Argumentative Essay: Is College Really Free?

One often overlooked point about “free” college tuition is that it is not ever free. The money does not just appear out of nowhere. What people normally mean by the statement of “free” college, it means free college for students. If the students are not paying than who would have to pay? The only other option would be the federal government. Right now, Americans owe more than $875 billion dollars in student loans. If the cost of tuition continues to grow at the rate it is, that number is only going to grow. If the federal government were to pay this, it would only further the country in debt.

“Free public college is a great political talking point, but it is a flawed policy.” [Kelly,1] As mentioned by Andrew p. Kelly, tuition-free college merely shifts the cost of education from the group of taxpayers to all the taxpayers. Technically, free college isn’t really free. Someone does have to pay for it. The only option to cover tuition cost is to increase the tax rates or cut services for elsewhere. It is not fairer to cut other services just to make students pay for educations. Why would one pay more tax if they are rich? People who are rich did something to accomplish it. They were not innate wealthy. Most of the wealthy person have worked their way up and worked their entire lives to get where they are. Thus,

College education should not be free because it would raise the taxes of all American citizens. Many of the major supporters of free college education don't consider where the money to pay for a higher education at a state-of-the art institution is actually going to come from when it's no longer them. The answer is simple: hard-working American taxpayers. These extravagant plans that everyone supports never exactly tell us where the money is going to come from. If they did, they probably wouldn’t have as much support. Instead, they’re masked by the publicity and benevolence of the one proposing such a gracious plan (Welch 32). In the article “Bernie’s Bad Ideas,” Matt Welch discusses that the idea

With tuition being free they can focus on what they have always wanted to achieve and be in their lives without the worry of having to pay thousands of dollars and working many long hard hours at a job. Having free college tuition will allow students to make real life choices earlier out in the world. Some students would have the funds to begin their life decisions earlier, although some cannot make those choices till later in life, but by having free college could those choices could become possible sooner. Not all students have life decisions they chose or opted into so having something like looking forward to free tuition could boost their confidence in life and get on the right track to become something or someone they have longed to become. Plus, the impact on their lives could be changed into a better way of living and possibly for their family. Administering free college to everyone could open the possibility to more students, more professors and employees. Although, placing burdens on someone before they ever get a chance to experience life, could discourage someone from fulfilling their

While researching this topic I came upon a very interesting article; Why tuition free College Makes Sense. The author, Lawrence S. Wittner, explains briefly the

To let in some light about the topic; Average debt in the US is at very high rates. “Studies show that there is no better short-term or long-term investment for the rest of society than higher education” (Page). College is expensive, let's make it more affordable. “This topic Deserves an open mind and a balanced exploration of the potential benefits, drawbacks, and alternatives” (“Should”). No matter the topic there is drawbacks. With free tuition there are not many to talk about. “As of the 2013-2014 school year, the countries with tuition-free public higher education included: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Norway, The Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Turkey and Germany. Free college, in Europe especially has proven to be a popular idea” (“Should”). Other major countries are successfully improving with free college tuition. US students want to add America to that list.

One of the many problems with making college free is that college, in time, needs to be paid for by someone or something. With the government having the idea that college should be free, these same people wouldn’t be taking the hard payment; You would, through government taxes. As Alex Groves says in his article, “Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a free ride. Every program requires a source of funding, and free education is no different.” (para 5). Groves is a college student himself working on his last year

In the article “ As he promotes it, some questions Obama’s free community college idea” by Joanne Jacobs explains Obama’s idea of community college being free. The article mentions teachers and students opinion of Obama’s idea and the say whether the agree with his plan or not. There is many issues with this plan because it means that schools are going to be more crowded because more people are going to attend. There’s also some positive things about this because it means more people would be encourage to go to school and get a degree so that they can get a better job. Community college should not be free because from my personal experience I have observed that community college offers students a chance to go to school for free, if more people attend community colleges the school will be packed which will make the school add a waiting list for others.

If free college tuition was ever an idea in general, many believe this would lead up to a requirement where many would have to play a part and provide for the students who choose to go to college, including those who chose to not attend college. As David H. Feldman and Robert B. Archibald claimed in the Washington Post, “This will require tax increases, or it will force states to move existing resources into higher education and away from other state priorities like health care, prisons, roads and K-12 education”. Along with that article how will we be so sure all of the states would be willing to participate in this? As Andrew P. Kelly said in the New York Times, “First, free college isn’t free, it simply shifts costs from students to taxpayers and caps tuition at zero. That tuition cap limits college spending to whatever the public is willing to invest”. Also why is it okay to take away from other important priorities like health care, and prisons over school education? If college becomes free the money has to come from somewhere, and taking the money away from other important priorities would surely lead to protests and other out brakes

Should college be free or is it good the way it is? This is one of the most debatable questions of this generation. Like every other thing it would also have its pros and cons. Many say that it would greatly help a country while others say that nothing is truly free and someone must pay for it. However the growth of a country’s economy over the long run is miles more than the loose in the short term. So in my opinion College should be free for everyone.

Free education is not an issue that just affects today’s society, it is a problem that has transcended American history. Founding Father, John Adams stated, “The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people, and must be willing to bear the expense of it.” Every year many high school graduates find themselves asking themselves, “What next?” For most, the logical answer is to continue their education. That is, if they can afford it. For those more financially-needy students, financial aid is a huge for paying for college; scholarships assist every student, but scholarship money is limited, and even if you do sometimes you just simply do not receive enough. The need for free college tuition is there and there are many ways for it to be carried out. The lack of funds for college can be very disheartening for hopeful college students, and as Carol Christ, Director of Center for Studies in Higher Education, stated, “Education, in today’s world, is the path to the American dream.” This discouragement can be detrimental to a student’s drive for success. Which in turn causes the nation, and the states, to fall behind. Free college tuition would be beneficial to both the student and, although at a gradual pace, society around the student.

Two year community colleges should be free because students debt would be greatly decreased, it would help students in the long run, and the United States economy would rise because we would have more educated people. There are many other people considering this proposal. President Obama for instance is trying to do this. In the State of the Union address, the President brought this issue up. There are also schools in Tennessee who are already wanting to do this. There are many more reasons why community colleges should be free than those listed here. It would be helping students to jobs in America to the American economy.

College is the highest education an average high school graduate can undergo but, it costs a lot, so should college be free? College costs a lot of money. If it were free, people wouldn't value it or really care if they were kicked out. Without paying for it, students don't really value it. So, should it be free?

Free public college is a problem because it makes the United States cut back money on other essential things. As Kevin James said, “The idea [free college] would cost $70 billion per year.” Due to the estimated $70 billion spent on free college, the United States would perhaps have to cut back spending on the military, community, and science. If the military's funds had to be limited, they would not be able to afford the proper training, proper equipment, or proper defense skills. The spending on today's communities are to directly satisfy the individual or collective needs of the community. Communities rely on the government's spending to flourish. If the community funds were too limited it would lead to a dwindling society. In order for the

Should college be free to attend? Absolutely not. There would be wasted spots for more determined students; teachers would not be paid; and it is not the cost that keeps determined students from attending and getting their degrees.