For most young Americans, college has always been preached to them as an essential part of their success in the adult world; but as they reach this educational rite of passage, many find themselves forced to take out inflated loans, work part-time, or even be dissuaded altogether by the exorbitant costs of higher education. We need to abandon this current outdated system in favor of government-subsidized tuition. Therefore, college education should be free because of its benefits to the economy, creating equality of opportunity, and solving the student loan crisis. The very first federally supported student loan program began in the 1950s under the National Defense Act (Sourmaidis). . This measure was mainly intended to encourage students to pursue mathematics and science to compete with Soviet Russia after the launch of the Sputnik satellite (Sourmaidis). That year, the number of university graduates was only 432,058 (Sourmaidis) and since then, demand has continued to rise, as have prices. This trend allowed the emergence of the student loan crisis, a problem we face today. In 2016, American students accumulated $1.3 trillion in student debt. Just 10 years ago, the country's balance was only $447 billion (Clements). This pervasive cumulative burden has caused many college-educated Americans to delay major life events such as marriage, homeownership, and children because of this significant burden (Clements). Debt will only increase if neglected, and the most effective action to take would therefore be to eliminate the cost completely. The argument for free higher education is not only an economic issue but also a moral one. Currently, social mobility in the United States is at or near...... middle of paper ......s to fund this program without strong repercussions; such as “Closing corporate tax loopholes that allow companies to legally avoid paying their full share of taxes” (Redd) or we could also consider “implementing new taxes on speculative trading on Wall Street” (Redd) Redd), as advocated by Senator Bernie Sanders and finally “Crack down on unnecessary public spending” (Redd). All of the solutions mentioned could result in free higher education, at no cost to the American taxpayer. Ultimately, the United States should implement free, government-subsidized higher education because of its benefits to the economy, creating equality of opportunity, and resolution. of the student loan crisis. While this will require funding, there are certainly innocuous alternatives that could accomplish this rather than imposing additional stress on the average American taxpayer..