Conservatives have pushed for-profit education schemes on America for decades, insisting private industry can better serve students than our government.  But this week we saw exactly what happens when you let capitalists run college education: ITT Tech.  The school is closing its doors on the heels of a federal crackdown on for-profit institutions that make a buck off of young (and some older) people who want an education and pathway to success.  Research shows that the for-profit sector generally targets lower-income people, communities of color and the elderly with campaigns promising job prospects that may never materialize. All the while, taxpayers and students footed the bill to pad the pockets of shareholders. Millions of dollars in federal financial aid flowed into these schools, and when students graduated they were left deeply in debt. For-profit colleges enroll a tenth of our students but are responsible for generating nearly half of college loan defaults.  At Donald Trump’s for-profit Trump University, a former sales manager admitted they regularly preyed upon vulnerable populations to “separate them from their money”. Students were encouraged to max out credit cards to attend, but were offered only a joke of an education in return.  We let capitalists run our colleges and they screwed it up big time. They left our students with broken promises, inadequate job training and insurmountable debt.  It’s clear that these profit-centric schemes are a failure, and the only prescription moving forward is more government.  Over many decades, Republican lawmakers have spearheaded efforts to cut funding and investments in public higher education, and massive cuts have been accompanied by simultaneous rises in tuition. Forty-six states are spending less in public funds per student than they were before the start of the great recession.  But hope remains if we change course and embrace the socialization of higher education.  In the mid-1800s, Americans began to transition to publicly funded high school education for the vast majority students. It must have been a daunting prospect at the time – paying for the education of so many children for such an extended period of time, transferring a potential workforce away from productivity for an investment like schooling.  But the experiment paid off. America set itself up for 20th-century success, creating the most educated workforce in the world. It turns out socialized programs like free K-12 education and the GI bill work well.  We as a society consider it immoral not to put somebody through primary and secondary education. Why should higher education be any different?  Numerous studies have mapped out the incredible public benefits of investments in higher education including measurable boosts to economic activity. In the age-old battle between capitalism and socialism, the results are clear for the education sector. For-profit schools are a bust, and America’s public education initiatives on the other hand proved effective as major drivers of economic competitiveness, scientific discovery and cultural development.  We know socialized education is a successful model. It is now incumbent on us to double down on our investment.  Bernie Sanders put free college tuition at public schools on the map in the 2016 presidential debate and we all owe him a debt of gratitude for that service. But we should go further than his plan to provide tuition breaks.  Germany in 2014 realized that even a bill as small as $1,300 discouraged students from attending school. In America, there are too many barriers beyond tuition costs holding students back from higher education.  More than one in every two public school students from pre-K through high school qualifies for free or subsidized meals. But what happens when those students go to college? In University of California schools, more than four in 10 students suffer from hunger. And a recent study says more than half of community college students struggle with food security. We should be cognisant of financial barriers outside of the traditional tuition cost in seeking to expand the availability of higher education.  We should take steps in America to erase the cost of tuition, but also to eliminate burdensome fees and cover expenses for food and schooling supplies. We must embrace a comprehensive public model that removes as many barriers to entry as possible.  In the 21st century, America should lead the world in extending public education beyond current bounds. Every child who wants to attend college must be encouraged and empowered to do so at absolutely no cost. It’s good policy for our students, our country and our world.
Publicly funded education for children transformed our society and economy – but it was once unthinkable. Socialize higher education to reap huge rewards