WASHINGTON, D.C. July 8 (DPI) – Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley proposed in a New Hampshire presidential campaign speech the creation of a new federal program for tuition relief, and in the process disclosed that he himself owes more than $339,000 for the cost of two of his children’s college tuition. That personal disclosure ignited a bonfire of reader comments, almost all of which criticized the presidential hopeful for failing to plan for his kids’ education and for eschewing lower cost Maryland schools in favor of higher-cost schools out of state. According to The Washington Post today:
In recent years, O’Malley’s daughter Grace, 24, graduated from Georgetown University, and another daughter, Tara, 23, graduated from College of Charleston. (Georgetown is a private university, while College of Charleston is a public university.) Aides said O’Malley and his wife, a district court judge in Baltimore, have taken out nine loans totaling $339,200 to help pay for the education of their oldest two children. The interest rates range from just over 6 percent to 8.5 percent, an aide said.
The most popular reader comments suggested that O’Malley may have blundered by disclosing his student-loan obligation:
Wow. I am all for lower costs to college educations. The costs are out of control. BUT People have to make tough decisions all the time and it seems to me that part of that tough decision is to go to a college you can best afford. Or at least don’t whine about the loans you have – because you decided to do that. His kids went to expensive private/out-of-state universities. So it should come as no surprise that they have an enormous debt. Not feeling any sympathy here.
My daughter wanted to attend her ‘dream’ school out of state. We sat down and crunched numbers with her. Choice 1 – Go to an outstanding state university and she could come out with no debt. Choice 2 – Go to out-of-state and we pay what we would pay for in-state – and she would have to borrow the difference. That came to about 75K on her. She said no, very wisely, once we calculated the monthly payments she would be making on graduation.
Now she’s working and will go to grad school in a year. She has no debt and can save a large chunk of her earnings for grad school – if she doesn’t get a stipend.
The point is that I may feel that college costs are out of control – they are certainly costing us a lot. But my kids are going where we can afford to send them debt free. If the choice had been made to send them to expensive schools that required them to take on huge debt – I would ‘not’ whine about it or let them whine about it. It was a choice they made.“The proposition is deeply personal for O’Malley: Aides say he and his wife have already incurred $339,200 in loans to put the two eldest of their four children through universities. ”
So let me get this straight. You’re the former mayor of Baltimore and governor of Maryland. The University of Maryland is one of the best bargain state schools in the country. Yet, you not only snubbed your own state, but you went $300,000 in debt for you just TWO of your four children?
Martin O’Malley, far too stupid to be president!How telling. The Governor of Maryland and former mayor of Baltimore chooses to send his kids to out of state schools, rather than the University of Maryland, and then whines about the cost. Give me a break.
So we see that O’Malley and his wife never planned ahead and saved for their children’s college education. And he wants to be President. No thanks.
Was this article a plug for O’Malley or a clever slam against him? College costs are out of control, agreed, but as a parent of a student about to enter the U of MD system I find it maddening. Instead of sending his daughter to the U of MD, the governor sends her to a hugely expensive out-of-state private school to get a degree in elementary education. Exquisitely poor financial decisions and a slap in the face to the Maryland system.
What’s wrong with telling your kids “we can’t afford that. Make another choice.” Is it a parental obligation to fulfill kids’ every dream? Could that kind of thinking explain the narcissism of so many young people? I feel sorry for the parents who are so weak and kids who are so spoiled.
Martin O’Malley and his kids should have had a talk with Michelle Singletary before he took out such a crazy amount of loans. I agree that in the ’70’s, schools received more Federal and state support. It was easier all around for students to pay their own way with scholarships plus work. But we live in the world we’ve got, and if Grace and the other daughter couldn’t get scholarships, and Dad didn’t have enough in savings to pay for the “dream schools,” then they made extremely poor choices of where to attend school. Will these kids also demand the most expensive cars, the most expensive apartments, the most expensive clothes,because that’s the “dream?” Buck up, kiddos, and learn the most fundamental fact of life – dreams turn into nightmares if you can’t afford them and take out enormous loans anyway.