Education is a necessity of civilization. Without education, we would still be living in caves. The concept of education is the very reason we live as we do today, however, there is some controversy on how we attain this education. Should education be free or should we pay for the opportunity to further our learning? The recent Presidential election brought Senator Bernie Sanders’ ideals into the limelight, most notably his idea that a college education should be free. There are potential benefits with this plan, but also there are unavoidable problems. These problems greatly outweigh the benefits, and this idea of free public college education would prove disastrous for our economy. If college were to be free then a college education would …show more content…
The way Bernie Sanders would plan to pay for it would be to tax Wall Street, but by creating these taxes, Bernie would be discouraging trade. This could make the trade market even more volatile and in effect damage the economy (Carney). Another one of the Senator’s major points, catching up with other countries, also has a major flaw. The countries that Sanders is talking of “catching up with” are socialistic countries, which is at the root of many of this plans flaws. Many socialistic governments have existed, and most of them have failed or are not working as advertised. Aspects such as these are undeniably aspects of a flawed system. Bernie Sanders sees an America where everybody is equal, but sadly there is no sustainable way to attain that, and trying to bring about such things will only result in history repeating itself. There is one matter that I must agree with Bernie Sanders on, and that would be that interest levels attached to student loans can be absurdly high. But as with everything, these interest levels don’t come without their reasons, when loans are not paid back the item purchased with the borrowed money is usually reclaimed, but in the case of student loans there is nothing to reclaim, as such there is not as much of a guarantee that a student loan will be profitable to the organization handing out the loan as there would be for other objects, a car loan …show more content…
In a future where free public college becomes a reality it would be viewed as an extension of high school. This optional high school extension would be sucking money from the capitalistic heart of the country, and distributing it among students who view this amazing opportunity that they are given as high school. Some of these students may drop out, wasting the money that paid for their education, except it was not the student’s money that was wasted, but it was tax money that could have been spent on welfare or a new road, instead the knowledge that the money obtained now sits in the head of a dropout who is unable to use it. Yet another issue that would arise is that a college degree would not be viewed as it once was. The college degree will replace the high school diploma and those who have neither will fall into even greater turmoil. Though these changes may be the beginning of a change in public opinion towards socialism, as after all, Bernie Sanders’ plan is to make the United States into a country ruled by “democratic socialism” which could be what would put the ‘final nail in the coffin’ for the economy as it would eventually collapse. There is of course no way that the voters would allow this to happen (fingers crossed) as it has been proven repeatedly that socialism simply doesn’t
First and foremost, Trade Schools, Colleges and Universities states, “After all, more and more of today's jobs are knowledge-based or require advanced technical skills. So a better-educated workforce would help fill many of the skills gaps that prevent America's economy from growing faster.” If more people attended college then there would be more jobs to fill in America’s economy. There have been droughts in America’s economy, but with free college tuition, droughts would decrease. It would not be fair that someone who could be successful at the job would not be granted the ability to get the job because they don’t have a piece of paper with a signature on it compared to someone who does average or mediocre at the job and had the opportunity to go to college. Making college free also comes with consequences. So graduation numbers might drop, or the people who do graduate might not be as well prepared for the workforce. Also, with more people choosing to attend public colleges because of their tuition-free status, many schools might have to create wait lists or expand the ones they already have. State budgets could become strained, which might lead to cuts and decreased access to the programs that students want to take. Here is the weakness, although it benefits many students, the nation's existing
First, free college can encourage students to go to college to get a degree which leads to a high paying career. It can fulfill those students that are having a hard time financially, and fewer students will be in debt. Second, with free college, colleges will be more likely to help students that need the guidance to stay on track and get a diploma. Clayton and Bailey mention, "If we want to significantly improve educational outcomes, we need to make college more affordable so more students can enroll, and make the reforms needed to en-sure community college students can succeed in their courses, complete their program, and grad-uate within reasonable amount of time" (Clayton and Bailey). Finally, free college can help the U.S. catch up to the rest of the countries with higher education. For example, it can help the United States surpass Russia, where more than half of adults have a diploma. Frohlich explains, “More Than 53% of Russian adults between the ages of 25 and 64 had some form of higher edu-cation in 2012, more than in any other country reviewed by OECD” (Frohlich). Although free college is an attractive idea, it will leave the United States in a bigger debt which will be hard to recover from and more students will be unmotivated to
As Bernie Sanders, a presidential candidate for the 2016 presidential elections, claims he can make college free, the subject of tuition for secondary schooling has become a “hot” topic. The New York Times, on January 20th, released a “Room for Debate” titled “Should College be Free?” where many journalists such as Andrew P. Kelly and Sara Goldrick-Rab voiced their opinions on college tuition. “Just one-third of students from the bottom income quartile, who started at a community college in 2003 finished with a degree or certificate by 2009,” wrote Kelly, showing that the poorer find it hard to finish college with a degree. He believed that indigent students would likely not graduate with a degree due to college cost and because they are not motivated enough to get through six years of college. Although it is unpractical to create an educational system where college is absolutely free, creating organizations dedicated to encouraging the needy to get through
Calling a college education “free” is a contradiction because nothing in life is truly free. Someone will be responsible for paying for this education, even if it is not the person receiving it. To support this flood of hopeful college students, the American Government will have to heavily tax the working and upper classes. Taxes will have to be inflated to compensate for the price of college, and in some cases, may become outrageously high. If the upper class becomes constantly taxed, what keeps them from dropping down a class? What keeps the middle class from becoming the lower class? In an extreme situation, if the middle and upper classes were constantly taxed, there risks a problem of creating a bigger class divide. Maybe the plan to pay for college education starts out with only the rich being taxed. In America, there are roughly 324 million people. This number increases every eight seconds, so there is a constant increase of citizens. Imagine if half of that number decides to go to college. College education is free for them, but their tuition is paid for by the upper class. Now, average college tuition runs for about $9,410 for State Universities, and around $32,405 for out of state students. This amount of money, per student, is paid for by the upper class’s taxes. Taxes are raised higher and higher to pay for all these students until they cannot be raised any further. The upper
Sometimes I think about how America’s founding father’s intended to guarantee everyone a free education; not a professional education, but the basics anyone needs in to be accepted in society. Unfortunately, I think the standards have changed. College is now just as necessary as high school. Does that mean it should be free? This has been a quiet issue going around in America among our youth because they the financing of college. Lowered, yes. Free, no. College is a privilege, not a luxury. It is only mandatory to get a high school education for most basic jobs that should be able to let you survive on your own. Today in our world, parents put a huge emphasis on college and its benefits but no one is willing to lower the price or allow a full ride as in high school. Society wants us to go to school but they continue to raise the price which doesn’t make any sense.
