Free Tuition in The United States
College Debt in the United States is at nightmare proportions. At my university, Florida Gulf Coast University, a student not living with his or her parents is paying an estimated $20,390 for the 2017–2018 school year.
I have countless friends and classmates who work two or even three jobs just to keep their heads above water throughout college. At the same time, they are balancing a full semester’s worth of classes. According to the National Survey of Student Engagement’s findings, the average student spends about 17 hours per week preparing for classes.
This includes assigned readings, homework, and research done outside of the classroom. These students are also attempting to work full-time in order not to crumble under the weight of their debt.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, since 1978, the inflation rate of everything has skyrocketed. Inflation is the rate at which the general prices of goods and services rise while the purchasing power of the used currency is diminished.
If these costs continue to go up but the value of the money used to pay for these things is decreasing then how are students supposed to get by?
The whole point of a college education is to earn a degree that will get the graduate a job in the chosen field in which he or she makes enough money to sustain a proper life. This job should allow them to save for the future and eventually retirement. It seems rather difficult to have a job that pays at least $30,000 a year without a college education.
According to CNBC, a college graduate in the U.S walked away with $37, 172 worth of debt in 2016.
The cost of a college education in the U.S. seems to outweigh the benefits of having a degree considering so many students are in debt when they graduate.
A major flaw in the states seems to be that education is considered a luxury in modern times.
As our society gets wealthier, we are willing to pay more for “luxurious” goods and in turn, the prices of things we consider luxuries go up.
Education is not a luxury.
Education is something every person from every walk of life should be able to attain without breaking their backs and accumulating massive amounts of debt that will haunt them for years, if not decades, after graduation.
Our future leaders, such as doctors, nurses, biologists and journalists, are all being overcharged to become these leaders. Where does this leave any room for motivation to even get started with becoming a leader?
Why should students pay to become something that the nation will require in five or 10 years anyways?
It is understandable that colleges need money in order to operate and continue their educating process but there seems to be a fundamental issue at the root of all of this. We as a nation need to come together in order to figure out what exactly is wrong at the base of this educational tree.
The fundamental way to receive and “pay” for education needs to be altered drastically. The sooner the better. At our current rate, we will not have anyone but the children of the already wealthy one percent attending college.
For example, look at Finland, Germany, or Ireland. Attending college in these countries is completely tuition-free. The annual per capita income in these countries ranges from $41,000 to $61,00, which is close to the United States’ average of $57,466, according to data from World Bank Group.
On top of that, taxes in these three European countries are much higher than here in the United States. Germany has an average tax rate for single and average-earning adults at 40% while the United States sits at around 23% for the same kind of population.
So how is education still so expensive in our land of the brave?
Everyone needs to be given an equal and fair chance to make something of themselves in the United States. We live in the land of opportunity so let’s give that opportunity to every individual and make education free for all citizens that want to educate themselves past a high-school level.
