State Colleges and Universities Free “It is more affordable than most people think, but if they don’t know that, that doesn’t help us, if we can go to people and say this is totally free, that gets their attention.”(Pena). Some people may argue that tuition and fees are only part of the cost of attendance, there is an opportunity cost, because they are giving up jobs and there are other expenses. State colleges should be free to attend because it gives more people an education. The first reason state college should be free because it would decrease student loan debt. Having student loan debt coming out of college is very stressful, it is hard to make payments on time, and sometimes they take money out of someone’s paycheck if he defaults on them. Student loan debt is out-of-control now currently standing at one point two trillion. “The proposed legislation contains other provisions as well: that student-loan debt would be reduced and that tenured or tenure-track faculty provides 75 percent of the instruction in colleges and universities receiving funds.”(Christ). A college degree increases …show more content…
Carol Christ in the Berkeley Blog says “ the whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people, and must be willing to bear the expenses of it.” (Christ). The proposed tax would provide two thirds of the cost; the states would need to come up with the remaining third. This is the purpose of pell grants and financial aid, it can make college free or almost free. More than sixty-five percent receive some form of financial aid. While the Tennessee proposal is correct in signaling the importance of increasing education levels. It distracts from more fundamental reform. “Retention and completion rates at California’s community colleges which have costs the nation’s lowest published tuition.”(Pethokoukis). The problem is not how much students pay. It is how much education