As the old adage that I was constantly told by my parents as a mischievous teen goes “There is a time and place for everything and it is called college”. The problem surrounding today’s youth is the fact that the “everything” referred to by the former is now too often not only encompassing the mischief performed by young adults but also the unrelenting stress of affording a higher education and the mountain of debt that is smothering young Americans seeking a better future. Despite arguments that providing free college provides more benefit to rich students than poor ones and that free education would make a degree worthless, free college educations is the best tool to close the income gap plaguing this country and revive the American Dream. …show more content…
Education Planner, an online tool to help parents plan and budget to send their children to college, says,” Historically, college costs double every ten to twelve years, and the cost of college usually rises at a rate faster than inflation and family income.” With the rate of college rising faster than family income, paying for higher education becomes a burden to lower income households. Following suite with Germany, Finland, Norway and many other countries around the world, Bernie’s plan if elected is to make college tuition free at all public colleges and universities. This would make a college education attainable to those hurt most by expensive college education- the lower …show more content…
Though, I believe, that in actuality the statistics of who is going to college merely solidifies the idea that something need to be done to make educating attainable for all, and that the poorest people of this country are suffering due to the high cost of education. The Washington Post spoke to some lower-income college students to figure out what keeps them from starting college and finishing it as opposed to their higher-income peers and a re-occurring theme even when financial aid covered their tuition was stress from financial situation and not having the time due to having to work jobs to keep their families above water. Bernie’s plan would allow these lower income students to have the financial aid available for living expenses since there would no longer be a need to pay tuition with it, and this could increase their likelihood of being able to start and graduate college. Also, in Bernie’s plan the richest percent of Americans would be paying for the free tuition, so it would not be a problem and it is actually fair that they be entitled to it as
While his plan is not well defined, according to USA Today, Bernie Sanders plans to pay for “free tuition” with tax increases specifically at this time under consideration: .5% fee on stock trades, .1% fee on bonds and .005% fee on derivatives. One problem with this plan is even with
people agree with the state that Liz borrows from Thomas Jefferson, "Everybody should have an education proportional to their life,"(Addison 256). Unfortunately, the average income between rich and poor in America is not accurate, everyone supposed to become somebody in life; college gives opportunity to everyone who wants to do so, to become whatever they want, and at any age with a low cost. as much as the income level between rich and poor in America stays unbalanced; college will always be there to gives opportunity to people who want to learn, but cannot afford to attend university. Liz Addison points out an example in the article.
More than a century later, President Abraham Lincoln passed the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862 which enabled more than 70 colleges and universities to be created (Staff). The GI Bill in 1956 gave Veterans an opportunity many could not afford before. All of these instances in America’s history have made it easier for ordinary American citizens to learn more about the world they live in. There are numerous opportunities for the leaders of this country to help the issue of college tuitions rising, it is just a matter of initiative. As Bernie Sanders states in his “Public College Should Be Free” speech to the senate, “It is time to build on the progressive movement of the past.” When all younger people with the determination and the aptitude can reach their full potential, regardless of their economic or social circumstances at birth, America will have a tougher economy and a stronger democracy, a motive that goes back before Americans today can
Going to college and getting a degree is a very important factor in succeeding in the 21st century competitive world. Nonetheless, many people do not go to college because of how expensive col-lege has become and the fear of being in debt. Sometimes college does not work out for every-one. President Barack Obama has proposed a plan to make the first two years of community col-lege free to encourage people to go to college, get a degree, and make the United States the most educated country or at least catch up to the rest of the countries like Russia and Canada. Howev-er, Obama 's action of reducing the costs of community college will not significantly increase the number of students who will graduate with degrees. Instead of making college
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
When hearing the words “free” and “college” in the same sentence, that is exciting to anyone who is interested in not paying those thousands of dollars for their pursued education. However, when it comes to Obama’s free community college idea, for the first two years, many people skip over the many factors that go into this issue. Some may agree with President Obama’s plan fighting for a fair chance for all student to get a degree and not go into debt receiving an education, and others argue that community college already being inexpensive will only make the system difficult to work with. While making community college free for everyone is considerate, the students with low incomes already get the aid they need without this program and the
