Hillary Clinton is eagerly touting her “free” college plan borrowed from Bernie Sanders, but doubts still remain.
While the plan may benefit those who attend college free of cost, it’s “not particularly fair to people who’ve already sacrificed mightily to pay for higher education,” according to USA Today editorial board. A study from the University of Illinois showed most people with student debt oppose “free” college plans.
“Nor does it address the main drivers of rising tuition: an indulgence of instructors who don’t spend much time in the classrooms, money-losing sports programs, bloated bureaucracies, and massive building campaigns,” the editorial board continued.
Government involved is also to blame. As others have pointed out, a “flood of money” from the government does not decrease tuition, but rather increases it. Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Gary Johnson have both argued to get government out of student lending.
Of course, “free” college isn’t actually free. Rather it will be a burden on taxpayers, people who, again, didn’t have the luxury of someone else paying their tuition. A Rasmussen poll from earlier this month showed most Americans see right through “free” college.
Until Hillary is willing to make aid conditional upon tuition freezes or cuts, the editorial board suggested, she’s “just trying to entice Sanders voters with free stuff.”
The plan also draws concern from Meredith Kolodner of the Hechinger Report, who writes that “it is short on details, and is more a set of priorities than an actual policy document.” The primary worry is how the plan will actually help students graduate.
Those whose families make under $125,000 may have their cost of tuition covered, but there are also costs of $15,000 after tuition, meaning students can still wrack up debt, especially if they don’t graduate or take longer to do so.
Additionally, the worry about not graduating on time wouldn’t simply go away when taxpayers are footing the bill for one’s education.
“This proposal would have a much bigger impact on low-income students, only about a quarter of whom earn a bachelor’s degree within six years,” Kolodner said.
For those students who don’t graduate, their debt problem is even worse.
Sanders supporters are far from ready to commit to supporting Hillary, but she may have satisfied some Democrats with her new college plan. However, it sounds like for real solutions she’ll need to do better.
