Free College : Is An Overwhelming Issue Affecting Our Overall Economy

Should colleges be free in America? It is a question that is more relevant today than ever before. As education is one key factor that determines the nation’s fate going forward, this question is worth debating. Making free college education may sound good theoretically but requires herculean efforts to make it practically possible. The main question is whether such program be effective in the long run or not? If, yes how long will the government able to support these costs and from where? Are tuition costs only the concern that discourages students from attending colleges? There may arise several skepticisms that can withhold the idea of free colleges. As both colleges and students won’t be benefitted by such plans the college education should not be free.

Should college be free? A current universal problem poses this question. In today’s world, full of public education standards that hold students maybe too high and in a generation bogged down by student debt, this issue qualifies as a problem more than many are maybe even willing to admit. While the prospect of free college proposes excellent ideals such as a stronger and smarter generation, no student loan problems, and a higher educated society, the truth may actually lie in the reality that making college free would do more hindrance than good and is not the answer to these problems. Free college would increase economic problems, according to Andrew P. Kelly, who says it would only shifts the cost to someone else. As well, it would also hinder our education system. Michael J. Petrilli writes that making college free would “probably shift billions of dollars a year from programs that help talented poor kids access higher education and improve our schools”. Although the concept of free higher education is becoming appealing to the general population, it ultimately would create more problems than it solved and do virtually nothing of huge significance to increase the level of intelligence in modern society.

American students owe a total of 1.3 trillion dollars in student loans, and about 44.2 million students are in debt. Colleges all over the United States require a tuition for students to attend, which is detrimental to families with low incomes. As a result, students from low income families opt to not attend college. A solution for this problem would be to institute tuition free colleges. Advocates for free colleges state that it would enable students to achieve their dreams, regardless of their monetary situation. Proponents against free colleges say that the public would have to be taxed too much to cover the expenses. College should be free because it would help the country economically, allow students to be more focussed, and it would let students to pursue any career that they would like.

At every debate and town hall event Senator Sanders has reiterated his plan for tuition-free college, and has usually been met with the same question: "How are you going to pay for it." For the sake of debate lets say Mr. Sanders is able to pay for it. Even though top economists, including democratic ones, say his math doesn't add up (you can find my cited sources at the end of the article), lets pretend that it somehow will. Let us pretend that Bernie Sanders will actually make public college tuition-free across the United States, effective immediately. Now it is time to play devils advocate, (or realist) and break down the reasons why tuition-free college would be a bad thing, not only for the economy, but every person currently pursuing a degree.

During one of his campaign programs, Presidential-candidate Bernie Sanders stood before a thousand applauding and cheering people. This man just announced, as hopeful future President of the United States, that he planned to make college free for every US citizen. Many young adults favor Bernie Sanders, and other political leaders, idea of free tuition because they believe that it will open more doors for them and allow them to not worry about the burden of student loans. However, there are many reasons that regulating free college education could hurt our society and economy that people don’t often realize. College education should not be free because it would raise taxes, it would devalue the worth of a college degree, and it would pave the way for more welfare dependency.

Free college tuition is crucial for the millions of students across the country that either cannot afford an education or are struggling with enormous debts. Statistics show that the amount of

Universities used to be a privilege for most academic students to attend and it was very affordable, but currently the price per year to attend college has drastically increased. For instance, in the “1970’s the average cost was 10,000 dollars a year and today the average cost is 30,000 dollars a year” (CQ Researcher). This is a triple increase in the price per year to attend college. Allowing this increase on college tuition has impacted the student’s attendance rate. This is a significant financial burden for college students and their family. Some believe that college shouldn’t be free because we are risking the value of college education, while others think it should be free because we are trying to avoid having our upcoming generation

As shown, there are strong arguments for and against free college. Thompson, Golden and Katz provided strong evidence that free college would be beneficial. However, the case against free college is more convincing. As shown earlier, free college for all will not proportionally help poorer students. That is wealthy students who do not need assistance will gain the same advantage. Not all students want to go to college or would benefit from it. Yet, these same people will be required to pay for free college through their taxes. There is little evidence that free college will increase graduation rates as more unqualified students enter the college system. Finally, and maybe most important, the resources are not available to ensure students receive

Bernie Sanders argues on his website that his ideas are not unheard of. Countries such as Germany, Finland, Sweden, and Norway have already eliminated college tuition.

    Bernie Sanders has proposed a golden opportunity that could open the door and evolve the potential students have and overall just give many the opportunity to continue to strive for success. Congress and the education board are seeing Bernie Sanders proposal as an ongoing conflict as to how he plans on paying for the tuition in another alternative. Congress and the education board believe that with this opportunity given at no price, students could take advantage and affect this opportunity negatively. Bernie Sanders has proposed that he plans on giving all students a chance in college, therefore opening the doors so that education is free for all. Tuition free college, Bernie Sanders proposal opens the doors for many

In the 1950’ and 1960’s, graduating high school students were able to earn a decent-paying job with benefits almost immediately. However, as time went on, the educational requirements to earn a stable job rose. Along with educational requirements rising, so did the cost of getting that education. Rising costs for education have made it almost impossible for many students to earn an education they want and need. The most promising solution to this problem seems to be making college free for everyone.

With the shockingly high number of student debt in America, it is no wonder why people constantly look for alternatives to make education cheaper.Certainly, higher education is in need of reformation. However, it should not come at the expense of dollars from people who pay taxes. In theory, free college sounds fantastic, but it must be understood that this luxury is not free. The money would come from people who pay taxes, which is evidently twisted as a majority of people do not value higher education. They should not be forced to pay for something that is optional in one’s life. People will be paying for free college for the rest of their lives in taxes. Moreover, free college removes the incentive of valuing education in high school. There

In the article Why Free College is a Bad Idea, Bob Luebke said “Free college tuition plans merely shift the costs of education from one group of taxpayers to all taxpayers. The proposals for free college are poorly targeted, too expensive, deliver too little and take away

As the presidential race approaches its zenith, the rhetorical Bernie Sanders, the crafty Hillary Clinton, and the bombastic Donald Trump lay their values, views, and optimistic visions for the future on the table, hoping the American people accept them. (make this sounds kind of sarcastically glamorous and loud and exciting). One of those, held prominently by Mr. Sanders proposes the eradication of college tuition. Published in the Washington Post, “Make College Free for All,” outlines the proposition of Sanders: “education is essential for personal and national well-being…hundreds of thousands of bright young people cannot afford to go to college… [and] leave school deeply in debt…it is time to…make colleges and universities tuition-free…All young people with the ambition and talent can reach their full potential, regardless of their circumstances at birth” (Sanders). Ambitious and talented individuals living in the U.S., in light of the outrageous amount of available resources and contrary to Mr. the opinion of Sanders, ought to fund or contribute to their so-called “essential” college education. Clearly, this exemplifies the state into which America falls – sacrificing freedom for convenience and less effort. After all, once a government funds something, it ultimately controls it.

Over the years, college fees have gradually risen for high school graduates. It’s been said that most jobs with a college degree earn almost double of what a high school graduate would earn. Many people all over the country have been unable to go to college because of these high fees for education. Some people think that your future shouldn’t be controlled by the amount of money you pay. If these fees continue to increase, then no one will be able to attend college. Higher education for free will increase productivity within students because they can get a good job, college is now a prerequisite, and college worthy jobs have great salaries.