Free college is an idea that appeals to all Americans that are wanting to have a successful life in the long run. Even at early ages parents are thinking about their son or daughter's education. These parents are divided among three very different ideologies on the way they are planning to pay for college. Some parents focus on the academic way to college, through hard work outside the classroom. Parents pay thousands of dollars on their children's' education in the hopes of Scholarship opportunities. Some parents focus on the athletic road through college, with the increasing number of children playing sports from the age of six to seventeen at 21.5 Million children per year, according to ESPN.com. These numbers show us that parents are searching for ways for their children to receive scholarships for their hard work. The rest of the parents in America are looking to the Government as a way to pay for college. Government intervention into the educational system is what these parents and movements of students are calling for. Government paid four-year public college is what some believe is the answer to the question "How Am I going to pay for college?" Throughout this paper I will focus on the major flaw of government paid free college and I will also propose a solution to the idea of free college that will take the government out of the equation and add the private sector and its involvement within this controversial topic.

The opposition says that the issue of high tuition rates must be addressed and stopped by the united states government. The proposal from presidential candidate Bernie Sanders consist of creating room within our budget to fund the millions of students attending public colleges around the nation. This is an issue because he clearly doesn't take into account on how to pay for this funding. When asked about how he will pay for this great idea. Bernie responds by saying the top one percent should have the moral obligation to pay their fair share of taxes to pay for millions of Americans to go to college tuition free. According to Neil Cavuto, the top one percent will not produce the amount Bernie is asking for. Neil Cavuto says that "Even if you tax the top one percent one hundred percent then there is no way to pay for what Bernie is asking for." Within this interview Neil Cavuto has with one of the leaders of Million student march, Neil outlines several economic flaws within the idea of free four-year public college paid by the united states government. Neil also brings out a great point by asking what will happen when this top one percent becomes threaten by the united states government when it comes to the future financial prosperity of these billionaires? The answer to question is a very simple one that is quite troubling. "The top one percent will take all the job they create and take them across the boarder." This is a scary thought when it comes to the economic future of this great nation. This shows us that college is not a public service but education will create more financial success. College is the key to economy prosperity in this nation.

College is the next stop for students on their path to success in this economy. To become successful in this nation the majority of students decide to go to college instead of pursuing a dead end rap career or becoming a professional athlete right out of high school. "Education is the most important thing in a person's life" is a statement we have all heard from our grandparents and parents, but this statement becomes reality for the younger generation inheriting a nation in such a bad economical state. For many people who have heard this statement, it shows us the importance of education and the importance of achieving a college degree. In America, a college degree represents economic stability throughout a person's life and the possibility to overcome the socioeconomic class they were born into. Because there is so much as stake when it comes to a college education, students want to come to college and achieve success. College is a very easy goal for higher class students to obtain do to the simple fact that they can pay for the tremendously high tuition rates. But for some, like me, are not blessed with economic prosperity and have no way to pay for college. There was a fire burning inside me to get a college education but when the bad news that most students are being faced with by their loving and caring parents is "We have no way to pay for college". For most students they hear this news and these students automatically start looking at the free community college option without trying to find a way to go to the college of their dreams. This is an issue the left (Democratic/Socialist) is trying to correct. The left wants to give everyone the equal opportunity to go to college without paying a single penny. Having a tuition free public college option for these students is what presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is proposing. The idea of free college is not the problem with Bernie Sanders' vision but the fact the free public college is going to be paid by the United States government. The prosperous, rich, modern United States of America is 19 trillion dollars in debt. The extra debt America is going to accumulate with this new piece of legislature is going to increase the debt to a number that is more than the current debt which seems to be an amount that is impossible to recover from. 

The words million, billion and trillion are amounts the general public have a hard time understanding. Due to the repetition by government officials and the media, the public has no way of fully understanding the terms so loosely used in everyday life. According to Tony Robbins "The mind goes numb when thinking about the difference between a million and billion. So it helps to put these terms into something we can relate to, like seconds." Using a different a medium when interpreting the national debt can be very eye opening. For example, a million seconds ago was 12 complete days ago, which seems realistic and easy to understand, but when trying to understand the difference between a million and a billion seconds it may seem unrealistic. When trying to rationalize a billion seconds, I urge you to put into perspective your life as these seconds. 1 billion seconds ago was 32 years ago in your life, for most people reading this paper that is longer than you been alive. Which leads to the question how long ago was 1 trillion seconds? 1 Trillion seconds ago comes out to 31,688 years ago. And if we put our nation's debt into this equation, we would come out to 602,072 years ago. The importance of understanding these numbers is crucial to the topic of national debt. The United States of America is under attack by uncontrollable spending. This uncontrollable spending continues with this idea for free public college. As the national debt continues to increase, the time we have as a prosperous nation will continue to decrease. 

