“There are political advantages to saying we’re not going to provide aid to students who aren’t putting in the effort for their education,” said Mark Huelsman, a policy analyst at Demos, a think tank that has been promoting debt-free college. “No one ever lost an election by criticizing the work ethic of today’s youth.”
Still, Huelsman said that Clinton’s inclusion of a 10-hour-a-week work requirement for students in her debt-free tuition plan may actually operate as a cap on work for most students rather than a new requirement. That’s because most students are already working far more hours, he said.
Huelsman also notes that “there are some policy advantages to encouraging a modest amount of work.”
