Free Education: Realistic Or Political Daydream?

In early January President Obama made a groundbreaking decision for educational reform. In his speech to a local community college in Tennessee he revealed his plans on making community college the norm for Americans like high school is today. This was a bold but much appreciated statement, but the question is: how will the passing of a bill of this stature affect you?

In an article written this past Sunday, the discussion of financial challenges arose, referencing a 2014 Gallup poll that showed that the number one financial challenge for young Americans is linked to loan debt. So why not address the elephant in the room? Educational loans look great on paper because it's your future, and you're going to make $100,000 a year when you immediately graduate, right? For the people that have to pay these ridiculous loans back after just graduating college, it can be tough and overwhelming. As an undergraduate, I don't find it fair to be worried about thousands of dollars being acquired each year over a piece of paper. Everyone loves the word "free," especially when it's associated with the word "college," but is this thought realistic? Or are we in way over our heads? There's two sides to every issue.

Like most awards in life that coincide with the word "free," there are requirements that go along with it. Theoretically speaking, if the Free Tuition Bill regarding community colleges were to be passed, it will only go towards full time students who must have a mentor, maintain a 2.5 GPA and complete eight hours of community service. Still listening? Not only will this bill be hard to pass but, it will cost roughly $60 billion over the next 10 years, seeing that our government is currently in gridlock the realness of the bill seems to be dragged away more as time goes on. Other than all those boring facts, there is still hope because of how helpful the bill will be to struggling families and students attempting to gain an education without having to pay thousands of dollars just to take basic courses that aren't even relevant to the degree they want to receive.

So, is a college education the "Key to Success"? I suppose we will find out if the bill is passed or not in the coming years. The truth is that the middle class American will be in favor of this bill with the help towards a college degree, but, for some the taxes are going to be the killer. One thing holds true today: we must work towards education reform.