Outline I. Thesis: Public education until grade 12 is already free; given that a high school education is no longer sufficient for most jobs, it is time to make college education free too.

II. One of the main reasons why public higher education, such as college and university, should be free for everyone is that it promotes the values of equal opportunity in education.

III. It is actually more cost-effective and better for the economy to offer free higher education to all students, to reduce the debt crisis and promote the economic empowerment of all citizens.

IV. Free higher education would be an incentive for all high school students to achieve their goals, thereby improving the overall quality of life in the nation.

V. Education should be free for everyone for ethical, financial, and social reasons.

Why Higher Education Needs to Be Free For Everyone

For well over a century, the United States has offered its citizens access to a free public school education. A grade school education was at one point considered sufficient to prepare a person for entry into the job market, or to be equipped with the social and practical skills needed to thrive. Yet a high school education is no longer sufficient....

The increasingly competitive global job market is making it tougher for persons without a college degree to compete, making it so that a college education is now mandatory for many people. Making the leap from free grade school to free college education is not so great, considering that most state schools already receive some public funding, as do community colleges....…because of inequitable access to higher education: “failure to fund higher education means that America’s economy is unable to compete with other developed nations that have free universities,” (Samuels 1). Free education for all students would potentially reduce rates of crime due to strain theory and frustration over wealth disparity (Page and Clawson 1). More students would be contributing to the economy, through excellence in all fields.
Education should be free for everyone for ethical, financial, and social reasons. The principles of the American Constitution are grounded in the ethics of equal opportunity. Free higher education means reduced student loan debt, which would benefit the economy. To improve the quality of life in the nation, all students should have the chance to attend college and university to compete in the global job market or contribute…