Dear Future President of the United States,

Imagine a place where students whose families can’t afford higher studies could get to attend college. Imagine a place where the government would use some of its money to help the students that can’t afford college. Imagine a place where everyone has a chance to be educated and find a high-paying job. More government spending to help these lower-income families and more people getting college education helps the economy. Your policies should help lower-income families who can’t afford their child’s college education, include spending more money for these families to send their children to college, and note that more college degrees leads to the growth of the economy.

These days, there a lot of students who can’t go to college, because their parents can’t afford the pricey costs of colleges. The student will usually have to drop out of school in 12th grade, and work in a low paying job. “The economic analysis finds that Millennial college graduates ages 25 to 32 who are working full time earn more annually—about $17,500 more—than employed young adults holding only a high school diploma.” (The Rising Cost) But would the young adults be able to make more money, if their families could have afforded to send them to college when they were students? Think about this for a moment. “For example, in 1979 when the first wave of Baby Boomers were the same age that Millennials are today, the typical high school graduate earned about three-quarters (77%) of what a college graduate made. Today, Millennials with only a high school diploma earn 62% of what the typical college graduate earns.” (The Rising Cost) The 62% is 15% less than the 77% in 1979. If it keeps decreasing at the same rate, in another 37 years, it will go down to 47%. “As tuition and other fees have climbed and state funding of public institutions has failed to keep pace with rising costs and growing enrollment, a college education is being priced out of the reach of middle-class and even upper-middle-class families.” (Finney) If even upper-middle class families are struggling to pay for college, how would the poor be able to afford it? “According to a recent report from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Vanderbilt University, families earning $48,001 to $75,000 a year had to pay a significant portion of their gross income to send a student to a public four-year nondoctoral institution. On average, it cost 16 percent (in Alaska) to 33 percent (in New Jersey) of their income in 2013, the latest year for which complete statistics were available for the report.” (Finney) This is why you should include helping families who can’t afford their child’s college education in your policies.

The government gives loans to students, but the students who can’t afford to pay back the loans won’t take one. “For the first time in at least 50 years, a majority of U.S. public school students come from low-income families, according to a new analysis of 2013 federal data, a statistic that has profound implications for the nation.” (Layton) This tells us that there are so many students who might have trouble paying for college. “The Southern Education Foundation reports that 51 percent of students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade in the 2012-2013 school year were eligible for the federal program that provides free and reduced-price lunches.” (Layton) This signifies that there is a large percentage of low-income families with students attending school. The government should plan to help these students who can’t afford to pay back loans. This is why your policies should include more government spending to help families that can’t afford college for their children.

The more college degrees there are, the more jobs there are. The more jobs there are, the faster the economy grows. “As the U.S. population ages, and with the effects of the financial crisis promising to linger for some time, economic growth will be lower than we would like. This is why the federal government needs to do more to help Americans earn college degrees.” (Orszag) Our economy can grow towards high yield industries like technology if more students would have the benefits of higher education. “Over the past 30 years, however, educational attainment has risen much more slowly. From 1960 to 1985, the share of adult Americans with at least a college degree more than doubled, to 19 percent from less than 8 percent. From 1985 to 2010, though, the share rose by only about half, to 30 percent. This slowdown has exacerbated inequality and crimped growth.” (Orszag) This is another strong reason why higher education helps the economy.

In conclusion, I believe free or low-cost college education should be offered to students from lower-income families who can’t afford the cost of college. By doing so, the government is investing not only in its citizens but also automatically helping the economy grow. Thank you for taking the time to read my ideas and concerns. Good luck with your future elections and Presidential plans!

Sincerely,

8th grader

Aniruddha Pochimcherla

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Works Cited

"The Rising Cost of Not Going to College." Pew Research Centers Social Demographic Trends Project RSS. N.p., 11 Feb. 2014. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.

Finney, Joni E. "College Unaffordable Even in Higher Income Brackets." The New York Times. N.p., 22 June 2016. Web. 4 Nov. 2016.

Layton, Lyndsey. "Majority of U.S. Public School Students Are in Poverty." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 16 Jan. 2015. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.

Orszag, Peter. "More College Grads Equals Faster Economic Growth." Bloomberg.com. N.p., 12 Feb. 2013. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.