In the United States, free public education is offered to children and young adults regardless of income, from kindergarten to high school. In college, however, tuition fees are not free. Although the federal government offer grants to eligible students, not everyone gets this opportunity. So, should community college education be tuition free? Who would benefit from this plan? President Barack Obama has proposed community college education to be free for “responsible students”. Responsible students are those who strive to succeed in college and maintain good grades despite financial difficulties. The President’s proposal, if approved by the Congress, could help millions of people, especially those who have a moderate income as well as the …show more content…
It could help people move up the ladder in the workforce and be globally competitive. President Obama’s proposal as posted by the Office of the Press Secretary at the White House stated that, “Americans need more knowledge and skills to meet the demands of a growing global economy without having to take on decades of debt before they even embark on their career”. Furthermore, the President’s proposal has estimated that by 2020, companies would require qualified workers to have a bachelor’s degree and some would be required to have at least an associate’s degree which could not only be beneficial to the workforce but also to the economy. As Lydia O’Connor pointed out insightfully in her post on the Huffington Post, “A recent analysis found that a 2 percent increase in people with an associate’s degree and a 1 percent increase in people with a bachelor’s degree would result in $20 billion in additional economic input, $1.2 billion in additional state and local tax revenues every year and 174,000 new jobs”. Moreover, according to the article by the New York Times Editorial Board, “The federal government would cover three-quarters of the average cost of community college for those students, and states that choose to participate would cover the remainder. If all states participate, the administration estimates, the program could save each full-time student an average of $3,800 a