In education, the Democrats expanded college financial aid, partly by eliminating bank subsidies, and pushed dozens of states to make K-12 schools more accountable.
But even with expanded college enrollment, and more slots, the competition to get into higher-ranked universities is destroying the lives of young people and their families in countries like South Korea and Japan.
Kevin Bruns, executive director of America's Student Loan Providers, said the legislation "punishes the industry," while Joe Belew, president of the Consumer Bankers Association, said it would "come to be viewed as irresponsible legislation that undermined rather than expanded college opportunity".
For example, China vastly expanded college enrollment in the late 1990s to ease job pressures, but it failed to anticipate the consequences: There are now six million graduates a year, six times as many as before, but more than 30 percent of them are unemployed.
He also explained that American dominance in those fields had followed the G.I. Bill, which greatly expanded college education: And that meant that we had more engineers, more scientists, and that meant we had better technology, which meant that we were more productive and we could succeed in the global marketplace.
But now the shortage of college seats is concentrated in rapidly growing states like California, Florida and Texas that can't (or won't) expand colleges fast enough.
President Obama recently signed legislation that would expand college access for millions, by overhauling the federal student loan program.
About that hostility: Mr. Santorum made headlines by declaring that President Obama wants to expand college enrollment because colleges are "indoctrination mills" that destroy religious faith.
Experts from across the political spectrum say expanding college enrollment is not enough, that both quality and price must be addressed.
To the Editor: As a college student with extensive foreign travel experience, I applaud Nicholas D. Kristof's encouragement to expand college education beyond domestic borders.
