State Colleges should be free for the students that live in that state

Okay, let's take this by the numbers. 1) You are correct, college is a privilege. A privilege that only the upper middle class and the wealthy can afford. Four years of college can easily top $140,000 (that's $35,000 / year for four years). An average family has two children. So if both will attend similar colleges, that cost will double to $280,000. Where does the average upper middle class family making $75,000 (that's gross salary not take home pay which is 30% less) get this kind of money? You can buy another house for this amount. So, unless you have outstanding grades, meet the government's definition to be eligible for grants or are wealthy, college is not easily obtainable for most Americans. The average graduating high school student who wants to attend a college to further their education may not have the financial means to do so. Oh, financial aid you say? Have you seen what is offered these days? These are no more than loans at higher rates than you pay for purchasing a car. Sure, let's take out $280,000 worth of loans at 6% - 9% interest. If each student in my example graduated and was fortunate enough to get a job making $45,000 per year, it would take each graduate just under five years to pay back the loan. And this is not realistic because I did not take the interest rate into account nor did I allow them to spend any of their earnings at all. They both remained in their parent's home for five years taking all of their earnings and paying off the monster loans incurred from their college education. There are countless potential college students who don't get the opportunity to go and get this higher education because of the outrageous costs. The government provides oil companies with billions of dollars to explore for oil, why can't we shift that money towards college tuition? 2) Financial burdens to taxpayers. Yes, we are taxed too much. There are very few people who would disagree. But much of our tax burden goes to fund unemployment, welfare and other programs to assist the unemployed. One reason for unemployment is because most of the businesses are looking for employees with specific skills and talents, most of which can only be obtained through an college education. So in my opinion, it is in the taxpayers best interest to get as many young adults, and older ones for that matter, into college to gain this knowledge. 3) Students don't always graduate is no reason not to try and change how a college education is funded. There are not guarantees in life especially in business. When you get a job, you are not guaranteed to keep it or be as successful as you would like. College is the same. When you start, you don't always stay with your first chosen line of study. Likewise, you may not have what it takes to get through a college curriculum. So allow students to try and fail. Colleges also offer vocational courses for plumbing, welding, electrical, etc. This is a perfect alternative for those people who are better working with their hands than sitting behind a computer screen. Government funding of colleges allows students to gain knowledge and skills they would not have been able to afford otherwise. So maybe paying back the cost is not a good idea, but not being able to afford to get an education at all or putting your financial future in question because of excessive tuition costs are equally as bad. The specifics need to be worked out. Although I don't have the specifics on how to get this funding from the Federal and/or State governments, it still makes the most sense to me to have the American society assist in making higher education affordable and available to everyone. Education should not be for the "privileged" few who can afford it, but to the masses who need it.