Senator Sanders ’ Not So Great Free College Proposal

Sen.Bernie Sanders proposes free college for all and the cancellation of all student debt.Americans have watched the price of four-year college rise faster than inflation for several decades. This phenomenon is complex and can be attributed to several factors. Two of the most important factors are:the rising cost of education and campus amenities (keeping technology current, expanding physical education facilities, more administrative positions, improved meal plans, and so on).students ’ increased willingness and ability to pay higher prices, owing to easy access to government subsidies.The first point is enabled by the second, and Sen. Sanders ’ proposal will simply exacerbate the problem.President Reagan ’s then-Secretary of Education William Bennett famously articulated the second point in a 1987New York Timesop-ed, saying: “If anything, increases in financial aid in recent years have enabled colleges and universities blithely to raise their tuitions, confident that Federal loan subsidies would help cushion the increase.”Free college and debt forgiveness are the motherlode of aid to colleges and universities, which under Sen. Sanders ’ plan will fuel rising costs that will be redirected from students to taxpayers. Massive federal education funding will join other unsustainable “third-rail” entitlement programs and grow, adding to federal spending, the deficit, and debt.If student loans are forgiven, those who borrowed —in some cases irresponsibly—are re...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs