The Alabama governor’s race is off and running. After a debate in Arab late last week, a quick press release from Ron Sparks’ camp attempted to capitalize on a potential weakness of Robert Bentley. According to the release, the Birmingham News reported Bentley as saying, “Since when did it become the job of the government to provide a college education to every child? That's not the government's job. That's your job,” Bentley said, pointing to the crowd of about 140. “Not every child can go to college, or should they.”

I’m not overly-thrilled with either one of the candidates. However, I have to give Bentley a big AMEN on this one. It’s about time someone spoke the truth on this “right to college education” issue.

Sparks wants to paint Bentley as an elitist who puts down the working families of Alabama. However, Bentley knows working families should be responsible for their own households, not someone else’s. Their own children and their own methods of motivating them to excel in grades K-12 should be their focus. It’s not your responsibility to ensure that the kids down the street or across the state get a college education.

Your responsibility is your family. Dedicated students can earn scholarships of one degree or another, whether partial or full. Privately-funded college scholarships are plentiful compared to even a few years ago. They are a great idea and they are still on the increase.

Programs like the Rotary Scholars Award now being established by the Florence Rotary and Greater Shoals Rotary Clubs are the free market mechanism of choice. Private and corporate contributions to that program will benefit the students who work hard, stay out of trouble, and actually want an education past the high school level. It’s much more than just throwing dollars at a situation and gaining a few percentage points so the media can declare your government program a success.

Additionally, there is nothing wrong with students grabbing a parttime gig to make ends meet or saving money for a few years to pay for college outright.

I believe Bentley is right; College is NOT for everyone. Gaining knowledge and earning a diploma or a GED is what is truly important for individual success and economic advancement. The taxpayer already covers that.

History shows that college graduates earn $20,000 more per year on average than those with only a high-school diploma. That number is significant. However it includes thousands who earn a million dollars a year plus, significantly warping the scale. The truth is that plenty of high school/GED graduates earn more than the average college graduate earns in this economy. A good work ethic, solid education or trade skills and a little street savvy can go a long way in a free market economy.

Furthermore, what is the deal with Sparks’ big push for an education lottery? At least on a national scale, Sparks’ party is all about dividing society by class anyway. It claimes to be a champion of the poor and the blue collar crowd while casting a net of animosity toward the income level of the white-collar workforce. In that vein, what does Sparks care about those who spend two to five years in college in hopes of wearing a business suit or a shirt and tie to work, only to be downsized or underemployed?

I dare say it is strictly to ensure more job stability and greater pay and benefits for those in the field of education, a staple of his constituency.