Free tuition for college students through government taxation should be supported.

This is topic 27 from the Online Debate Tournament. I'm required to provide an argument for the Pro side, and Brittwaller is the Con side. College tuition is one of the most expensive expenditures any person or family faces. In fact, after possibly a house, it is the most expensive thing any person will "buy." There is already legislation in the tax code for deducting the expense of education from taxes. The 2007 US tax year allowed one to deduct up to $4000 as higher education expense. However, it should be the case that the government provide students extra funding drawn from tax dollars. There should of course be restrictions placed on this - there is no reason tax dollars should be given to millionaires' children or for people to attend outrageously priced institutions. There are two main reasons tax dollars should be used in this way: It constitutes and investment in the future, and it will increase the base of educated people. In the United States, this message may be received with an amount of irritation. However, I'd like to point out that the resolution is not specific to the United States. The investment in the future is something that everyone constantly strives for. There is a definite correlation between the investment in education and the literacy rates and success of a country. Consider that in the UK, a child is endowed with a monetary amount upon birth that matures and where the receipt of that money is contingent upon factors like graduating high school and clean criminal records. In much the same way, investing a portion of a country's income in money that is set aside for higher education makes perfect sense. As long as the tuition amount is reasonable, there is no reason why this cannot be done. In Spain, this is actually how it works. If you get into college, it's paid for by the government. When you want more of something (educated people), you incentivize it. The payment of tuition from tax dollars constitutes this incentive. If institutions of higher education maintain the same enrollment rates, but have "free" tuition, the applicant pool will be both larger AND of a higher caliber because you'll be getting students who otherwise could not afford to go to college actually applying. Institutions can take the best of the pool and increase both the size and quality of the American Populace. Now, my opponent will of course raise the question of how to pay for this. In Europe, where this is practiced already, taxes are much higher. Of course, the European nations tend to view education in more of a socialist light than the United States. Can a revenue neutral method be created in the US to implement this? Probably not. It's possible that changing Social Security tax to an Education Tax may help the problem, but in the end, taxes would need to go up. At the heart of this issue is the notion of socialization of some programs. In a society where this is acceptable, this is a perfectly sound notion and has been implemented in a variety of countries already. However, in a society like in the US, this is not extraordinarily feasible without an increase in taxes. I'd like to suggest that the voters keep in mind that this is not about the US specifically. However, cases show that the education rates of other countries that DO practice this are higher than that of the United States. Coincidence? Perhaps not. I urge you to support the idea, if not its implementation, for it is a wonderful idea given a society that is willing to accept it. I believe Plato held the idea that education was paramount in creating a good and just society. Improving the end product of that education creates a better and more just society. I urge you to side Pro.