Bernie Sanders Free College Policy

One of the more interesting candidates in the current presidential race is democratic-socialist Bernie Sanders. The majority of his supporters are attracted to his free college policy. Students in high school and college see Bernie as the obvious choice because of tuition they will be exempt of. People who are voting in his favor based on this policy, however, fail to realize the possible repercussions from such radical changes to our economic system.

The lower economic class is already offered free college through federal and state grants. The California Student Aid Commission gives everyone an opportunity to receive a grant; students simply have to sign up for free and list their tax information. After the student's’ financial information

According to Business Insider, the largest business news site on the web, Germany offers free college to all of its citizens but their income tax lies at fifty percent. That is twenty-three percent more than American income tax! Taxpayers are not ready for that change. What about the taxpayers who didn't go to college? Why burden them with higher taxes? My parents did not go to college, but they make enough to be taxed to pay for the students who do attend college. Would it be fair to tax them? Approximately sixty-nine percent of students after high school plan on attending college, according to Wade K. Jarrell, an observer of the free college debate. That leaves thirty percent of the population being taxed unfairly. Another issue that students opting for free college do not realize is that they will have to pay taxes, too. So, if the free college policy passes like it did in Germany these students would pay an extra twenty percent income tax the rest of their lives. Someone that makes sixty thousand dollars on paper would only be receiving thirty thousand because of the taxes free college would inflict. Bernie Sanders is promising equality with free college, but is proposing unfair taxes on the

Most students will attack colleges as being too greedy, but the colleges may have a method to their madness. With the growing tuition comes the almost simultaneous growing average GPA for college students. Gradeinflation.com has logged the average GPA of college students of over one-hundred colleges, including well known universities such as Stanford and Duke, from 1920 to 2010. The data shows an increased GPA of one point since 1960. That is a whole letter grade in fifty years. With growing intellect comes growing responsibility for the college to provide a prestigious education for its students. This growing tuition arises from a need for higher level instructors and not for greater profit. In the University of North Carolina system, about seventy-five percent of a student's tuition goes to professors and instruction, and the remainder is distributed among school facilities. Tuition is reasonable, it is distributed to support a student's academic life in every aspect. Why should a taxpayer pay for the quality of a student's education?

Although many students are angry with rising college costs and are in favor of some kind of change, imposing a federal mandate requiring free public college will not solve the core of the issue. Everyone can apply for federal grants to support their education as well; it is a fair process, unlike the taxes free college would put on the citizens.