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By Patrick B. McGuigan | CapitolBeatOK
Tom Guild
OKLAHOMA CITY — Tom Guild, the Democratic nominee in Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District, faces an uphill battle against the well-funded Republican incumbent.
In an interview with CapitolBeatOK, Guild reflected, “The latest poll I saw nationwide showed that Congress’ approval rating now is about 13 percent. It’s a wonder that it’s in double digits, the way they have been behaving.
“First of all, they seem to not “get it” – that public education is essential to our democracy. It’s essential to our economy.“Just as an example, the Republicans are playing games with a law that would extend the 3.4 percent interest rate for college student loans instead of letting it rise to 6.8 percent. When you think about how far we are behind in competing in the world economy with a lot of other countries, we need a lot more, a much higher percentage of college graduates, so that they can go on to the high-paying careers, and have good jobs, and fulfilling jobs.
“If you add to the college debt, I’ve seen some statistics that say that the average for debt carried by college graduates in the United States is around $30,000. If you start out your working life with a $30,000 debt, it shouldn’t surprise anybody that we’re falling behind in the world economy.
