Some people are smarter than others; that is a simple truth. But saying that everyone has the ability to become just as smart as everyone, well that is a bit more subjective. In a country where many people take a high school diploma for granted, most jobs are looking for people who have above a high school education. One of the major problems with bridging the gap between intelligence in the United States lies here. People want good jobs. Good jobs require degrees. Those degrees cost money. Degrees become unaffordable. A vicious circle like this is all too common in the United States of America in regards to public colleges. So the question is how can the price gap be handled, and is it feasible. At first one can assume that if the …show more content…
While it is true that the United States of America has the highest GDP, the USA is behind other countries in regards to tuition free colleges. There are a number of European countries that offer tuition free college including Finland, Iceland, Germany, and the Danish get paid roughly $900 a month for attending college. The countries with this idea are able to capitalize on the benefits that tuition free colleges prove in two ways: fiscally, and socially. A study conducted The Contemporary Economic Policy shows that community college graduates receive higher earnings (Wheeling). These earnings will increase the amount that the country is worth because now there is a population of people who have expertise in special fields. The report also indicates a decrease in the cost for health related objects, lower crime rates, and lower unemployment. If college is made tuition free, the United States of America can start paying less for all of those items. This would result in a more stable state because a more intelligent population will cost society less. Since the United States is already a top contender in the bigger areas of the world, maybe it is time they put their money where their mouth is and catch up with some of the other countries and pay the bill of the public colleges. The investment is well worth …show more content…
The paper “The Consequences of Dropping Out of High School: Joblessness and Jailing for High School Dropouts and the High Cost for Taxpayers" iterates a link between people that graduate and incarceration rates. The paper talks about a study that “found 16 to 24 year old high school drop-outs were 63% more likely to be incarcerated than those with a bachelor’s degree or higher” (Sum). So not only are more people going to become smarter, but less people are going to go to jail. If less people go to jail, that means less money that the taxpayers will have to spend to afford such things. This also means that since more people will become educated, there will be an increase in home ownership. At a debate about college education, President Emeritus of Northwestern University, Henry Bienan, explains that college will yield a lower crime rate, as well as better health for graduates (Intelligence). The benefits go on and on, and even to the point of stronger, more disciplined communities. All of this because of a higher education. Even if taxes were not cut somewhere else, if the government made it possible to pay for all tuitions, there would be far more stable and healthy communities in the United States of
Thesis Driven Essay The article titled “Even for Cashiers, College Pays Off” by David Leonhardt is an article that tackles the different reasons why skeptics and critics think spending money and time in college wasting. Despite the advantages that have been experienced by America in comparison to Europe, it does not make sense having to explain why college education for the masses is a noble and profitable venture. The reasons among which are quoted by those opposing and critics is that it is an expensive venture. This might be true but it results in self improvement which is very valuable and not quantifiable in terms of price and can result in a good job which will, in turn, result into more money.
The authors do a fantastic job of presenting these opinions fairly. The authors always present data or figures supporting college degree benefits. They also never undermine the quality or credibility of the data. However, the authors do a poor job of reacting to the opposing evidence. The authors usually react by stating that “for a given individual, the benefits [of going to college] may not outweigh the costs” (212).
However, in the article, “Why College Isn’t for Everyone”, Matthews describes a diagram taken from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Based on the diagram, the lower quartile demonstrates that students with a four year degree seemingly do not make more money than a high school graduate. While this may sound as if people should not attend college, the root cause of this problem is that individuals are not putting enough thought into their future. In other words, individuals who do not have a future plan for their career or degree is negatively affecting society. They may be moving from one job to another and sacrificing a lower pay for a job, ultimately not knowing what they want to do with their earned degree.
According to Henry Bienen, president emeritus of Northwestern University speaking as a panel member in an Intelligence Squared debate “Too Many Kids Go To College, “. . . more years of school, post-secondary, are positively correlated with earnings over one’s lifetime, and also correlated with lower rates of unemployment and shorter duration being unemployed when a higher degree is obtained. ” (8) The American middle class is rapidly shrinking. More and more people are dependent on their own earnings in order to just be able to meet their expenses and survive. They have no family that is able to support them if they don’t make it on their own.
