as democratic presidential candidates<u+00a0>begin to include<u+00a0>a debt-free college system as part of their respective campaigns, new jersey gov. and republican contender<u+00a0>chris christie thinks the push<u+00a0>is a <u+201c>typical liberal approach.<u+201d>









christie stopped at iowa state university<u+00a0>thursday<u+00a0>to deliver his fourth most recent policy address. among his talking points were dealing with teachers<u+2019> unions and how to handle the increasing costs of college.









<u+201c>that is a typical liberal approach. it is wrong,<u+201d> he said.<u+00a0><u+201c>if college graduates are going to reap the greater economic rewards and opportunities of earning a degree, then it seems fair for them to support the cost of the education they<u+2019>re receiving.<u+201d>









christie spoke about his father joining the army in order to pay for college, because his father, at the time, couldn<u+2019>t afford to pay for his own education. he went to rutgers university after his service through<u+00a0>the g.i. bill.









<u+201c>we all need to take personal responsibility to grasp the opportunities in higher education, but also one where we can get a leg up when we need it,<u+201d> christie said.









rather than make higher education free for<u+00a0>students, christie instead proposed that congress support low-income students by continuing to fund aid programs. he noted that while supplemental education opportunity grants and perkins loans have declined, the availability of pell grants has<u+00a0>expanded.<u+00a0>but that may not be the case according to a march 2015<u+00a0>study by<u+00a0>the center on budget and policy priorities, which found pell grant funding is actually being cut.









christie<u+00a0>also said there should be tax breaks for donors to higher education grant organizations and income-share agreements. this would allow a student to repay the private financing he or she<u+00a0>received for college with a percentage of his or her future income.









what do you think? is a debt-free college realistic? how can students combat increasing costs of higher education?
chris christie says debt-free college is 'wrong'
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