As you can see, there are more drawbacks than benefits to free college tuition once you look past the surface of it. Like I said before, at a glance, it seems perfect, flawless. However, take a deeper look and see all of the things that would need to change in order to sustain nationwide tuition-free higher education. It is not as simple as it sounds, student debt may go down, but how many other people are we putting in debt to make up for the loss of funding going to schools through the tuition that we have
When it comes to a college education for someone, price is usually the first thing that interferes and can lead to many other problems. In the state of Tennessee, free community college has been in effect for the past few years and has been successful for them. In an article found in the Huffington Post, Snyder writes “Republican Governor Bill Haslam instituted Tennessee Promise in February 2014, making the state the first in the nation to provide free community college.” This “shows us the first state that provided free community college.” After this state acquired free community college, it became a hugely controversial topic for other states. Some people say that community college should not be free because of the rise in taxes. this is stated by trade-school. “The government would take in a lot of extra tax revenues”. Others say that all community colleges should be free because it will lower the amount of students that go in debt because of
Free higher education will help education live up to the reputation of leveling the playing field and providing opportunity to move up in society. It is something that will reward hard working kids with no debt and set them up for the future. It will allow students to focus on their school work and will eliminate the need to have to work to pay for school. This will help their success rate and help people graduate on schedule. Free education will also stop the student loan crisis that has now surpassed credit card debt. Free education is something that is very important for our people individually and as a whole. Our country will end up as a smarter, more powerful society. It is up to us as a country to take responsibility and look out for our country. We need to keep up with the country’s that are passing us in education and build a brighter
While the idea of free college is often seen as beneficial only to the wealthy, college should be free for everyone because going to college could once again be seen as a choice instead of a financial problem for many households, people could also better understand others that come from different backgrounds, and there are more
Free education can effect in the economy. If we spend billion on free college education there is opportunity cost of higher taxes or less spending in other place. Maybe, there is a greater social benefit from providing vocational training. People could become plumbers, electricians. There is often a real shortage of these skills
Many Americans today still debate whether or not out government and country should fully implement free college. Those who are opposed to this idea are concerned with quality and accountability of education for all. For those in favor of the expansion of education, free college represents one of the great hopes for a better world. Even in the poorest nations, people believe and support in the funding of the expansion of universities and other higher learning opportunities are wise investments. Being a college student, I disagree with the idea that the U.S. should implement free college for all U.S. citizens. Free college in the United States is an unrealistic dream that cannot and should not
Clearly, the merits of having free higher education outweigh the drawbacks in immeasurable ways, benefiting the individual learners, states, and the nation at large. Having education in higher education free to all would ensure that every citizen get an equal opportunity in life regardless of their social status, it would allow people to concentrate on nation-building rather than loan payment after school, it would make the nation skill-sufficient and all citizens be more productive. Most importantly, education is a basic right that everyone deserves and money should not be a hindrance, thus, education should be free for all.
Looking on the positive side, college students will no longer be thousands of dollars in debt. They will have a higher quality of life by having more money to spend on themselves. This money would also go back into the economy, as their overall spending would increase. While all students would be saving money, free higher education would actually be more beneficial to wealthy families. According to “The Case Against Free College,” there is a positive correlation between the income of parents and the likelihood to attend college. Rich students would be receiving more money than the poor (Bruenig). The families that are sending their students to college can already afford to do so. Meanwhile, the smaller populations of poorer students that decide to attend college already receive enough financial aid and government subsidies to cover the cost. People that obtain a Bachelor’s degree earn more money and therefore are able to pay off their student loans. We don’t need to provide free education to families that can already afford it. Another effect on students is that students will take longer to graduate. Having to pay for your own education is a huge motivator to aim for success in school, as most of us don’t want our money to go to waste. Without that motivation, students’ efforts will significantly decrease. At public universities around 60% of students take
Yes, I strongly believe that college education should be free for everyone because Education is a basic necessity of our society these days. Free education wouldn’t just benefit one generation or one society but it can benefit the whole nation. If a nation is educated, then it can benefit the whole country and it can get better job opportunities for its citizens because in today’s world we can see highly paid jobs are knowledge based or require advanced technical skills. So in my opinion more educated nation would help remove all those flaws which are keeping country’s economy from growing rapidly. If the education is free in college then it can help a lot of those students who got good grades in their high schools but could not get into the college because of their financial situation. This way these kind of needy students who deserves to get a good degree and basically these students are future of America but they could not get it through
"Should Higher Education Should Be Offered to All for Free?" The Premier Online Debate Website.N.p.,n.d. Web. 07 Jan. 2014.