Free Education May Not Cost Paper Money

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.

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.

I personally don't think that college should be free. Students who pay for their college are more motivated, hard working and independent. Many students would have poor motivation to finish school, because they can always come back. As a matter of fact students with ambitions to get university degree are learning much harder in high school than other, who thinks they don’t need an extra paper. There are many students that are so smart, and they will find the way to get money for school. With extra work and help from family students will be able to afford college tuitions. Students need to depend on themselves; otherwise every taxpayer will have to cover their education expenses. There are several reasons why

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.

How could it possibly be squeezed into the government’s budget? Do they have a secret fund for things like this, or would taxes increase to cover the costs? Free college is now brought up as a debate whether or not students should receive free college tuition while attending college. Some individuals would like this idea, but I am definite the taxpayers would not like it or support it. If the government cannot afford what they are in debt with now, I am quiet uncertain how adding free college would help the debt go down. I am sure that the government would find some way to get their money back from allowing free tuition, or twice the amount the payed by increasing taxes on everything from taxpayers to sales tax. Although it would be extremely pleasant to have free tuition, the tax increase would most likely hurt the taxpayers worse than paying college tuition. I am very much so against providing free college to everyone that graduates high school. Free college would be setting the government up to continue in recession. My biggest concern about offering free college, is how the students who already have student loans be forgiven for the loan amount and have free tuition and debt free as everyone else would be. While more people would have reliable jobs, college should not be free to society because the government budget could not stretch to allow it, more people would take advantage of college because it is free, and taxes would raise on the population.

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.

With the upcoming elections, third-party candidate Bernie Sanders has been one of the most talked about candidates because of his belief that tuition and cost of living at public colleges and universities should be free. Free college has become one of the most talked about policy proposals on the campaign trail, but questions surround the policy, such as how it would work, how much it would cost and how it would affect students (Rhatican).

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

Germany, Finland, and Norway all offer free education for students and still maintain a stable economy. Alexandra Flores Quilty, vice president of the United States Students Association, says, “Education is the foundation of any country, and if we want to see the country thrive, then everyone must be able to have access to an education” (Bernie Sanders Issues Bill to Make 4 Year College Free). It is a shame that some kids who could be incredibly intelligent and genuine can’t get into college just because he or she can’t afford it. Many jobs nowadays require education beyond high school. Those jobs will not be fulfilled if costs for college keep increasing. Reducing the cost of college will also increase the incentive for doing well in high school. Kids in poor families assume they won’t be able to get accepted into college, so they just give up in high school, resulting in bad grades and a lower income when they are matured. Wanting to learn more facts and information about various things shouldn’t have to cost thousands of dollars per semester. More money should be spent on the people that want to go far in life rather than criminals who cause trouble constantly. Children need to be taught that education is one of the most important things in life. Without it, success would be limited, and families would be harder to support. With Bernie Sanders as

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.

However, in other countries such as the United States, college tuition and other forms of higher education is not free, and to some people, that doesn't seem fair. During the presidential debate in 2015, candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, made the promise of free education in the United States. Since this proposition of how free education would

Some people believe that if the federal government made college free in the United States (U.S.), tuition would just disappear. Unfortunately, everything must be paid for. The money would have to come from somewhere. If the student who is attending college does not ultimately have to pay for their tuition on their own, where does it come from? Rumor has it the taxpayer’s pocket. Anya Kamenetz, who has written several books about education and its future, stated in an article about Hillary Clinton’s proposal on Free Education, “Currently, the federal government spends $31 billion on federal grants and work-study to all institutions, not just four-year public schools. So the cost of eliminating tuition would be around double that (maybe less, since some of that grant money already goes to tuition). The Sanders campaign had previously estimated the cost of free college for all at $75 billion and proposed a tax on Wall Street transactions to pay for it.” This means that the federal government already chips in a portion of the

Another issue that would arise with higher education being free would be that the job market could have a higher supply educated workers in some fields than their demand. If college is free to the public, then the money has to really come from

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