$50,000 in debt.

I got an email today about Corbett's new proposed education budget. This new plan would cut funding for PASSHE schools by 20%. This will impact the schools like Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. PASSHE also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Freeport, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg.

This is completely ridiculous. Education is someone's one way ticket out of poverty. Did they ever stop and think about that? Education is important, so why are our elected officials trying to make it harder for many students to go to college? Are these people who are in control of our lives, even though they shouldn't be, really that stupid?

I live near Reading, the #1 impoverished city in the country. And I go to a community college in Reading and I work in Reading. I spend most of my day in Reading. If people saw what I see every day- people trying their hardest to make it just one more day- I believe they couldn't help it but to help them. I do not come from a rich family, nor am I rich. Hell, I probably don't even have a buck in my bank account! But every year, I have to fill out my FAFSA after I do my taxes so the government can tell me how much money they will give me for school, and every year it gets less and less.

I am going to be transferring to a bigger college in the fall, and this college is going to cost a LOT more money than what my community college costs. This is a scary thing, because I know I'm not going to be getting all scholarships and grants, I'm going to have to take out loans. By the time I get my bachelor's degree, I will have roughly $50,000 to pay back. This is endentured servitude! I'm going to have to work for the rest of my life to pay back these loans, forget about retirement! And the sad thing is that I'm already giving them my heart and soul!

This budget is ridiculous. It shouldn't be passed. It takes away from the hope of students who want brighter futures. And it definitely makes the law makers look like they are in control of everything, and it shouldn't be that way. What happened to the voice of the people? It died out a long time ago, and it needs to be brought back.