According to the College Board, on average the tuition rate of private school students is around $31,000 per year. On top of this, the average student will spend close to $1,100 annually on textbooks alone. These numbers do not even include the countless other expenses that arise when attending college.
According to the College Board, on average the tuition rate of private school students is around $31,000 per year. On top of this, the average student will spend close to $1,100 annually on textbooks alone. These numbers do not even include the countless other expenses that arise when attending college.
It is no surprise that college can be this expensive in many cases. After all, college tuition has been a widely debated topic for years. But what is surprising after all these years is that American’s have not fully come to realize that this price is completely unacceptable in modern society.
Many people hear “free education” and think that this is some radically socialist idea or that it is too expensive and would cost too much taxpayer money. The Department of Education stated that it would only cost around $62.6 billion. The fact is this would only take a very small tax hike to give American students a quality education.
Countries like Norway, Sweden, and Germany implemented their own free education plans with varying levels of success. Many other European countries have expansive student debt payment programs as well. And while the cost of higher education seems to be dropping in other developed countries, the bill of collective student debt in America only seems to be rising.
One of the fundamental issues at the root of it though is whether or not it is morally acceptable to have a society that expects our young students to pursue four-year degrees, while simultaneously expecting them to drive themselves thousands of dollars into debt before many of them have even had their first jobs. There is a huge stigma that society has placed on students who decide to opt out of college in favor of beginning to pursue their own careers or gain work experience.
And the disturbing part is that many people are simply willing to accept that a crippling amount of debt is a reasonable price to pay to receive a higher education. And despite the many efforts of FAFSA, the financial aid for those who cannot afford college, many middle class families and individuals are still struggling to pay for the increasingly large student loans.
Out of the many ridiculous things our tax dollars end up paying for, it is surprising that one of the most controversial things money is being spent on is education. With a noble cause like providing free education, it should be a no brainer that that is a tax worth paying.
