Think College Is Expensive? Wait Until It’s Free

Jason L. RileyThe Wall Street Journal January 16, 2019

Higher-education costs have risen every time student aid has been made more generous

Has the time come for free college?

Democrats certainly think so. President Obama called for tuition-free higher education in his State of the Union address in 2015, and it’s already a reality in some form in at least 17 states. Among progressives, support is almost obligatory, so it’s no shock that Democrats who want to challenge President Trump in 2020—Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, former San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro and counting—have jumped on the free-tuition bandwagon.

Europe already has a free-college system, and the argument for an American version has a certain logic to it. There’s a strong correlation between higher education and economic prosperity; advanced societies have large numbers of college-educated citizens while poorer countries do not.

On an individual level, people with college degrees typically make more money and experience lower levels of unemployment. During the nadir of the Great Recession, for example, the jobless rate peaked at 10% for all workers but never rose above 5% for those with at least a bachelor’s degree. The unemployment rate last month was just under 4% overall but closer to 2% for college graduates.

Continue reading the entire piece here at The Wall Street Journal