"Parents with incomes below $40,000 were much more likely to say they couldn 't afford college compared to those with higher incomes. The unsettling aspect of this poll is that in all likelihood, these parents ' perceptions mirror reality," says Tamara Draut, author of "Strapped”. She talks about how most middle class families can 't afford to put their children into college. The highest education they can get is a high school diploma, which we all know in this modern world it cant get you a lucrative job to maintain your whole life. Most American don 't get the chance to develop their full capabilities through higher schooling due to lack of resources like funds to enable them see their full potential. People will say that education is meant for people who can afford to go. And already the government has made schooling from pre-k to high school free for all public school, so making community colleges free will cost the state about 60 billion dollars as said by the white house spokesman Eric Schultz . Education must not be limited to only privilege people,it should be universal for anybody willing to educate themselves to make their life better and help grow Americas economy reducing
A $60 billion plan is being invested by Barack Obama for two free years of community colleges for American citizens in order to help with financial need. That means Obama is trying to get community colleges to be free to students that need extra support as they are living or growing up in an unstable house. Yet, community colleges being free would cause problems for many students that do not belong there. Money then would be given to all the students that are attending a community college, even though some of the students do not need extra support, nor want to be there in the first place. By doing research, it shows that community colleges are affordable to those that put forth an effort and universities would be shied away due to the price
For the past decade, The United States has stressed the importance of college education, to those seeking employment, and better careers. For most people, college is the logical next step in education, as it provides a working knowledge of a desired field and opens the door to many opportunities, but college has become increasingly more expensive as time goes on. Many people feel that college is no longer an option financially. Even with financial aid and scholarships, the cost of a college education can still be very taxing. This is due to massive price increase across the boards, but the main issue on most people’s minds is the debt that will be acquired from higher education.
Consequently, lower, regulated tuition will make college more accessible for those who are worse off. College should not just be limited to the wealthy. Senator Bernie Sanders once said, "Education should be a right, not a privilege. We need a revolution in the way that the United States funds higher education." (Sanders, Bernie. U.S. Capital rally. March 27, 2015) It should not matter where one lives or where they are on the social ladder. What should matter is if a student wants to open his or her mind, learn from a college
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
There is no escaping the fact that the cost of college tuition continues to rise in the United States each year. To make it worse, having a college degree is no longer an option, but a requirement in today’s society. According to data gathered by the College Board, total costs at public four-year institutions rose more rapidly between 2003-04 and 2013-14 than they did during either of the two preceding decades (Collegeboard.com). Students are pressured to continue into higher education, but yet, the increasing costs of books and tuition make us think twice. Sometimes, some of these students have to leave with their education partially finished, leaving them with crushing debts.
Higher education costs have been increasing at a rapid pace, faster than inflation for the economy as a whole, for the past fifty years. It started in the 1960’s when the federal government passed the Higher Education Act to increase the amount of people able to afford and attend college. Regardless of the Unites States Government efforts to increase the affordability of college, federal aid programs have not risen to expectations due to the ever-increasing college prices. To lower the price of college, the government needs to cut back on student financial spending to go only to the lowest income families and create tax incentives for families to start saving up on their own.
For most young Americans, college has always been preached to them as being a vital part to their success in the adult world; but as they reach this educative rite of passage many find they must take out inflated loans, work part time jobs, or even become dissuaded entirely due to the exorbitant costs of higher education. We must forsake this current antiquated system in favor of government subsidized tuition. Therefore, college education must be free because of its benefit to the economy, creation of equal opportunity, and the resolution of the student loan crisis.
For many years, higher education has been a helpful tool for those looking to have a professional career, and now, it seems that getting a degree is almost necessary. In our present day it is nearly impossible to get a job without graduating college and that is why a higher education is considered to be the most valuable investment for Americans. College is so valuable because it lowers your risk of unemployment while giving you the opportunity to have your future potential earnings increased. Many Americans don’t go to college because they can’t afford it or they fear that college just isn’t the right fit for them and others don’t’ enroll because they are lazy. These problems could possibly all be erased by making all citizens in America legally required to move on to at least a two year institution at the very minimum upon the graduation of high school. Having community college tuition-free will eliminate any financial excuses against college being required for all US citizens. Alan Bloom believes “Education is the movement of darkness to light”. Bloom is trying to convey that education can help you get through the roughest of times and to help make something of yourself. College is a place for exploration and finding out who you are and what you want to be.