All around the United States, there are people who probably never got the chance to go to college, not because they didn’t want to or weren’t motivated enough, but instead they couldn’t afford to go. In his book, The World Is Flat, Thomas L. Friedman talks about globalization, which means that the world is being flattened. What this means is countries are now able to compete with each other. One solution that would help people in a flattening world is free community college for two years. A majority of people have given up on the idea of college simply because it’s too expensive.
Education is widely regarded as a key factor in the economic and social development of a country. With the extremely rapid development of the society, in order to enhance their competitiveness, increasing young people choose to accept higher education. Yet, there are different attitudes about whether students should pay or not. Some people regard education as a basic right, which should therefore be provided free, while others think the individual student should have to shoulder some of the costs of his or her education. According to Matt Bruenig’s Dissent article “The Case Against Free College: Free college is paid for by the working class people who don 't attend”, Bruenig against the free college because it seems more fair and benefit to
In the last fifty years the world has gone under many changes but one that is really shocking is the escalating prices of colleges. Since 1985, the price tag in American colleges and universities has
For those who have graduated from high school and will continue with their higher education, many if not all of these students will have to pay out of pocket for college. Most of students think that if they graduate from college or a four-year university they will have a chance to work in the professional field rather than work for minimum wage. It is an opportunity for anyone, particularly those who have low wages, to earn a degree and make more money. In the article “Expanding Community College Access” from The New York Times, President Obama states that tuition for community college should be free, because the American workforce is not educated enough for the global and national workplace. The presiding evidence and statements from experts
The financial burdens that college leaves with the families and students needs to be addressed as student loans keep racking up over time. The cost of tuition for colleges has risen drastically over the years and has bounded students to only one or two college choices to choose from and at some points tearing away the opportunity to go to their dream college. However, one reason college has driven up in price is because the value it brings with it’s degrees, but it should not limit those who can not afford the worthy degree. College should be cheaper as it will ease financial burdens and broaden the choices of those wanting to attend
Many people dream of a life filled with riches, but that dream is hard to obtain without a college degree. It is somewhat ironic how people dream of being a successful student and going to college but the cost of tuition turns that dream into a horrible nightmare. It is not a shock to most people when they that college tuition is expensive, but in the past few years it has increased to an all-time high. Lower and middle class students have now begun to realize that college tuition is holding them away from their dreams. Even though college tuition could provide opportunities for job creation and economic growth, tuition is not affordable for the average American household which in effect, prohibits students from taking opportunities like going to college in the first place.
With free tuition there will be more students and they will be able to get the education they want. People do not seem to understand that not everyone is as rich or as wealthy as them! People should think more about poor people who cannot afford college tuition fees and what kind of education they can get with the small amounts of money they are
France, Brazil, Argentina, Sri Lanka, and Cuba along with dozens of other countries offer free four-year colleges to their citizens. So why do Americans pay an average of thirty seven thousand dollars just for college tuitions? The price we pay for education is excessive, and the average cost continues to increase every year. The four years of education from colleges and universities following high school should be free in the United States. Though there are some side effects to having free college, such as higher taxes, the positive impacts that they can provide greatly exceed the negative.
Although a degree is not essential for those looking to work in the more hands on fields of work, such being a plumber or an electrician, degree holders can look to not only make more, but to also fulfill more brain satisfying tasks in more intellectual fields of work. Even with that in consideration, a degree can help those that work in fields where holding a degree is not commonplace. “Construction workers, police officers, retail salespeople and secretaries, among others, make significantly more with a degree than without one.” (Leonhardt)
Free college tuition should be given to students in order for them to focus on their studies and it will help them become more successful. There has been many arguments over this issue. A college education is basically a need now a days because although not many jobs require a college degree good jobs demand them. Many students already struggle with money due to the fact that they do not come from a privileged family so many opportunities don’t apply to them and in most cases they don’t even bother because they know they won’t be able to afford college and many don’t try. Free college tuition should be considered and enforced due to college being very expensive and most students don’t meet the requirements for loans or qualify for financial aid.
Did you know that Forty-one percent of four-year college students did not graduate within six years? College students around the country are in insane amount of debts and have no way to get rid of it and that’s a reason many do not graduate. Due to the rise in costs to attend college there has been discussions about free education, but how the debt could have been minimized and the effects on economy have not been brought up. College education should not be offered for free to all students because of the missed opportunities and unintended costs of free education are very expensive. Students don’t take advantage of the opportunities they are provided in high school, like dual-enrollment, that could save them time and money in college.