Persuasive speech

Is the future of America, specifically young adults, in jeopardy due to the spiraling costs of higher education and associated student loans? All signs point to a crisis in financial aid due to a drop in the availability of jobs, without jobs student loans cannot be paid off in a reasonable time frame or not at all. Therefore, public state universities must be tuition free for in-state residents in order to benefit both the student and the state , improve the global economy, and most importantly eliminate the enormous debt incurred by young adults attending universities.

With the removal of tuition, there will be a strong percentage of students who will remain in state and seek employment nearby, therefore boosting the local economy and creating a smarter workforce. Without the weight of a student loan there will be greater purchase power for students, enhancing the sales in retail stores throughout communities. In addidtion, not only does this impact stores but the housing market as well.

Having a dedicated state school where tuition is free will create a desirable place to live as these students are not burdened with today’s heavy debt of student loans. Furthermore, for the past few decades the American education model was a constant source for steady employment in professional careers and higher paying jobs. Today, unfortunately many factors have changed this equation. Research indicates that,”…the decision of whether, when, and where to attend college depends on the difference between the benefits and the cost”(Li, 2).

A students’ decision is quite uncertain because it is affected by future earnings. The benefits of attending college are that costs continue to rise at an unsustainable pace that does not match actualaties in the economy. Also, the high degree of certainity to land a sufficient paying job has changed for the worse, therefore students would not meet loan obligations. Supporters of the “ pay for education” model in one’s own state think that someone needs to pay for the services and benefits of this type of higher education.

Many believe that the government cannot manage a large program such as state sponspored free education in an efficient and financially sound manner. However, tax payers would be willing to support a free educational system if the overall benefits from this type of model were evident. An example of this could be viewed as primary education where grade school is free and supported with local and state taxes. People can pay for private education which would be equivalent of going out of state at the higher education level.

As the wise saying states, give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; show him how to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. This can be applied to education by giving someone an opportunity to use his or her education for a lifetime benefit and not a quick or short-term solution. Most importantly, the fear of enourmous debt should not restrict high school graduates from pursuing a long-term goal in a career. That would be criminal. Studies indicate that two-thirds of graduates leave universities with an average of twenty-six thousand dollars in debt.

In total, this country has $1. 2 trillion in college debt. This is greater than all credit card debt combined. People are more conservative limiting their purchase power. Bob Voytek, director of student financial aid at Coconino Community College (Az), states in the article “ Tough Conversations” that “ It’s easy to dismiss the reality that those loans are going to be siiting around for you to pay back after you’re done with college” (Logue, 1) Meaning that that people will take on all kinds of college debt without thinking of the long term ramifications.

As previously stated, it is essential to have public state universities be tuition free due to the myriad of reasons presented. The various thoughts include the economic benefit to both the state and the student, being competitive in the global economy and the elimanition of the ever increasing debt after college graduation. This might appear to be a drastic change in the way education is financed, but given the student loan debt crisis, the time is now.