Should We Have A College Degree Free?

1984 Words4 Pages

A good education is one of the most important things an individual can pursue. We have made K-12 education free because it is good for the individual and for society. The same is true for higher education. As several recent studies have underscored, a college degree is a pathway to a more stable life, financially and otherwise, even for students who struggled in high school. There are many aspects of life that a complete education will affect a person. Having a high education means a well-paying job, better opportunities, and a better life. To be able to have that life, a college degree is necessary. A college education has become a necessity in today’s society. Students throughout the country are concentrating on their academics and are seeking …show more content…

Thus, many students, teachers, and people wonder if free college tuition should be granted.Other studies show that there is no better short-term or long-term investment for the rest of society than higher education. For example, one study shows that new spending on public colleges, which would be sparked by an influx of more students, produces more economic activity than a similar-sized tax cut, or similar spending on roads and bridges. And, over their lives, college graduates smokeless, commit fewer crimes, draw less on social welfare programs, and generate more taxes. I believe free college tuition should be provided and funded by the U.S. government because it will help students focus on their studies, encourage them to work harder in school, and give them the opportunities that they …show more content…

. . and yet I don’t care. I do not care if free college won’t solve inequality. As an isolated policy, I know that it won’t. I don’t care that it will likely only benefit the high achievers among the statistically unprivileged—those with above-average test scores, know-how, or financial means compared to their cohort. Despite these problems, today’s debate about free college tuition does something extremely valuable. It reintroduces the concept of public good to higher education discourse—a concept that fifty years of individuation, efficiency fetishes, and a rightward drift in politics have nearly pummeled out of higher education altogether. We no longer have a way to talk about public education as a collective good because even we defenders have adopted the language of competition. President Obama justified his free community college plan on the grounds that “Every American . . . should be able to earn the skills and education necessary to compete and win in the twenty-first-century economy.” Meanwhile, for-profit boosters claim that their institutions allow “greater access” to college for the public. But access to what kind of education? Those of us who believe in viable, affordable higher ed need a different kind of language. You cannot organize for what you cannot

Open Document