Travesty of Justice

The Free Dictionary gives the definition of travesty of justice as:

"a miscarriage of justice; an act of the legal system that is an insult to the system of justice."

I believe this term is perfect for what is happening to our college graduates right now because they barely have a chance to join the working force before our federal government (and college loan companies) start expecting them to pay back their loans. These loans are an added cost to other bills that include, but are not limited to:

-house/apartment bill

-utilities (electricity, water, heat, telephone (landline) etc.)

-car payment (gas to fill up said car is an added cost)

-cell phone bill

-internet bill

-cable/television bill (can also include Amazon Prime/Netflix etc)

-FOOD (groceries, take out, etc)

-any memberships you have like to your local gym

-insurance (home, life, auto, medical, dental, vision)

-taxes

-church/charity

-clothing

-credit cards

This list could on and on. Yes, I know that all adults should be paying these bills, but as a recent graduate, you are trying to just start your life after college. It could be your first full-time job or your first time buying a house, and everyone knows that you don't just buy a house without changing a few things, which adds up quickly. If we as a nation lowered tuition to four-year colleges and made two-year colleges free we would allow our recent graduates to have a little more spending money, which we allow them to buy more things and raise the supply and demand on goods which would make more jobs, leading to a better economy. YAY! WE JUST FIXED THE ECONOMY! Actually, this is a very difficult thing to do but I think that if we lower student debt and make college free, we will have a good start to fixing the economy. Don't get me wrong, this will be a long process, but a process well worth our time and energy.

Let's look at some facts:

In the 1950's American teens were three times more likely to be in school than European teenagers. Today, this is no longer the case. 

Most American's recognize the link between higher education, a productive workforce, and economic growth, but they are unsure of how to boost all of these.

Between 1900 and 1975, each generation of American's completed 1.5 years more of education than the previous generation.

From 1910-1950 high school graduation rates jumped from under 10% to almost 60%

for more facts like these click here

So what's changed?

Many European countries have gone to a free (or almost free) college system and here's why:

Ireland released a report found here that states some of the strengths of the Irish economy (found on pages 29 and 30)

"A competitive economy in many respects through low corporation tax, overall productivity levels, a well-educated and young workforce and a smart approach to business regulation."
"Young, educated and English-speaking population-Ireland has the highest proportion of people under 15 in the EU and the lowest proportion of people over 65. Over 85% of 20-24 year olds have completed at least of secondary education which is the 2nd highest in the EU-15 and 40% of those aged 25-34 have a third-level qualification which is the highest in the EU-15, along with Belgium and higher than the US."

 They actually say "higher than the US" and why do you think they did that? Because the United States of America are supposed to be a world leader, and when someone is better than the USA it is a big deal. Which is why it is so important that the US changes the laws on college education as well as on student loans and the substantial amount of debt on students.

Another quote from the Department of the Taoiseach:

"In more recent times, through the attraction of its young and well-educated workforce and favourable tax incentives, Ireland has imported the best of overseas commercial leadership, management expertise and supply and demand networks assisted by investments by multinationals. More than half of Ireland’s new entrepreneurs, at some time in their careers, worked for a multinational company."

Ireland is building its economy with the attraction of a young and well-educated workforce as well as favorable tax incentive. Since Ireland's economy is booming and other European countries (who use similar systems) are also seeing thriving economies the US should take notes and follow in a similar manner.

Although many students have a huge amount of debt throughout the United States, there are already grants in place to help students graduate with little or no debt (including Pell Grants). In fact here's      8 colleges where students attend free.

This bill proposed by President Obama is a way for all students to lessen or eliminate their student loans all together. I think that this is a great start to a much larger issue that needs to be addressed by the United States in order for our country to become one of the leading contenders in education once again. This bill will "get the ball rolling" so to speak and then we can move forward to eliminating college tuition expenses completely.


Thank you so much for reading and be sure to check out my Bibliography!