Uncontrollable spending is the main reason we are 19 trillion dollars in debt. The amount of spending on government aid and newly funded programs like Obamacare and free community college has forced spending in the last two years that exceeds the last two hundred. Our country is barrowing forty cents to every dollar we spend so the county can function. This borrowing of our money is devaluing our dollar and our children and grandchildren will catch the effects of disease. When adding another government program, your two options are: you can cut spending for programs like Medicare and Social Security while raising taxes to 95% according to Andrew Kelly of the AEI center on higher education. Adding another social service would send our country into a spending catastrophe, leaving future generations with a debt so high it will be impossible to recover from.  The other option is to create economic prosperity through privately funded organizations that will send lower income students to college. Erasing the middleman, the government, so this involvement with the private sector will be an investment and not a financial burden for the country.

 Privately investing into the lives of students would not only be beneficial for the students but for the organization that funds the program. My solution consists of 2 major ideas that will both benefit the organization and the students receiving this funding. 

The first part of this program consist of the organization giving funding to students that are higher achieving students, who test well and are the best in the nation, then if you do not fall into this category then this program will reach out to lower income students. To qualify the household can not exceed twenty thousand dollars per year. These students who do not qualify and are still in the top 60% of students who take the SAT/ACT will receive funding. This magic number of twenty thousand dollars per year will prevent the middle and upper class from taking advantage of this program and will push these children to achieve the full tuition funding being privately paid by their high grades. To achieve this funding for middle and upper income students you must be in the top 90% of students who take the SAT/ACT. Pushing parents to take more action within the home will help their student get into college tuition free. 

The second part of this program gives incentives to the organization that will be providing the funding for these students. The goal for this funding is to not just help the student but more importantly help the organizations/businesses in the future. This funding will provide many incentives for the company like a reduction on taxes. But more importantly this program will act as a debt forgiveness program that will be paid off through work for the company. To have a student's college debt paid for, he/she will have to work for the company that funded the tuition for 4 years. Failure to complete a degree or conviction of any sort will become a dismissal of the funding, leaving the student to pay back the loan. This section of the plan will keep the great minds of this nation here in the United States so we are able to use their resources. A problem our nation is seeing is that students are not staying in the country after getting the best degrees from our colleges. My solution will address this issue and send the great minds to our companies creating more jobs and more opportunities for students and future business owners. 

This solution is an idea that I believe will create the best opportunity for this nation to rebuild its educational system and economic state. Giving power back to the private sector is an important part of lowering the national debt and making America into a more prosperous nation, giving students and legal immigrants the possibility of achieving the American dream. Part of the American dream is receiving a college education.

"The American Dream" is an idea that anyone from any sort of background can overcome their socioeconomic class through hard work and earning an education. Education is the only thing on this planet that creates a bridge from one isolated island of an economic class to higher economic prosperity. In creating this bridge, President Obama thinks that creating a free community college option will create a more stable middle class. Due to this free option, more students began to enroll in the free community college option. According to Adela Soliz "Obama's plan for free two-year community college will increase the middle class, this plan did not work." What Adela Soliz is showing us is that higher enrollment in these free tuition options are not creating more degrees that will increase the middle class, but creating a far worse economic environment and the success of our students. Money has a direct effect on graduation rates in the free community colleges and the paid public colleges. Students who go to free community colleges are less likely to graduate on time compared to students graduating from paid public colleges. According to the National Center for Education Statistics the Graduation rate for students attending paid public college is at fifty-nine percent while the graduation rate for community college attendees is much lower; twenty-one point one percent. In accordance with my opposition, I agree that college is very important to the success of this nation. Both sides of this issue can agree that having a valuable education is imperative to the future of this great nation. But the numbers don't lie. Just because the enrollment into colleges are higher, it does not mean the outcomes will increase as well.

This outline that President Obama has put into place with free community college will create a transparent result with free four-year public free college. I agree with my opposition when they say it will increase the enrollment rates within four year colleges, but just because the enrollment increases, it does not mean the chance of these students receiving a degree will. The left also says that lower income students don't have an equal chance to go to college due to the raising tuition at a rate of 3.4 percent each year for the last ten years, according to Andrew Kelly. This statement made by most left winged activist about not having an equal chance for lower income students is not correct. Because a student is in a lower economic state does not mean he has less of a chance to go to college, but means it will be harder for these students to pay to go to college. Just because it is hard does not mean it will be impossible for students to achieve this goal. I myself come from a very poor home. Bouncing between different apartment complexes and going in and out of the projects (Highlands and Whispering Pines) was my style of living. The only source of income was from my mother; she was disabled and not able to work. It felt like all the odds for me going to college were against me. I applied for over 150 scholarships for the opportunity to pay for college. Now, I am in the college of my dreams because it was my goal. The chances for me to go to college were equal, but the amount of effort I had to put into paying for college had to be much greater than other students who had more money. My life story on how I got to college is why my opposition is wrong on this topic of equal opportunity. The strongest argument for my opposition is that lower income students are not able to pay for college, therefore, the government must assist in these efforts, but my story proves them wrong.

Throughout this paper I focused on the major flaw of government paid free college and I proposed a solution to the idea of free college that will take the government out of the equation and add the private sector and its involvement within this controversial topic.

