Rick Santorum’s Outrage And Snobbery

By , January 10, 2012 4:01 pm

After being the GOP’s latest (and for him, best-timed) flavor of the month, Iowa Caucus co-winner Rick Santorum told a group of New Hampshire voters that it’s “snobbery” for President Obama to think he knows “how to run our lives” and say that everyone should go to college. Speaking at St. Anselm College (the irony!), Santorum said he was “outraged” at “the hubris of this president to think that he knows what’s best for you.”

I agree with Santorum that college isn’t for everyone and someone certainly doesn’t need to finish college to be personally successful or influential in high-tech fields. Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are the best examples of that. Not everyone is going to be a Zuckerberg or a Gates, though.

I’m going to go out on a limb and guess Obama wasn’t suggesting a federal mandate stating every person is required to go to college. I’m sure he meant that everyone should have the opportunity - the freedom! – to go college, if they choose.

So, while college isn’t for everyone, Obama is correct in suggesting that it’s a good thing and makes life better. Here are three reasons why:

  • In the Great Recession, those without a college degree are more likely to be unemployed. From 2009 through the summer of 2011, the unemployment rate for those with only a high school diploma was 14.3%. The unemployment rate for those with a college degree was 4.4%.
  • People with a bachelor’s degree earn more over the course of a lifetime than those who don’t. On average, someone who finishes college will earn nearly $700,000 during their life than those who don’t finish college, and nearly a $1 million more compared to those with only a high school education.
  • If marriage is on your mind, you should go to college. Nearly two-thirds of college graduates get married compared to less than half of high school graduates.

So America, don’t be outraged that someone wants to give you the opportunity to be more prosperous. Don’t rise up because someone wants you to have the freedom to be educated, think critically and live up to your potential.

Be outraged that Santorum has the sexual snobbery to think he knows “how to run our lives” in the bedroom, while not standing up to give Americans the opportunity to make the most out of our lives.

In just a few hours, we’ll find out if New Hampshire Republican voters are just as outraged as Santorum and rise up to give him another strong showing, or if his petty outrage and own sexual snobbery help to end his campaign.

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