The costs of college education have risen significantly over the past 50 years and continue to climb at a rate that stands as a looming threat to the future of college education. The most recent presidential election brought about a new round of discussion over the possibility of free state college tuition. President Barack Obama first mentioned the idea in 2015 and conflicting opinions have arisen surrounding the subject ever since. Many people think that free state college education would enable more Americans to receive and then use an education at a greater level than in years past. Others argue that there would be many more disadvantages than benefits to free state college education. Providing free state college education to all citizens
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When running for the democratic presidential election, Bernie Sanders presented a plan proposing a $700 billion budget to waive all tuition fees for any student wishing to attend a public university. Similarly, Hillary Clinton, while running in the presidential election, proposed a budget of $350 billion to support a free community college education to any prospective student. Hillary also worked to promote work-study programs for low-income students at public universities (Berke). The two propositions spend billions of dollars on education, but where does this money come from? With the debt that the U.S.A currently holds, the only feasible avenue for this additional budget would be taxpayer dollars, added onto the large percentage already withheld from each taxpayer’s paycheck. Both plans would reduce costs of education and provide free college education. Nevertheless, nothing is truly free. Tuition costs would rest on the shoulders of working Americans rather than the students attending classes, some of which do not even demonstrate a need for financial …show more content…
As Neal McCluskey, a director at the Cato’s Center for Educational Freedom pointed out in The Federalist, many of the jobs with expected job growth in the next ten years do not require any college degree. “Of the 30 occupations that the U.S. Department of Labor projects to see the greatest total growth by 2022, only 10 typically need some sort of postsecondary education, and several of those require less than an associate’s degree. Most of the new jobs will require a high school diploma or less...” (Pullman). A degree too easily earned will leave other skilled jobs wide open and the degrees being earned at state colleges will obtain a lesser value than earlier years, lessening the integrity found in the college education system. Therefore, if the integrity of the state college education is impaired with the price of tuition no longer being paid by the student, national financial security and the future generations of the workforce are at risk for a rude
When running for the democratic presidential election, Bernie Sanders presented a plan proposing a $700 billion budget to waive all tuition fees for any student wishing to attend a public university. Similarly, Hillary Clinton, while running in the presidential election, proposed a budget of $350 billion to support a free community college education to any prospective student. Hillary also worked to promote work-study programs for low-income students at public universities (Berke). The two propositions spend billions of dollars on education, but where does this money come from? With the debt that the U.S.A currently holds, the only feasible avenue for this additional budget would be taxpayer dollars, added onto the large percentage already withheld from each taxpayer’s paycheck. Both plans would reduce costs of education and provide free college education. Nevertheless, nothing is truly free. Tuition costs would rest on the shoulders of working Americans rather than the students attending classes, some of which do not even demonstrate a need for financial …show more content…
As Neal McCluskey, a director at the Cato’s Center for Educational Freedom pointed out in The Federalist, many of the jobs with expected job growth in the next ten years do not require any college degree. “Of the 30 occupations that the U.S. Department of Labor projects to see the greatest total growth by 2022, only 10 typically need some sort of postsecondary education, and several of those require less than an associate’s degree. Most of the new jobs will require a high school diploma or less...” (Pullman). A degree too easily earned will leave other skilled jobs wide open and the degrees being earned at state colleges will obtain a lesser value than earlier years, lessening the integrity found in the college education system. Therefore, if the integrity of the state college education is impaired with the price of tuition no longer being paid by the student, national financial security and the future generations of the workforce are at risk for a rude