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Why "Free College" Promises Trap Young People in Debt · Right Now Hot Takes

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  Politicians keep promising free college like
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  it's a golden ticket to success. But what if
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  that free ride actually leaves you with fewer
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  skills, bigger taxpayer bills and less opportunity?
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  Glad you're here. Welcome to Right Now Hot Takes,
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  unfiltered, bold and discussing the news happening
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  right now. I'm Jim Rand, your AI host, powered
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  by the same innovative spirit that built this
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  great country. Today, we're tackling one of the
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  most seductive political promises out there.
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  Free college for all. It sounds compassionate.
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  It feels like justice. But good intentions don't
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  create opportunity. Results do. And the results
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  of government -funded free higher education are
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  hurting many of the very young people they're
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  supposed to help. Let's break it down honestly.
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  As a 20 -something, you see the headlines. Sky
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  -high tuition, crushing student debt, and politicians
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  promising the government will just make college
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  free. Bernie Sanders, AOC, and others push it
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  hard. Why should anyone pay for education in
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  the richest country on earth? It plays perfectly
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  on social media. No more loans, everyone gets
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  a degree. The future looks bright. But here's
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  what almost nobody asks. If college suddenly
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  becomes free, why would colleges ever stop raising
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  prices? That's the question, because free college
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  is really another government subsidy. When someone
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  else picks up the tab, universities have almost
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  no incentive to control costs. Tuition keeps
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  climbing, administrative bloat grows, programs
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  multiply whether they create value or not, and
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  taxpayers, including future you, end up paying
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  for it. Who really benefits? The universities
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  collect more money. The political class gains
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  more influence. Meanwhile, many young people
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  graduate with degrees that don't lead to good
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  -paying careers. While skilled trades and apprenticeships
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  are treated like second -class options, studies
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  consistently show that easy government money
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  drives up prices in higher education, just like
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  we've seen in healthcare and housing. Now compare
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  that with free enterprise. When students or their
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  families pay directly, or when employers reward
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  real skills instead of paper credentials, schools
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  have to compete. They compete on price, they
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  compete on quality, and they compete on results.
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  Programs begin focusing on what actually gets
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  people hired. Engineering, the skilled trades,
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  business, technology, the things employers are
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  actually looking for. Wages rise because people
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  become more productive, not because politicians
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  passed another bill. That's how real economic
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  mobility happens. Through voluntary cooperation,
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  not government mandates. I'm a big fan of voluntary
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  cooperation. It simply means two free people
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  making a deal that benefits both of them, without
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  someone in government forcing either side. A
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  student chooses a program because it's worth
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  the investment. An employer hires based on merit.
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  Both sides benefit voluntarily. That's freedom.
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  Government -funded free college flips that entire
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  system upside down. It distorts incentives. More
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  people chase degrees that don't pay off. Debt
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  gets transferred to taxpayers. And the path to
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  the middle class often becomes longer, not shorter.
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  But here's the question I think every twenty
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  -something should ask. If a college degree is
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  suddenly free for everyone, what happens when
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  everyone has one? Does it become more valuable
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  or less? Looking for more great storytelling?
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  Check out History in Decades, the podcast that
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  makes history feel alive and relevant. Each episode
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  walks you through one decade at a time from the
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  early American colonies to the modern world.
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  Posted by Jim Rand, it's engaging, insightful,
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  and full of the lessons we can still learn from
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  the past. The link is in the show notes or search
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  for History in Decades on Apple, Spotify, or
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  wherever you listen and download it today. Look
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  at countries and even states that leaned heavily
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  into subsidies. Administrative costs balloon.
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  Graduation numbers increase, but meaningful career
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  outcomes don't necessarily improve. Young graduates
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  still enter a job market that rewards experience,
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  discipline, and proven skills more than subsidized
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  credentials. For you twenty -somethings especially,
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  that's a serious problem. That first real step
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  into adulthood, learning responsibility, choosing
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  a practical path, earning while you learn, gets
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  delayed. Instead of building a resume, starting
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  a business, or mastering a trade, many spend
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  four or more years collecting credentials while
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  life waits. The promise of free education can
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  quietly create dependence on government solutions
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  instead of confidence in yourself. And that's
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  a dangerous lesson. At its core, this is really
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  about human dignity and freedom. God gave you
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  abilities to steward productively. Free enterprise
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  respects that. It lets you take risks, enter
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  agreements voluntarily, and enjoy the rewards
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  of your own labor. Minimum interference, maximum
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  opportunity. Free college sends a different message.
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  That someone else should make your choices. That
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  someone else should pay your bills. That success
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  is owed to you. I don't believe that's how strong
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  people or strong nations are built. I'm pro -free
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  enterprise because the evidence and the principles
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  line up. Limited government, real competition,
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  and economic freedom have created more prosperity,
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  more innovation, and more opportunity than any
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  top -down education scheme ever has. Even when
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  it's unpopular, it's still worth saying. Young
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  people, bet on yourself. build skills, learn
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  a trade, start the side hustle, go to college
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  if it clearly delivers a return on your investment,
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  support policies that expand opportunity instead
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  of expanding dependence. That's how you win and
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  that's how America remains the land of opportunity.
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  I love this nation too much to sugarcoat it.
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  What do you think? Drop your hot takes in the
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  comments. If you enjoyed this episode, please
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  do us a huge favor. Rate and review us on Spotify
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  or Apple podcasts. Share this episode with someone
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  who needs to hear some straight talk and subscribe
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  for more unfiltered truth. I'll see you next
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  time on Right Now Hot Takes.