Education dominated much of Vice President Joe Biden’s speech during a stop on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Thursday, as he addressed a crowd in Zorn Arena that was estimated at about 3,000 people.
Biden says America must be “the single best educated nation in the world” if it wants to maintain its dominance in the world and the economy. He says leaders like himself and President Obama would not be where they are today without the help of scholarships and student loans, which is why they have worked to make sure every qualified man and woman in America has access to a college education.
AUDIO: Vice President Joe Biden (:14)
Biden also took aim at Republicans on the issue of debt reduction, arguing the GOP has rejected every single proposal that would reduce the federal deficit if it includes a single cent of tax increases for people making over a million dollars a year.
Biden also accused Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and running mate Paul Ryan of offering a tax reform plan that would send jobs overseas. He says studies show the plan will create 800,000 jobs, but all of them would be abroad in places like China and Indonesia.
The Romney campaign issued a statement saying fact checks show otherwise, and that the reforms would encourage investment in the United States.
Republican Party of Wisconsin Spokesman Nathan Conrad called the Vice President’s speech a defense of skyrocketing debt in a gimmick-riddled attempt to change the subject.
Dan Lea, WAYY