Ceretto Leads Charge Against DREAM Act and College for Convicts
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| John Ceretto doesn’t get why you should pay for illegals education instead of your own children. |
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| You better give them free college or else... |
Last week, Assemblyman John Ceretto (R,C,I-Lewiston) voted against the DREAM Act, a Democratic plan for taxpayers to provide free college educations for illegal aliens.
Citing the difficulty working families have paying for their own children's college education, Ceretto said these families should get help first.
Unfortunately, the DREAM Act passed in the Assembly. Ceretto said he is working to block the legislation in the Senate.
"The DREAM Act is unfair to Western New York families who have to go into considerable debt to pay for college. Combined with the plan to give free college to convicts, it is clear that the priorities of downstate politicians are not aligned with working-class families who want to make a better life for their kids. The cost of college is way too high, and families who have played by the rules deserve tuition aid first," said Ceretto.
The "College for Convicts" plan was first outlined several weeks ago, and has been mostly opposed by middle-class New Yorkers. The plan would give felons in prison a free college education. Citizen reaction has been severe. In response, Ceretto is circulating a petition against the plan. The petition can be found online at http://bit.ly/KidsB4Cons.
It is not difficult to see similarities between the DREAM Act and the "College for Convicts" plan. Both give college money to a specific group of people who have run afoul of the law. Also, neither plan does anything to lower the ridiculous price of a college education. Most notably, the taxpayers are forced to pay for the college education of others, while receiving no additional assistance themselves. This is the heart of the argument against both the DREAM Act and the "College for Convicts" plan.
"Instead of creating programs for special groups, we should be looking for ways to reduce the cost of college," said Ceretto. "The crux of the problem is that college is absolutely unaffordable for middle-class families. The DREAM Act and 'College for Convicts' does nothing to lower that cost while leaving Western New York families behind. I urge my colleagues in the State Senate to block this so it does not become law."