I. $1.2 trillion. It is the United States student debt owed by 40 million people, according to the article posted on the New York Times last year by Susan Dyanrski. A. The number is huge and significant. But does it mean free public college tuition will help solve the problem? II. Free public college has been a controversial topic as Bernie Sanders advocates this issue on his campaign. A. People have been talking about how free public college tuition can bring a bright future to the United States. B. However, they don’t realize its hidden effects when they don’t look at the low public college tuition with overloaded students, which can be used as a model to measure the impact. III. As a student at Baruch where the college tuition is …show more content…
1. If the tuition continues to be free in the postsecondary school, then the questions come in: Where will the government get the money? 2. The problem is that free college isn’t free at all. It just transfers the financial burden from an individual student to the taxpayers. B. In Europe, many countries have already offered free public college, such as Germany, Denmark, or Norway. However, residents in those countries pay higher taxes than in the United States. 1. As you can see, it is the chart from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 2016 Report. It shows the tax wedge of a single individual in 2015 in different countries. 2. The total tax wedge is expressed as a percentage of labor costs. The countries offering free public college are in the circle. Compared to the United States whose tax wedge is 31.7 percent, the countries I mentioned earlier have higher taxes. 3. Germany is one of the well-known countries for offering free public college to both its residents and international students. It has a significant percentage of tax wedge, 49.4. 4. To help you better understand how the free public college can affect you guys who will become the taxpayers in the future, let’s assume you are 25 now. You already have a Bachelor degree from Baruch and have a job. Your monthly earning is $4,927. Deducted from 31.7 percentage of tax wedge,
“Even if it would help to get rid of the shackles of student debt, having free tuition colleges would deprive the students of things like learning how to balance their finances, which can lead to big problems in the future” (Suvannasankha). Having free tuition colleges could affect America in many ways, some good and some bad. One good thing that free college tuition would do for America is that it would bring a new skillful and better-educated workforce (Should College Be Free? Pros, Cons, and Alternatives). Even though having free college tuition would help America would having free college tuition be the best idea depending on the fact that nothing is really free, everything comes at a
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.
People can’t afford to go to college. For example, they can’t go to school and still make the money they need to support them and their family. Nikki Edgecombe is a senior research associate at the Community College Research Center at Columbia University Teachers College. Nikki says, “Free tuition will increase college enrollments, as shown by Tennessee Promise, particularly at open access institutions and among students with more challenging educational histories.” If college was more affordable people would want to continue their education. Instead of paying for tuition these students could, with some possible financial cuts, afford the hours of pay missed.
5. Base on class statistics 83 percent out of 16 percent thinks the government should forgive student loan debt once a student has completed college and has obtain a job in the field of study.
good career if college was free.The recent studies of tuition increases have proven that it is obvious college should be free.
The prospect of attending college can be both exciting and disconcerting, particularly given the current cost of tuition. “Free college programs that cover students' tuition are a step toward addressing issues of the cost of higher education, but leave questions of quality unanswered” (Bayer). Which means free tuition for a student that doesn’t have financial aid assisting them. I believe college should be free within the United States. Although there are states with “free”college or some kind of program to assists students in ; I believe all the states should provide free college for students. This being said, college should be free for students; no matter their race, religion, or sex. They would only be responsible for utilities and whatever else they chose to buy. Tution would essentially be paid by taxpayers within the state. Students can’t afford tuition and expenses due to them not making enough money at their part time job while going to school full-time. Even if a student could afford the tuition they still would not have enough to cover their other expenses.
College education is considered one of the most important factors for the nation’s economic growth, therefore free college education is a necessity.
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
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.
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.
In Michael Gonchar’s New York Times article “Should a College Education Be Free,” he is discussing President Obama’s proposal to allow college free for students attending community colleges. In the article Gronchar states that in order for the suggestion to work the federal government would have to comply. Considering the fact that the government is not the type to hand out money, people were stating that this is merely an opinion rather than fact. However, the president ecstatically acknowledged that the proposal will proceed and that the government would pay three-quarters of the cost. The presidents’ action had triggered a numerous amount of questions such as “What money is this coming from?” including “Should college be
Another benefit free tuition college provides is a decreased amount of financial obligations students must worry about. Since the government would be paying for most of the college education, this prevents graduates from paying insane amounts of student loan debt. Graduating with large quantities of debt has been shown to reduce chances of possessing a home, becoming married, having children, and accumulating wealth, making debt a dangerous factor in college. Debt can also force students to become unfocused with their studies, resulting into a worsened result in academic performance. However, with this free tuition, academic performance may rise, which would allow more students to graduate college on time, ready to engage in jobs for the community. In return to the government paying for education, after graduation, students have much more money to refuel the economy because of the debt they do not need to pay (Wittner).
Free tuition is problematic in that it may cause students who are not necessarily suited for college to feel obligated to enroll. If college becomes the new “bare minimum” level of education, young people may feel compelled to attend, even if it is not the correct choice for their personal and professional goals. This could cause dropout rates to increase, leaving students in a worse position than if they had entered the workforce directly after high
Did you know that in order to get free college tuition, the government would have to pay merle $62.6 billion dollars? A number of people would argue that free tuition would relieve stress from students, but that is not always the case. While tuition is free, living expenses are not covered. When room and board are factored in, as it is in the cost of the University of California, for example, even without tuition, students are still paying over $8,000 per year. Free tuition resulted in lower grants used for housing, and students in need had to rely on loans. In the 2011-12 school year, 71 percent of all undergraduates received some type of financial aid compared with 66 percent four years earlier, a report released from the (National Center for Education Statistics). Students who needed to move closer to schools ended up with more debts to pay. Lucy Hunter Blackburn of the University of Edinburgh estimates that the free tuition policy for Scots was regressive. Not only do students stop trying, but drop out rates have increased. Free college tuition is not a good option and should not be part of America’s higher education systems.