Ethan Jones

October 18, 2020

PS 112
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The Price of Knowledge

The year 2020, has been utter chaos, whether you’re concerned about the election or the

health of loved ones. The choice of presidents has honestly never been worse, yet we still have to

pick one of them, Trump or Biden. Views of the parties vary by degree of social justice and

economy. The nominees slash at each other on how one handled the pandemic and how the other

would make it worse.

When America was founded, one of the leading self-help achievements was going to

college and furthering education. Even in the 1900s, having a college education put you apart

from the rest when many would drop out of high school to help on a farm or go work so that the

family can have another income source. Ron Kinsman, my grandpa, was an example of that. He

dropped out of high school to work in a factory so that he can bring in more income to help his

large family. Once, he reached his 20’s, he realized that he needed to go to college. He went and

earned his bachelors but realized that he wanted to learn more and went to get his masters. He

loved education deeply that he was a professor at Davenport University and taught OLLI classes

at Saginaw Valley State University. He turned to be an advocate for higher education, as he

believed it helped him do great things and wished that upon his students and others.

A college degree is an investment in your future and there can be many benefits of a

college degree. The most known, is the increase in salary and an increased sense of job security.

Even if financially there are benefits to achieving high education, but one the most significant

would be the ability to think complexly and be able to network yourself throughout the four

years of learning. Now I started off with why college is important for all, but instead I will argue

that college for all isn’t such a blessing for all as many say it is. Education for all has driven the

decrease in value of a degree with rising education prices.

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Having a college degree used to be highly regarded in the sense that it set you apart from

the rest of the world. In 1950, about 432,000 bachelor’s degrees were awarded to students. Once

you had a degree it was able to set you apart from the rest of the world when education was not

as high of a priority. However, in 2009, 1.6 million bachelor’s degree were awarded, just in

2009. That means, if that rate were to stay the same, that in ten years about 16 million degrees

would be presented to students. Within half of a century the amount of degrees awarded has

increased by 400%. With this increase, the value of the degree has decreased naturally while the

cost has increased. The increase of degrees has brought around a new term called “degree

Inflation.” Essentially, what this means is, “employers demand college degrees for positions that

do not require college-level skills” (Cooper). While college is not for everyone, degree inflation

hurts the uneducated the most, by cause of jobs previously not requiring higher education by

changing the education standard.

As a result of college degrees being required for more jobs, the cost of education has,

“increased by roughly 25.3% at private colleges and about 29.8% at public colleges” (Hess). To

combat the rise in education, politicians have promised that if elected a priority would be to

make education free. Kamala Harris, Democratic Vice-Presidential Nominee, stated that if Biden

and herself were elected, a goal during their presidency would to bring free community college

as the new standard.

Community colleges are commonly known as the “I don’t know yet,” school or it is also

the financially responsible option. It is economically smart because your tax money goes to pay

to the school so that the tuition can be lower, and allows for students to stay with their parents,

saving money. Students who qualify for financial need and the Pell Grant, qualify for free

community college anyway. The average cost of community college according to CNBC is
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$3,660 dollars where the Pell grant is worth up to $6,345. Therefore, starting a college degree

has never been more affordable for those who struggle financially.

Community college is also known for the small personal class sizes allowing for

professors to gain a personal connection with their students. If community college was made free

how would its population change? If community college is made free, it would open the doors

for everyone to attend college increasing class sizes. Those who have money are constantly

looking for the most cost-effective way for their money. If multiple years become free for those

looking to further their education, that would the first two years, would see an increase in

community college students. This would affect public and private 4-year colleges because they

may have a significantly decreased freshman class size preventing a significant income source.

Along with the chants of free college for the American people, how would this be paid

for? The government cannot simply print more money without causing significant inflation and

potentially a depression. These payments would eventually lead to an increase of taxes. Meaning

that your increase may go help pay for college for a potential drop out. If college becomes free

students are not as connected because they have no investment to the school. When a student

pays for college, they are essentially investing in themselves. According to the study conducted

by the University of Michigan, “students were more than twice as likely to apply to (67 percent

vs. 26 percent) and enroll at (27 percent vs. 12 percent),” when told before they applied that they

were guaranteed free tuition. Also stated is that, the difference shows how when tuition was free

more people applied and enrolled in a more selective institution, over choosing a situation best

for them. When free tuition is offered, it takes potential students away from other colleges and

universities. When free tuition is offered, it shows that 41% more people apply to the college

promising free tuition and 15% more go to that college. How can other universities compete with
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other universities that provide free tuition? How would private universities survive? Since a

considerable number of colleges are private, they would not receive the federal benefits of

becoming a free college. This would put millions of college professors at these universities out of

jobs making the unemployment rate skyrocket as well. This is seen world-wide where, “in Chile,

where public college tuition became free a few years ago, 15 private institutions have closed or

are in the process of closing.” If each university had 1,000 students, that’s 15,000 students, that

have lost their community, their hope, and their educational futures.

Determing how far education can go without causing damage is hard to evaluate. If too

many people are educated, then essentially no one is educated, similarly to the old communist

idea where if everyone is poor no one is poor. Changing the education system would destroy the

U.S. economy by created degree inflation which has brought the debate of public education to

the forefront. Education reform is now.

Word Count: 1211

I Ethan Jones attest that this is my own work and have abided by the SVSU Handbook.
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Works Citied

Cooper, Preston. “How Degree Inflation Weakens The Economy.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 8
Jan. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/prestoncooper2/2018/01/08/employers-demanding-
college-degrees-weaken-the-economy/. 

Dynarski, Susan, et al. University of Michigan, 2018, pp. 2–2, CLOSING THE GAP: THE
EFFECT OF A TARGETED, TUITION-FREE PROMISE ON COLLEGE CHOICES OF
HIGH-ACHIEVING, LOW-INCOME STUDENTS. 

Harris, Kamala, and Mike Pence. “Kamala Harris & Mike Pence 2020 Vice Presidential Debate
Transcript.” Rev, 8 Oct. 2020, www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/kamala-harris-mike-pence-
2020-vice-presidential-debate-transcript. 

Hess, Abigail. “The Cost of College Increased by More than 25% in the Last 10 Years-Here's
Why.” CNBC, CNBC, 13 Dec. 2019, www.cnbc.com/2019/12/13/cost-of-college-
increased-by-more-than-25percent-in-the-last-10-years.html. 

Hess, Abigail. “Tuition at Community Colleges Is $3,660 a Year on Average-but Here's How
Much Students Actually Pay.” CNBC, CNBC, 13 Apr. 2019,
www.cnbc.com/2019/04/12/tuition-at-community-colleges-is-3660-a-year-on-
average.html. 

Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970. U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1975. 

Jones, Ethan, and Ron Kinsman. “How Do You Think Education Should Be?” 14 Oct. 2020. 

Jordan, Phyllis. “What Free College Could Mean for Small Private Colleges.” FutureEd, 18 Feb.
2020, www.future-ed.org/what-free-college-could-mean-for-small-private-colleges/.