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Why do people want to believe Bernie Sanders when he says college will be free?
There are so many different opinions on all the 2016 Presidential Candidates. Some voters love Donald Trump, others despise him. Some think Bernie Sanders is the greatest man to walk the earth, others think differently. Many college students want Bernie Sanders mainly because of the fact he claims he will make college “free”. I fully understand why people, mainly college students, want to believe Bernie Sanders when he says college will be free, however, I will be proving why this is just not possible.
College being free really would be amazing and is a good idea for those who can not afford to go. A huge cause of stress for young people is college and the financial aspect of it. If college were to be free, it would make the nation stronger by having more people who have a higher level of education. I understand how Bernie Sanders wants to do this for families who are not wealthy and cannot afford college, however, not everything in life is fair or free.
If everyone got a four year bachelor’s degree than there would be more competition and the same amount of people competing for the same job. I think this also would lead more people to go to graduate school, causing even more debt for students. It is important to have a four year degree, to help our economy, but there are so many jobs in the United States that do not require a four year degree and those jobs are much needed such as plumbers, carpenters, or auto repair men.
Bernie Sanders says how our economy is strong and to continue to be strong we need an educated workforce in the world and that college should be free to help with this. There are thousands of universities and colleges in the United States and currently, college is pretty expensive. I personally know lots of people who cannot afford it and are still going by working hard and taking out loans. The fact that college is expensive does not stop the majority of seniors in high school from going to college. A great way in which Bernie Sanders talks about making college affordable are work study reforms. This is a great idea because it teaches students that they have to pay for college by working for it. It is also a good life lesson because everything you want in life, you need to work towards it. You can not sit back and expect people to give things to you. Work study reforms will allow students to become more motivated to work their way through college. Work study reforms are needed because unlike the baby boomer generation, inflation has risen and people no longer can afford college by only having a minimum wage job.
I understand what Bernie Sanders is saying on how baby boomers were able to work their way through college from a minimum wage job and now with inflation that is just not possible for a college student to do. This is a big reason he wants to make college free and I understand that. Bernie Sanders also wrote about how the cause of skyrocketing tuition bills has to do with the fact that the government and private lenders are granting students loans. This gives students a way to pay. Without all these loans, colleges and universities would be forced to lower the tuition to avoid losing enrollment. They should stop giving out so many loans so colleges will have to be cheaper because making it free will just not work without forcing those who are wealthy to pay.
The article I read called “Bernie Sanders on Education” states how those who go to college make an average of $21,100 more a year than the person with just a high school degree. This can be argued that this is a great reason for college to be free for students, so they will be able to contribute more to society. However, I think differently. I think that if you want to go to college to make $21,100 more on average a year then you should definitely go. With that extra $21,100 a year you are making, you will be able to pay off your students loans and after that, make more money as a result of college.
To go off on how nothing is free and college will not actually be “free”, it will cost about $70 billion a year for students to go to undergraduate school. The government would provide 67% of the cost and states will need to provide 33%. Now, currently, the government and individual states certainly do not have this extra money every year so how will they obtain this extra money? Increasing taxes. Taxes will have to be tremendously increased to cover just tuition and fees for students to go to college, never mind the expensive room and board students wanting to go to college for “free” will still need to pay for.
The tax that will be imposed if this happens is called a robin hood tax. This tax will be focused on Wall Street to tax the successful businessmen and women who work hard for their money. This will make it possible for college to be free however, I highly doubt the successful people of America will agree to vote for this. It is their money and they should not have to pay for other children’s education.
In conclusion, if you want to go to college, this is great and you definitely should. However, you can not rely on others to pay for your college. High school seniors that plan on attending college need to take responsibility and find a way to pay for it. College students and many American citizens want to believe that Bernie Sanders can make college free to improve our economy and to decrease the burden college poses on many families, however, it just is not possible. Nothing in this world is free. Hard work and determination is how this country was made great in the first place. We need to get back to our roots and make America the best country on Earth as it once was.
Works Cited
“Bernie Sanders on Education.” FeelTheBernorg. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
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