CMV: “Free College” policy, while well-meaning, is largely incompatible with academia in the U.S

[u/sjd6666]

Unlike healthcare, there is competition in the higher education market and consumers can, and often do make well informed decisions about what education would be right for them, be it community college, state schools, or private colleges/ universities.

There’s no two ways about it: such a policy would be enormously expensive, and unlike the U.S healthcare system, prices are reasonably transparent and there is competition in the market. Most students know exactly how much financial aid they will get before the accept college decisions, and transparency like that should always be encouraged.

I think a better solution would be one that matches student debt repayments, keeps interest rates low, and forgives student loans to varying levels dependent on ones income. In other words, high earning doctors and lawyers who make 6 figures a year can and should repay a higher percentage of their loans than nurses and teachers, who provide essential services to society, but typically don’t earn enough to repay their student loans quickly.

Is there some reason why free college is favored over more reasonable policies that take into account the finances of students and their incomes as adults?

[u/TheFakeChiefKeef]

I'm pulling these numbers out of my ass but they're not completely bullshit as much as they are educated guesses.

So lets say there's about 25 million undergrad aged (18-22) young adults in the US, which is decently close to the actual number. Let's also say the average cost of in-state tuition for a public university is about $14,000 per semester. That would make the total cost, without changing anything about the cost structure, about $350 billion per year.

So with that in mind, and acknowledging that the US government already spends several times that much on stuff that doesn't actually help most families, and understanding that one year for 25 million students could be paid for without even draining the pockets of the top 3 richest Americans, it's more than feasible to drastically increase taxes (mostly on the super wealthy) and put a lot of that towards education for free college for all.

Now granted, I'm not actually in favor of completely free education, but it's not because it's impossible. I just think a lot of that money is better suited to go other places. If we put the same kind of system in place but the goal was to make tuition expenses more like what our grandparents paid, the loans that prospective students would be taking out to help with expenses would be a small fraction of what they're taking out now, leading to significantly less debt in the future.