Prez hopeful talks in Long Island City
Buttigieg takes part in ‘fi reside chat’ and focuses on ways to improve health & education
BY MARK HALLUM
During an appearance at
Long Island City’s LaGuardia
Community College on May
22, presidential candidate
Pete Buttigieg offered his
perspectives on national
issues that could benefit
New Yorkers.
Buttigeig championed
universal healthcare,
implementing grants to
ease the burden of student
loans and overhauling the
public education system
in America.
Although the mayor of
South Bend, Indiana only
governs a town of 100,000
in a red state, Buttigieg
sees nothing to lose in
progressive views.
“No matter what I do,
they’re going to call us crazy
socialists, so I might as well
do it,” he explained.
Using Obamacare as an
example, which he described
as “conservative” policy,
Buttigieg claimed to do
anything with healthcare
may result in being called far
left-wing voice.
For bringing relief
to Americans who owe
sometimes up to six figures
in student loans, Buttigieg
does not see the crisis as
advanced enough to call for
cancellation of debt.
Instead, he would open up
access to grants in a big way
and make public education
less expensive.
“I’m leery about how you
do that in a way that’s fair
to the people who have been
struggling for a long time or
have just paid student loan
debt off,” Buttigieg said. “We
need to make sure healthcare
is affordable and accessible
for everybody.”
Buttigieg sees education
not only has something that
needs to be accessible to all,
but as system that needs
an overhaul after over a
century on essentially the
same template. Critical
thinking and emotional
intelligence are going to be
more important than simple
knowledge in the future,
he said.
“Step one: get a secretary
of education that believes
in all kids getting an
education,” Buttigieg said.
“There’s no question that
there’s a lot of stuff we could
do to modernize education.
The workforce is changing
and our relationship to
knowledge is changing. A lot
of educational practices were
designed in the 19th century
to teach college. But now,
more and more knowledge is
at our fingers.”
Buttigieg also advocated
for teacher pay raises.
Buttigieg was in Long
Island City for what
Congressman Gregory
Meeks called the first in a
series of “Queens Fireside
Chats” with 2020 presidential
candidates, and led this first
discussion with NY1 anchor
Cheryl Wills.
Reach reporter Mark
Hallum by email at mhallum@
schnepsmedia.com or by phone
at (718) 260–4564.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg in LaGuardia Community College on May 22, with NY1 News anchor Cheryl Wills
seated at right. Photos: Mark Hallum/QNS
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