The Argument For Tuition-Free College

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We Need Free Tuition, Yes we do, How about you? In the article “The Argument for Tuition-Free college”, by American politician and lawyer Keith Ellison, he argues why free tuition is not only necessary but could be beneficial in the long run. Ellison discredits the financial aid system, as well as pointing out the flaws in the economy when it comes to jobs for in lower income degrees. All while , underlining the corruption of the government when it comes to where they spend America’s money.He is speaking directly to the American government, in order to make them see the to fix the high education system, so that higher education is achievable. Keith Ellison posted this on the American Prospect, a political magazine, while he was the representative …show more content…

The author highlights the drastic change in college tuition by saying tuition for “ a four year college has increased by 1,222 percent since 1978” (Ellison). It shows, the price these days a much higher than nearly forty years ago, which is a massive change overtime. According to the National Center for Education Statistics the average cost of college tuition for instate students was two thousand dollars, for a four year college that would be eight thousand dollars. Taking the stats brought forth from Ellison, increasing that price by “1,222 percent” means that college students are now paying $100,000 for a four year instate college. Ellison does this to show that “college is more expensive today than any point in U.S. history.” Therefore, he argues that financial aid does not even put a dent in this cost, and in order to fix this there must be some sort of “acknowledging the student loan debt crisis”(Ellison). He focuses on the debt crisis to show that America needs help because even when students get out of college they are piled up with debt and can not prosper because they are being dragged down by student loans, and if free tuition happened then students will not come out of college in debt and will be able to get …show more content…

Ellison starts off by saying “once, a degree used to mean a brighter future for college graduates, access to the middle class, and economic stability” (Ellison). This highlighting the hopes that come with going to college and getting that degree, even if you do have student debt, but then he immediately highlights the hardship that comes with the college these days. The author states that “student loan debt increases inequality and makes it harder for low-income graduates” to “to buy a house, open a business, and start a family”(Ellison). The economy is going up by any means and it has no room for a middle class because there is so much debt.College graduates coming out of college are having even more of a hard time supporting themselves after college rather than while in it. Money is the basis of living , even people with lower income degrees could support themselves before the cost of tuition went up drastically. However, when you add student loans in the mix , debt over takes the standard of living. Ellison has heavy focus on this because he wants to highlight a big reason why free tuition can be beneficial for people in the long run. He believes if free tuition was put in place , every college graduate, lower income or higher income, will be able to live within their