The cost of an American education is rising to dangerous levels

The cost of being a student in the U.S. is getting dangerously high, as inflation strains the budgets of most Americans. College students, many piling on huge loans, are finding themselves scraping by to pay for classes, working long hours each week just to afford school essentials. And, some are sleeping in homeless shelters or their cars and skipping meals because they are unable to pay for student housing that can cost more than the ever-increasing cost of tuition.

Class discussion: Do you know anyone who is struggling to pay for college? Should family wealth determine who gets an education? Why or why not? Thirty-nine nations – some much poorer than the United States - provide college for little or no tuition. Why doesn’t the United States offer taxpayer-paid higher education? Why has U.S. college tuition risen so much more than inflation over the last 50 years? Could denying gifted people higher education harm America’s future?