But my favorite part was the “get ahead” part of this answer. Because, to me, it demonstrates how Clinton — as a Presidential candidate — thinks about public education in America. Education is a scarce resource that helps some poor kids individually “get ahead,” but only if they demonstrate talent and ambition. Educating the poor is not a thing Clinton believes benefits the nation, it’s just a thing that individual kids can do to enrich themselves.
This is in response to Hillary Clinton's comment during the Democratic debate on Saturday, 19 December:
“I don’t believe in free tuition for everybody. I believe we should focus on middle-class families, working families and poor kids who have the ambition and the talent to go to college and get ahead.”
I haven't heard anyone mention that we can provide more education without paying an extra dime of tuition to any college. Neither schools nor teachers are necessary for learning and demonstration of knowledge.