Should College Be Free College?

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.

If college was free students would have to want to continue their education and get a degree. While free would make college affordable, those receiving the benefit would need to have stipulations for the free classes they are attending. Michael J. Petrilli is the president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. Petrilli states, “… just 40 percent of 12th graders are college-ready, even though nearly 70 percent already head straight into college.” He is correct that many high school graduates are not prepared to transition to college. Many don’t have the attention span to sit in longer classes. Students are used not study over a time period, but rather cram the night before the due assignment. Some stipulations would be; you have to finish and get a degree, you have to keep your GPA up, and if you drop out without a good reason you have to pay back the money you used.

Should the cost of earning a college degree be free? Some students,parents, and educators say that it is morally wrong for a child to spend their entire life going to public school for free and having them to just turn around and pay for college. The students, parents, and educators all would agree that the cost of obtaining a college degree should indeed be free. Those who are against this issue believe that the students themselves or their parents who are financially able should pay for some or all of the expense of attending college after all public school students are given a free ride from elementary to high school. Understanding and considering both sides of the issue, I strongly stand by the decision stating that the cost of attending college should be free.

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.

Should college be free? In “The Problem is That Free College Isn't Free,” Andrew P. Kelly argues that free college would cost more for the American taxpayer. On the other hand, in “Tennessee Is Showing How Free Tuition Community College Works,” Celeste Carruthers states having free college will give more incentive for students to go to college. It will also encourage them to try community college first. Although free college sounds great at first, it would be more practical to have programs for people who cannot simply afford it. College tuition shouldn’t be the American taxpayers’ responsibility.

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.

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).

First, free college may not benefit those most in need. As Matt Bruenig, a writer who researches poverty and welfare systems, in his article “The Case Against Free College” argued, “The main problem with free college is that most students come from disproportionately well-off background and already enjoy disproportionately well-off futures, which makes them relatively uncoupling targets for public transfers…At public colleges, students from the poorest fourth of the population currently pay net tuition at either two-year or four-year institutions….Richer students currently receive much fewer tuition and living grant benefits”(113). Free college should benefit poorer students, but actually could end up helping wealthy students more. Low income

Free college is a commonly accepted idea, as a crucial part of society's advancement. Education is the foundation for building a strong country, as knowledge is what allows for productivity in all areas of life. However, the cost and accessibility to standard higher education limits many people's availability to a quality schooling. Some may argue that public colleges should continue to charge tuition, as the federal government can not afford the cost nor will creating higher taxes to enable the program solve the crisis. However, ultimately, higher education should be free as it would stimulate economic growth, remove the primary deterrent for not attending college and decrease dependence on government aid.

My immediate response is yes, of course I want community college tuition to be free but then I realized I am already in my second year this will not apply to me. As I further ponder over it I can not help but to think on what terms would this be under. Will you have to have a certain GPA? Will it only be available to us citizens? Will there be a age stipulation? There is a number of factors that can be put on this “Free Tuition”. It sounds like an amazing offer be is it really?

There are people who are in our nation right now that can 't afford to go to college and gain the education they need to succeed. People have a deep conviction about this controversy. This issue has lead to the debate should the first two years of a college education be free. If college was free for the student the yes, it comes to the taxpayers to come up with the money. There should be rules and regulations in place and should be maintained by each state. The counter argument implies that college isn 't a given and should be paid for by the individual. Both sides of this controversy have valid points. The other side being the taxpayers saying that college is a privilege and not a handout. Although both sides of the debate have strong points one side has not taken all the facts into account, the controversy of a free college education can be traced back to the basic assumptions on both sides. Those who are in favor believe that college education should be free while those who are opposed hold to the notion of privilege.

Recently a debate has risen as to whether free college is actually a good idea. Many believe it is a waste of taxpayer’s money and are no longer willing to pay. Yet, some still think giving free college education only brings positive outcomes. I believe we should offer free college educations, for there are many positive outcomes that outweigh the negative. However, will free college education change, not only the workforce, but all of America?

College tuition, and its exorbitant price, has always been a topic of debate and as with any other debate, there are multiple sides to the argument. Some people feel that college is just too expensive and that the government should make all public college tuition free. Others say that the government should force them to lower the entry fee. Lastly there are the people who know that if the admission cost was lowered or removed, taxes for everyone would move in the opposite direction. While reducing or removing the cost of college admission might sound great, the drawbacks far outweigh any benefits that it might bring about.

In the article, “As He Promotes It, Some Question Obama’s Free Community College Idea” written by Joanne Jacobs, the author states the different arguments between whether or not Obama’s idea of making community college free is a good idea for both the institutions and for the students planning on attending. This can then lead to colleges not getting any funding because they won’t be getting any money, tuition wise, from the students but rather the government. Although the idea of free community college is what everyone believes is the best option, I think it shouldn't’ be free because tuition for low-income students is technically already free, four-year universities cost much more, and lastly because this can then lead to competition between low-income students and upper-middle-class students.

Dr. Mary C. Clement said it best, when she said, “Teaching is one of the most wonderful, difficult, rewarding, challenging, invigorating, and tiring jobs in the world” (Clement). Teachers and Professors have worked at their profession and job for years. They have gone through extensive training and schooling. Why should the students who take the professors classes at a university, not pay tuition to support the school, and professors that the school hires?