Free College Tuition Benefit Analysis

First of all, it is not actually free someone has to pay for it. If there were did have free tuition colleges, the state and federal government would have to make a few changes. The changes could include raising taxes, decreasing military budget, closing tax loopholes, increasing taxes more for the wealthy, new taxes on speculative Wall Street transactions, and diverting student financial aid to tuition free colleges (Should College Be Free? Pros, Cons, and Alternatives). It would affect the taxpayers of America the most, because they would have to be

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.

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.

In “The Argument for Tuition-Free College,” Keith Ellison addresses the matter of free-tuition for colleges and universities in America. The high cost of tuition increasing inequality and the largest personal debt in the country, student loans, are the main two problems Ellison discussed. Claiming that minorities are less likely to succeed in the community is one of Ellison’s ways to support the issue. He promotes his argument with two solutions. In the first one he explains how to eliminate student loan debt. Ellison uses free primary and secondary schooling as an example to explain his second solution.

It is necessary to have free college tuition in order to help advance the well being of our country. One reason is that competition for a job is constantly increasing which makes it almost necessary to have a degree. Those who have a college degree are more likely to get a job than those without because of their additional knowledge and understanding. Sanders has a “College for All” act which makes going to college not only tuition free but also debt free. This plan has an estimated cost of $75 billion a year. The College for All act states that “the federal government would cover 67% of the cost, while the states would be responsible for the remaining 33%” (All Act). According to Sanders, countries like Germany, Finland, Norway and Sweden are tuition free (berniesanders.com). That being said, he believes that in order to get on their level of education, we most offer free college as well. With more educated people in our country, as a whole, we can improve upon the accomplishments of the nation.

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 a recent analysis, America’s colleges and universities are quietly shifting the burden of their big tuition increases onto low-income students, while many higher-income families are seeing their college costs rise more slowly, or even fall” (Eskow). Though education is the basic human right, most of the people in the U.S. are not being able to gain it as because of its rising cost. Since the 1970s, tuition and fees at public institutions have increased by more than 350 percent, while pay for working- and middle-class households has stagnated. As a result, the cost of a public-college education now accounts for almost 15 percent of the average family's annual income; 40 years ago it was about 4 percent (Kenneth W. Warren and Samir Sonti). The tuition and fees are increasing in such a way that the young Americans aren’t as educated as the young citizens of many other developed countries. The U.S. ranks 14th in the world in the percentage of 25-34 year-olds with higher education (42%).” When all adults of working age are considered, the US is still one of the highest-educated countries in the world. But when this age group is considered, we are falling behind (Richard Eskow). That’s the personal loss for the young people of the U.S. Education is not a privilege of the rich and well-to-do; it is the inalienable right of every people. It is a powerful tool by which people can lift

In the United States there are already a few different states that are offering free college tuition. Those states being, Rhode Island, Tennessee, San Francisco, New York, Oregon and a few others. Let’s focus on the state of San Francisco a little more. In the article “San Francisco will offer free college tuition to residents” Amanda Hoover states, “Mayor Ed Lee announced an agreement to budget $5.4 million in tuition for the college Monday. Officials say that will cover tuition for current students and allow the school to expand enrollment by 20 percent. Low-income students who qualify will also see the cost of their books covered in small grants.” This will give hope to those which don’t have enough money to afford

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

Credibility: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics only about 69.2% of 2015 high school graduates enrolled into college last fall. Imagine how much higher that percentage would be if college tuition was free.

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.

By making college tuition free, a public college degree would become devalued. College is a tough place to get to and an even tougher place to be and to obtain a degree. Being a college is a highly demanding job that calls for substantial time and effort. The idea of making college free sounds like a great idea because it will allow people to increase their productivity and promote economic growth. Allowing free college in the United State would later cause issues with just receiving a college degree in the long run. Over time, the value of a college education would decrease. In America, public high schools are free from tuition and you can see the issues within them already. The state gives public schools a certain revenue from the state and so they do not compete to get the best students and are not motivated to upgrade. In contrast, private schools seem to be more critical and picky with the education quality and tuition price. This is

It is important to consider who truly benefits from free college tuition, as it is not low-income students. In fact, free college tuition creates a larger rift between the dollar values low-income students have in comparison to high-income students. According to a study from NPSAS (Chingos, 2012), a government-funded, student-study organization, rich students will receive 24% more in dollar value if the establishment of free college tuition. This is interpreted as a tradeoff; free college tuition will eliminate tuition, but out-of-pocket costs for low-income families will increase to $17.8 billion dollars annually which grants cannot cover. Rich students would be able to pay off these costs because of that increase in dollar value. Therefore, it is impossible to ignore that low-income students truly would not benefit from free college tuition, as they do not have the same privileges as rich students do.

First, free tuition will give everyone the opportunity to further their education and build careers without being deprived due to a lack of a degree caused by the financial burdens of tuition fees. The federal government will not be negatively affected if they offered free tuition, because they have enough money to fund colleges. Jordan Weissman, a former senior associate editor of the Atlantic who did research on how the federal government could make tuition free without extra money being spent: stated, “Here's a little known fact: “With what the federal government spent on its various and sundry student aid initiatives last year, it could have covered the tuition bill of every student at every public college in the country”. Tuition at community colleges is approximately $1,700. David Hosansky, a writer for CQ Researcher, addressed the matter of college tuition: “While tuition averages less than $3,500 per year — far lower than the $9,139 average for instate residents at a typical four-year public institution — many community college students still struggle to pay for their education” (388). Even though most colleges offer student loans, students still have to pay out of pocket for college because the amount of loans a student may take out is limited. Most student loans have to be paid back with a fluctuant interest rates. In cases as such, when students do not have the amount of funds needed by a certain due date, they get kicked out of college. Once an individual is no longer enrolled in college they have to repay the student loans they have taken out. Also, they have to pay off any remaining balances they have. Often

Should the United States develop a system for free college tuition? Free college tuition would benefit many college students and people interested in getting a higher education because as of the moment the education system is built around money and having to get student loans or scholarships if you cannot come up with tuition up front. It would also take a lot of money out of the economy for the first 10 years or so, mainly because it would take people being able to graduate with a degree for a higher salary for the United States to be able to charge more on taxes to make up for the money lost going to pay for the faculty salary and the student textbook fees. Many are for a free college tuition system but many are also against it because nobody wants to pay even more on taxes but once the people who are against it would see the amount of money begin put back into the economy from the raised taxes there would be able to see the goal of the whole idea. The United States needs to develop a system for free college to give students the ability to get an education they never would have been able to get before and would allow for more money to be brought into the economy from more Americans getting higher paying jobs and make the U.S. a more prosperous nation.