Politics & Power Quote by Roy Romer

Romer is doing the politician’s tightrope walk: affirm the moral urgency of college while acknowledging the material reality that keeps it out of reach. The first clause leans on inevitability - education is not a luxury but the new baseline for security in a shifting economy. That framing matters because it nudges responsibility away from individual aspiration and toward structural necessity. If college is "even more important now", then a system that prices people out isn’t merely unfortunate; it’s self-sabotage.

The phrase "very severe obstacle" is careful, almost technocratic. He avoids naming villains (states disinvesting, institutions expanding amenities, lenders profiting) and instead treats cost as a barrier that has appeared, like weather. That’s strategic: it invites consensus without triggering donor-class defensiveness or ideological fights over public spending. Yet the subtext is unmistakable: access has become contingent on wealth, and the promise of meritocracy is wobbling.

Calling college "an American dream" is the emotional payload. It wraps a policy problem in national mythology, implying that higher education is part of the country’s identity, not just its labor market. It’s also a subtle warning: when a society turns its signature ladder into a toll road, cynicism follows.

Contextually, Romer speaks as a public official steeped in education debates (notably his work in school reform). The line isn’t radical; it’s a pressure valve, signaling empathy while leaving the solution open-ended. The rhetorical genius is that "find a way" sounds modest, but it quietly demands a rewrite of who gets to belong in the future.