In the midst of rising tuition costs and a competitive job marketplace following graduation, people now insist that college should be “tuition-free.” The most notable proponent of this idea has been Senator Bernie Sanders who has said that "Every person in this country who has the desire and ability should be able to get all the education they need regardless of the income of their family." I admit it would be wonderful if a greater number of United States citizens had a higher level of education. However, as good as this may sound in theory, Sanders proposal fails to be practical. In fact, 20 out of 22 economists surveyed by NPR were against Sanders’s proposal.
Sanders first fails to tell us that the reason that college is “free” in Germany, Scandinavia, and other countries is that citizens of those countries pay for it through much higher tax rates for the middle class than in the United States. In reality, promise of free tuition is really just the promise to place the financial costs of college education on American citizens. The costs for Sanders’s proposal are estimated at around $70 billion per year. Many of the potential beneficiaries in this policy would be students whose parents would be able to afford college, without other U.S. taxpayer funds, which would be very inefficient. In addition, Federal Pell Grants can cover the bulk of community college education for lower-income students.
Another thing that countries with free tuition do is force students to choose a track at a young age. For example, in Finland, students have to pick a track at age 16. This track can be either academic or vocational. Many students either choose vocational, or fail to meet the requirements to enter the academic track, so not every kid is guaranteed a college education. American schools do not have this requirement, nor would they if Sander’s proposals were implemented.
Sander’s plan fails to look at a major reason why a college degree may not be worth what it used to be worth, and that could be the watering down of high school education in the United States. The average high school graduate made $16.20 per hour in 2013 compared to the $17.26 per hour average of 1979. This tells us that high school diplomas are worth less than they used to be, and that the current system of public education in the United States is watered down and fails to meet the demands of businesses. So maybe instead of saying that everyone should or can go to college, we should work on fixing our high school education. If we make it “free” to go to college, then a college education becomes what a high school currently is -- inadequate. If there is an inflated amount of college graduates, then a college degree is worth less than previously as well.
Overall, these proposals for free college have good intentions, but fail to note the enormous costs on the United States taxpayer. The increased taxes that would be needed to cover the $70 billion per costs of Sanders’s policy in particular would go to many students whose parents wouldn’t need the financial help. Rather than watering down the public college education in the United States and burdening taxpayers, the U.S. should focus on improving its high-school public education system to fit the demands of today so that a high-school degree can increase its value.