The U.S. should make collegiate education free

I think it will be a good learning experience for both me and my opponent, and we will both be better off because of it. @zeromeansnothing, I also apologize for the minor misunderstanding in the comments, and that will in no way affect my argument. Without further ado, let us begin. Framework: The full resolution is, “The United States of America should make collegiate education (for clarification, post-secondary schooling at educational institutes) free for its constituents. ” In order to fulfill my obligation to the burden of proof, I must prove why colleges should make their education free for all constituents of America. In order for my opponent to receive points and effectively present his burden of proof, he must argue why colleges should not make education free for all constituents of America. Failure on my part or my opponent’s will result in a deduction of points in the voting period. The values on which I will be basing my arguments on represent core problems within today’s educational system on the collegiate level. Equality in education, Egalitarianism as a principle, social and upward progress being impeded, and the fairness/justness of the system itself. Argument 1: The Virtue of Education; Social Advancement Education, in all forms, should be free to the public because of its value to society. John Adams once stated that, “[T]he whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people, and must be willing to bear the expense of it. ” (1) The government should take college costs into their hands, as an investment in the future of its citizens. Egalitarianism is defined as, “An egalitarian favors equality of some sort: People should get the same, or be treated the same, or be treated as equals, in some respect. ” Even in our current form of government, egalitarianism is an ideal at which we follow in the systemic level. Equality as a principle was and still is an important advocate of the American government today. Making students pay for education and learning is against this philosophy. Everyone in the country should be entitled to free education because they are equal to their peers, and they are equal to all constituents of this country. More money poured into education should not affect the quality of education that is obtainable. Argument 2: Government; The Guiding Hand Education, in its current respect, is cracked at the seams. A major problem in today’s system is that the government is not holding colleges accountable for their failure to provide students with quality education and a fair system. Increased government control at the foundations of collegiate education can make principles that are so desperately needed right now cemented. Almost all collegiate institutions rely on federal aid to fund their operations, yet costs have managed to rise, and quality of education has managed to stay the same or decrease in quality. This is often because federal grants to universities usually focus on funding research, instead of trying to improve the quality of education or addressing instruction (36% of students failed to demonstrate meaningful gains over four years) (2). With increased government involvement, or total involvement, universities can begin a rehabilitation process in which costs can be cut and focused towards the instruction and quality of learning. The resulting outcome is that more and more students are prepared to enter the job market, and will aid the United States economically in the long run. Another shortcoming in the educational system is finance based attendance. Scholarships and fellowships allow students to attend universities, but there are not enough grants to go around that don’t leave students in thousands of dollars of student loans debt. More often than not, two results are present; students cannot attend universities because of tremendously steep costs, or they go into deep debt to acquire and obtain a degree (25% of people who graduate will end up with $30,000< of debt accumulated) (2). One tactic by students is to work while continuing their education, but this most always proves to be stressful to students. Colleges often favor those who can accommodate for the cost of education. In this current scenario, admissions are then based upon economic status, not the meritocratic foundations on which college admissions should be based. This only reinforces my claim that government funding can not only eliminate the wealth status factor, but it can also return college admissions to its rightful state. Graduating free of debt and economic impediments, citizens are able to immediately start contributing to the growth of America as a whole by obtaining jobs, buying houses, and paying taxes. Conclusion: This argument has been funded by the National Tea Party Patriots. Thank you @Hayd and @zeromeansnothing. This will be a fun debate, and I look forward to our following rounds. I have supplied my burden of proof by suggesting that government control of education will be beneficial, our current system is not a working one, and that free education will benefit the American economy as a whole. Now it is your job to supply your burden of proof. Thanks! Sources: . http://blogs.berkeley.edu... . http://www.thirdway.org...