Right wing demagogues who are trying to promote an oligarchic society in our country are decrying attempts to make college education affordable for all potential students. They don't want people to know that we were much closer to that coal in the 1950s.

I began my college education at Florida State University in 1955 with no fiscal support from my parents, savings from a summer job, a 1-year $400 scholarship, and a 4-year $400 scholarship. With that and with some work during the school year, I completed by bachelor's program without debt. Granted, I did not live "high on the hog." I had to male choices between cigarettes, beer, and food, and lost 35 pounds in my first semester (but that was okay as I entered college some 40 to 50 pounds overweight).

The fact is that Republicans and their ideology have resulted in a significant decline in the real wages of people, adjusted for inflation. and a real decline in the living standard of the vast majority of our people. At the same time, he costs of tuition, room, and board at colleges have mushroomed enormously. For most of our students, college is no longer affordable without huge debt.

The culture which fails to invest in its human capital is a culture of fools. Economic studies estimate that up to 40 percent of economic growth in the 1950s and 1960s was due to development of human capital through the G.I. Bill for our many World War II Veterans