Chronicle Editorial

The free tuition pipedream
 
     The presidential campaign cycle brings with it many promises. Some candidates guarantee tax cuts, while others promise to strengthen the middle class. These assurances need to be taken with a grain of salt, and that’s certainly true with the latest buzz about “free” college tuition.
     Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley recently unveiled their plans to reduce the student debt burden in America. The plans are well intentioned, but it appears they’re simply too brazen to become a reality in today’s political climate.
     Clinton’s plan would cost an estimated $350 billion over a 10-year period. According to a report in the Aug. 10 New York Times, around $175 billion in grants would go to states that promise students they wouldn’t have to acquire loans to pay tuition fees at four-year public institutions. The plan would also require states to increase funding on higher education and end budget cuts all while reducing tuition increases. Clinton would pay for the plan by capping the value of itemized deductions rich families can take on their taxes.
     The proposal also includes other details that allow current loan customers to restructure their debt. Restrictions dictating what students could spend Pell Grant money on would be loosened to cover living expenses, and AmeriCorps would also be expanded if the plan were adopted in its entirety. However, it wouldn’t eliminate tuition costs altogether, and parents would more than likely have to take out loans to cover some college expenses.
     The proposal is a tall order, but not as tall as Sanders’ and O’Malley’s. Both candidates would like to end tuition by significantly increasing the federal government’s role in public education funding. Sanders’ plan alone would spend $47 billion annually to cut tuition with the states footing the bill for another $23 billion.
     Each proposal would require sweeping reforms and bipartisan support. That would be hard to do in the Republican-held Congress, but not impossible. Both Democrats and Republicans have shown concern over the growing student debt problem in recent years. Americans currently have $1.2 trillion in student loan debt, and around eight million people are in default. Students typically graduate with around $30,000 in debt in Iowa alone.
     It’s clear changes are needed to curb escalating tuition costs. However, those changes are more likely to come at the state level than from the federal government. Budget cuts have significantly increased tuition rates following the recession, and additional investments from state governments could make a college degree more affordable as the economy continues to improve. Even so, it’s a two-way street. Our public universities need to streamline services and make cuts on their own instead of waiting for the legislature to do it. For-profit universities have become fat on tuition and subsidies at the expense of students over the past few decades.
     The myth of “free” tuition will continue to grow throughout campaign season. These plans will be hard to implement, and they could simply be another way to secure votes from the nation’s youngest voting bloc. After all, student debt affects that demographic most significantly. Promising them free tuition for their vote is a pretty sweet deal no matter how you cut it.
     Unfortunately, campaign promises are a dime a dozen these days. Free tuition at public universities won’t happen anytime soon unless states invest in the idea, not the federal government.