Rep. Tom Perriello, D.-Va., said he sympathizes with students struggling to pay off steep college loans at a speech and question-and-answer session sponsored by the AU College Democrats Tuesday.
“We’ve gone from the wealth-based American dream to the debt-based American nightmare,” Perriello said.
Perriello, who represents Virginia’s fifth district, said his parents were only able to afford college with financial aid packages. They came out of college with the ability to achieve their goals, he said.
“It used to be that when you went to college and worked really hard, you were entitled to a good job and a decent pay,” he said. “You’d be able to start building equity and investments.”
It is becoming increasingly difficult to graduate from college without significant amounts of debt, he said.
“Now when you go to college and work really hard, you are entitled to $50,000 in debt,” he said. “And you are forced into a job that pays enough for you to pay off student loans.”
Perriello is running for re-election against State Sen. Robert Hurt, R.-Va., in November and said he plans to address college financial aid reform in Congress if he is re-elected.
When asked about his stance on making false promises during a campaign, Perriello said he believes a successful campaign has to live up to its promises. He said he has no qualms pointing out the lies other candidates put forth in their campaigns.
“Someone has to answer for policy mistakes, but it doesn’t have to be in a Darth Vader voice with scary music,” he said. “There are ways to do it that don’t insult people’s intelligence.”
He also emphasized the crucial difference between “corporate politics” and “people politics.”
“This election at its core is about who’s standing with the people and who’s standing with the powerful,” he said.
Though he admits Hurt has doled out some low blows in his campaign, Perriello said he is confident that his “people politics” approach will allow him to continue serving his district.
He listed a few of his successes as a congressman, like working with green jobs “before it was cool,” turning tobacco farmers into canola farmers to improve the quality of diesel oil and turning cow manure and chicken waste into energy.
Perriello also had a few words of advice for political fledglings at AU.
“Promise not to tell your parents the advice I’m about to give,” Perriello said. “Never plan ahead. Do not have a plan. If you have a plan, you may never get there, and you’ll find you spent ten years getting somewhere you don’t like at all.”
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