essay #1

If the United States Government paid for all citizens’ first two years of higher education, would the outcome to society be worth the investment? Some people believe that giving all Americans equal opportunity to attend college and receive a degree would advance today’s society. There are good programs in place today that allow for lower income families to obtain financial aid. Adding additional strain on the United States tax system, when good financial aid programs are already in place today, has more disadvantages than advantages. Thus, the U.S. Government should not pay for two years of college tuition for every citizen who graduates from an American high school. An associate degree would become common in society, and essentially insignificant. There would be an added burden on taxpayers for tuition if the government were to pay for every citizen’s first two years of college. In addition, extra taxation would be needed to help build the necessary infrastructure on college campuses to manage the increased growth.

As an abundance of people begin to attend universities, a degree begins to lose its significance. An associate degree would begin to become the protocol for every person going through the public school system in America. Instead of the public school ending at the twelfth grade, it would continue through sophomore year of college. Like a high school diploma, an associate degree would become common and provided to everyone. According to Cusumano, “free sends a signal to the world that what you are offering costs little and may not be worth paying for.”(27). Going to college would become a commonality, and people would begin to find no reason to pay expensive tuition for upper level classes for something provided fre...

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...d for low-income citizens and possible cuts to other beneficial programs. Finally, the government becoming involved in funding additional higher education programs would force the government to pay for infrastructure that they simply cannot afford. The government and the American people should not have the responsibility of sending every citizen to college. College should be a personal choice, and if a person truly wants an education the burden of paying or seeking assistance from existing programs, should fall on them.

Works Cited

Cusumano, Michael A. "Are The Costs Of 'Free' Too High In Online Education?." Communications Of The ACM 56.4 (2013): 26-29. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 July 2013.

Post, Kyle. "Higher Education Tax In Centives: Why Current Reform Is Necessary." Southern Law Journal 23.1 (2013): 73-98. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 July 2013.