Bernie answered the "socialist" question perfect in town hall last night

[TexasTowelie]

114. I tend to believe that it depends on the specific programs and their cost.

If the cost of the programs are too expensive then it influences other factors such as what I mentioned about the participation rate of women in the labor force and whether young adults are able to further their educations.

Some young adults manage to squeeze out an associates or bachelors degree over a longer period of time by working part-time jobs. If they have a higher tax burden, then they might have to work full-time rather than part-time or the circumstances in their family may mean that it is not financially feasible to get a college education.

While I was in college, my father was forced to take early retirement and my older brother became unemployed. Those events changed my focus during the last two years in college and I had to increase the number of hours on my first part-time job and take on a second part-time job. I ended up facing a more difficult courseload with advanced level classes while simultaneously working more hours, so naturally my grades declined and I didn't retain as much knowledge from those courses. While my professors wanted me to enroll in a masters program, I was simply burnt out from the demands that were placed upon me regarding my finances and my education. I managed to finish college to get a bachelors degree, but I came close to having a nervous breakdown. I'm not certain that I would have made it if a larger percentage of the income that my father or I were making had gone to the government instead of into the family budget.