Vice President Joe Biden appears to be one of the few administration officials who knows the secret location of the federal "Money Tree."

You know. The tree that money grows on and where cash for all that "free" stuff that the government promises people can be easily plucked.

The Hill:

Vice President Biden on Saturday said free community college was vital for a healthy American economy.

 

“It’s simple, folks — two years of community college should become as free and universal as high school is today if we’re to make this economic resurgence permanent and well into the 21st Century,” he said in the White House’s weekly address.

 

Biden argued that Americans insisting on free high school had produced a competitive U.S. workforce in years past. With other countries catching up, he added, the time was ripe for reaching new heights on educational access.

 

“Folks, the source of our economic power and middle-class strength in the 20th century was the fact that we were among the first major nations in the world to provide twelve years of free education to our citizens,” Biden claimed.

 

“But in the 21st century, other countries have already caught up and 12 years is simply no longer enough,” he added. “A minimum of 14 years is necessary for families to have a surer path to the middle class and for the United States to be able to out-compete the rest of the world.”

 

Biden said his plan with President Obama was no government “give-away.” He said students receiving funds must keep up their grades and graduate on time. 

 

The community colleges hosting them, he added, must also field high graduation and job placement rates for eligibility.

 

Biden revealed that the plan would potentially provide free community college to recipients and cut costs on their higher education later. He said credits earned by funded students would transfer to eligible four-year programs later on.

 

“It’s a simple fact that community colleges are the most flexible educational institutions we have,” Biden said.

 

“Making community colleges free is good for workers, it’s good for companies and it’s good for our economy,” he added.

I consider this the primary reason why we're $17 trillion in debt and why we run half trillion dollar deficits every single year. People actually believe that all these government goodies are "free." They are intellectually incapable of making the connection between benefit and government expense - that somebody, somewhere, somehow is paying taxes to support the grandiose ideas of politicians. In fact, trying to deny them these "free" benefits is tantamount to betrayal. Democrats have been playing this game for 50 years and it apparently never gets old.

The lie is perpetrated at all levels of government from the top down. And perhaps it doesn't help that many of those who get these "free" government handouts don't pay taxes to begin with. They have no stake in making economies with the budget. They don't care how much you pay in taxes, except that they think you're probably not paying enough.

I know that taxpayers would be grateful if Republicans could hammer home the notion of "no free lunch" during the upcoming campaign. Only constant pushback against this lie will begin to change the dynamic and expose these "free" benefit politicians for the liars they are.