Change Your World Week Winter 2021 (Archived)

The problem is college should be free because not everyone can afford it. Over 44 million Americans have student debt, and it isn’t something that is in our economy. Student loan debt has increased over 130 percent since 2008 which is just insane and should not be a thing.

What government action can be taken to address the issue?

Kahn the director of education, jobs, and worker power at the Roosevelt Institute said: “If ever there was a moment, it is now for the federal government to play a role in creating a more centralized set of online courses. A key component of the system for Kahn, who has advocated for a progressive free college program, is that it would lower the cost of a degree. The government would offer the courses for free, and colleges would be required to accept the credits if they wanted to receive federal financial aid — an important source of revenue for most schools.  “Part of what COVID has shown is that online education is possible and can reach a lot of people,”

Everyone should care about this issue because whether you are young and preparing to go to college or have kids who will attend college in the future should be important to you. Everyone deserves to get an opportunity to go to college no matter their standing. Jamie Merisotis, President and CEO of the Lumina Foundation, stated, “A dramatic increase in the number of Americans with college credentials is essential for our economic, social, and cultural development as a country .”

On the other side, tuition-free college is not free college and students will still have large debts. It is said that student tuition is only one-fifth of what the average college students’ expenses are. On top of that taxpayers would spend billions to subsidize tuition, while other college costs remained high. Jack A. Chambless, Economics Professor at Valencia College, said that with a free college program, “Potentially millions of young people who have no business attending college would waste their time — and taxpayer dollars — seeking degrees they will not obtain. Free tuition would dupe young people into a sense of belonging, only to find that their work ethic, intelligence, and aptitude are not up to the rigors of advanced education.

You can take action now by using the link below and signing a petition that could put this issue on notice.