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Poll: Should everyone be able to attend college for free?

Should everyone be able to attend college for free?


  • Total voters
    59
I'd be in favor of free community college.
 
I vote "no". I do believe in charity and in safety nets for the most vulnerable, but forcing citizens to pay for someone else's college education is, in my view, way too much.
Currently the drop out rate for college is 40%. That's very high to ask people to pay for someone else's college when almost half will drop out. There are numerous opportunities for scholarship and low interest loans for those who want a college education without having to force US taxpayers to cover the cost for someone unwilling to do it for themselves.
 
Maybe a need for some government regulation of school costs?
 
When a business hires someone with a college degree who has an unpaid student loan, then the business should be made responsible for repaying the loan by deducting it from the employees pay check over time.

Why should 18 year olds have to pay to train themselves for the profit of the non working investor class. Its immoral.
 
Why should 18 year olds have to pay to train themselves for the profit of the non working investor class. Its immoral.
Public libraries are free.
 
US public education does not adequately prepare US children for the current global economy.

A high school education was sufficient when most people could expect to get a job at the local manufacturing facility. That is no longer reality.

We need MORE individuals with higher levels of education to have a prosperous society in the future. Be that education in skilled trades or with degrees/advanced degrees.
 
I did, no one has to pay for an education.

No you did not. Good grief, your post shows why a college degree no matter the subject is so important. It teaches critical thinking, logic.
My question delt with morality, ethics.
 
Because we as a society all benefit when people are more educated. Why should need to pay for the job skills that businesses demand. If they want those skills then they pay the cost for the potential employees to earn them. People with higher education earn more, so they have more disposable money to spend, so they are consumers.
I am also for: Yes!
 
No you did not. Good grief, your post shows why a college degree no matter the subject is so important. It teaches critical thinking, logic.
My question delt with morality, ethics.
My post simply showed where knowledge can be accessed at no cost.
 
What do you believe is the cause of high tuition?
The level of public funding for higher education is a fraction of what it was 30-50 years ago. Republicans don't want educated thinking citizens because they don't support conservatives policies that aren't sustainable and only benefit a very small section of society.
I am also for: Yes!
Well, that just damn progressive of Deutscheland or would you prefer Allemagne?

Germany is just about the size of Montana in geographic terms, but this Western European country — birthplace of intellectual greats like Immanuel Kant and Friedrich Nietzsche — is full of academic opportunities. Germany boasts some 450 institutions of higher education, hundreds more than neighboring countries.



Around half of all German universities are public, and German public schools waive student tuition fees. In the last decade, the country extended free college to all students. In 2014, Germany officially eliminated tuition for most bachelor's and many master's degree students, regardless of country of origin.

 
Well, that just damn progressive of Deutscheland or would you prefer Allemagne?
Nice question! :)

Surely you know that there are about 20 or more different names for "Germany" in different languages.
In my own Alemannic dialect this is: "Ditschlond!"
 
There's a number of issues here: 1. 'free' isn't free rather the costs is just passed on to the taxpayers. 2. 20% of students already pay nothing. They have a free scholarship thanks to the other 80% who pay through their noses. 3. If you're one of the 80% that currently pay for you education then either you're funding it yourself through a combination of loans, working, money from parents, etc. This provide motivation for you to get a marketable degree so you can make some of this money back and get a return on your investment. Also part of that assessment is one must take a realistic at oneself to see if you're intelligent and sufficiently motivated to actually finish and get the degree. It takes a lot of work and it's not for everyone. IMHO 'free' college is a mistake becuase it messes up the current mechanisms in place and we will end up with less students finishing college rather than more of them.
 
Yes, for the same reason high schools are.

Current college costs are outrageous. They've been outpacing inflation for decades! If you have any extra money, they'll take it.

When public college system is free, it will put a downward pressure on the private ones.
Actually, it would only result in growing the Federal budget, raising taxes and/or increasing Federal deficits/debt.
 
If we made the decision to require college as we have the first 12 grades, yes. Otherwise no, tho I understand that college is free or low cost in some countries like ours. And some years ago, the 1960s, California universities did not charge tuition.
That is not quite accurate. California only paid for the first two years of community college for those who qualified. They did not pay for universities or provide free education beyond the second year of a two-year community college. The program still exists by the way. If you are a full-time student, first time a college student, and a California resident, then you qualify for up to two years of free education at one of California's community colleges. California also created the State lottery for which to pay for this education, but over the decades those funds have been subverted for other purposes, naturally.
 
Actually, it would only result in growing the Federal budget, raising taxes and/or increasing Federal deficits/debt.
The Tenth Amendment prohibits the federal government from spending a single taxpayer dollar on education. Education is the exclusive constitutional authority of the States, not the federal government.
 
That is not quite accurate. California only paid for the first two years of community college for those who qualified. They did not pay for universities or provide free education beyond the second year of a two-year community college. The program still exists by the way. If you are a full-time student, first time a college student, and a California resident, then you qualify for up to two years of free education at one of California's community colleges. California also created the State lottery for which to pay for this education, but over the decades those funds have been subverted for other purposes, naturally.
Are you sure about your first three sentences? My memory of tuition free university was from a long time ago, the early 1960s. Then I remember Reagan later on instituting tuition.
 
I vote "no". I do believe in charity and in safety nets for the most vulnerable, but forcing citizens to pay for someone else's college education is, in my view, way too much.
I think college should be free for those who are highly qualified.. college is not for everyone. In New York City 1 million years ago when I went there, the colleges were free. But you had to have a high average to get in.
Do you object to paying for someone’s high school education?
 
I vote "no". I do believe in charity and in safety nets for the most vulnerable, but forcing citizens to pay for someone else's college education is, in my view, way too much.
Think of it as an investment in the future.

The more education the better, IMO.
That said, I think it needs to be somewhat limited, so there are some standards of which degrees are free and how long you take to get them.
 
School can be tough. You have to motivate these kids to finish their education. You know that old saying: You get what you pay for. If education is 'free' then it loses it value, kids won't take it seriously and they'll drop out of just keep going switching majors forever and never finishing.
That’s why I think high school grades should be considered
 
So if Donald Trump's son, Barron, wants a college education, you and I should be forced to pay for it?
If he wants to go to a city college
 
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