BAD THINGS FREE FOR FREE
BAD THINGS FREE FREE

That makes sense to some, but IвЂ™d ask: Is more higher education the only way to get an educated and skilled workforce? Of course, if youвЂ™re talking about some jobs, that may be the answer. The solution, weвЂ™re told, is to get more people into school and produce more college graduates. If something is valuable, shouldnвЂ™t we be willing to pay for it? So how can we say it has value, yet seek to give it away?ДЄnd what about the notion the United States does not have enough educated and skilled people to fill all the positions of the new economy? Some workforce analysts assert that by 2020 two in three jobs will require some higher education to perform. Some elements of the current discussion defy logic. The prominence of these proposals certainly warrants a closer look.ДЇor starters, we should examine the assumptions underlying this proposal.

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If youвЂ™re a young person, a college student or the parent of a soon-to-be college student, free tuition might sound like a great idea. We need to make it easier for students to access a college education вЂ“ or so the argument goes. These advocates claim college costs and crushing student debt are leading to a shortage of skilled, educated talent, jeopardizing our economic future and making us unable to compete in a global marketplace. So what are we to make of these proposals? Advocates claim the United States is simply not educating enough students to maintain our economy and standard of living.

BAD THINGS FREE FOR FREE

Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have offered proposals for free college and debt-free college respectively. Political candidates are also entering the discussion. Earlier this month, The New York Times ran an opinion piece by Stephanie Saul that advocated free tuition at Harvard to help fuel diversity. Last month, The Chronicle of Higher Education ran вЂњ Nobody Should Have to Pay to Go to College,вЂќ by Kenneth W. While the proposal stalled, it did help to ignite a nationwide discussion. President ObamaвЂ™s January 2015 proposal to make the first two years of community college free spawned much of this discussion.

If college becomes free for students, colleges will attract more young people who are not suited for college and more students will major in fields with little or no market value.ДЄnyone watching the higher education landscape these days canвЂ™t help but note the proliferation of articles calling for free tuition.

If a college education has value, why give it away?.

ItвЂ™s simply a matter of who pays the costs. Calling something free doesnвЂ™t make it free.

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