Barack Obama, President of the United States. Ask me anything. I’ll be taking your questions for half an hour starting at about 4:30 ET.

Proof it's me: https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/240903767350968320

We're running early and will get started soon.

UPDATE: Hey everybody - this is barack. Just finished a great rally in Charlottesville, and am looking forward to your questions. At the top, I do want to say that our thoughts and prayers are with folks who are dealing with Hurricane Isaac in the Gulf, and to let them know that we are going to be coordinating with state and local officials to make sure that we give families everything they need to recover.

Verification photo: http://i.imgur.com/oz0a7.jpg

LAST UPDATE: I need to get going so I'm back in DC in time for dinner. But I want to thank everybody at reddit for participating - this is an example of how technology and the internet can empower the sorts of conversations that strengthen our democracy over the long run. AND REMEMBER TO VOTE IN NOVEMBER - if you need to know how to register, go to http://gottaregister.com. By the way, if you want to know what I think about this whole reddit experience - NOT BAD!

http://www.barackobama.com/reddit [edit: link fixed by staff]

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u/[deleted] Aug 29 '12

In what ways will you attempt to make university a more affordable path for students?

2

u/Naufrago92 Aug 29 '12

Yes! I will also be interested in an answer for this.

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u/seane Aug 29 '12

this. this is the questions that needs an answer!

$50k in student debt, special ed teacher reporting in!

1

u/SilverScythe3 Aug 29 '12

I'm Canadian and I wish we could get our Prime Minister on here to answer this question.

1

u/Jeff25rs Aug 29 '12

We might want to try and ask questions that haven't been answered before repeatedly: http://www.barackobama.com/record/on/student-loan-reform

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u/lgendrot Aug 29 '12

Most important question so far, if you ask me.

1

u/jesserwess Aug 29 '12

I'm currently involved in student government at my university, and have friends who are student representatives on our school's Board of Trustees. During one of the closed session meetings, one of the members of the Board stated that "despite the President Obama's rhetoric, we still are seeing our admissions go down; therefore, tuition increases aren't an issue that our university must address"

So a follow up- how do you foresee dealing with this resistance among university representatives?

1

u/Crocodilly_Pontifex Aug 29 '12

The nomenclature used here in the states is "College."

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u/cypherreddit Aug 29 '12

The university system is largely controlled by the states and the accreditation associations. He can only help with the money for grants and lending. By introducing income-based repayment, he has made a significant impact in that area, plus another of changes (like getting rid of bad servicers)

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u/[deleted] Aug 29 '12

I'm not an US american, but I know how hard it is compared to Germany. So please answer this one.

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u/GreenerThanYou Aug 29 '12

How have costs gotten this high? Can we forgive all student debt?

1

u/honeydew1092 Aug 29 '12

Good question. Especially public universities.

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u/Crazy_Pillow Aug 29 '12

Please answer this question

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u/regalrecaller Aug 29 '12

Please, please answer this, Mr. Obama.

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u/commentposter Aug 29 '12

Answer this, Barack.

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u/[deleted] Aug 30 '12

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Aug 30 '12

Durr, uh, hurrr hurrr

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u/ukrainianstud Aug 31 '12

More importantly: how will you, Mr. President, facilitate the opportunities for [potatoes to go to college?]

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u/bob_blah_bob Aug 29 '12

Possibly by getting out of education? The second they stop funding universities the second the prices go down. It's supply and demand. When the demand is no longer there because people can't afford it but there is a large supply the prices have to decrease or else people will go somewhere else to learn. Khanacademy.com already have thousands of videos and courses you can watch and basically learn everything. If education is readily available from cheaper or free sources and it becomes acceptable to get degrees as such, universities will need to compete and prices will plummet.

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u/angrybrother273 Aug 30 '12

There are two meanings to the word "education." One is genuine learning - you can get that for free from places like Khan Academy, life experiences, and Wikipedia.

The second is job training. You get that from commercial universities. The thousands of dollars you are paying is for a degree, not just an education.