Americans have to pay a small fortune for a college degree these days. But in Germany, tuition is free - even for Americans!
Even before tuition fees were abolished in the last German state last week, students there paid only a pittance compared to the debt burden American graduates carry for decades. German students and international students who study there also get extra perks on top of the now free tuition - like free transportation and discounts on food, clothing and events.
Not only is education not free in the US, but it is more expensive than ever with state funding down almost 25% from what it was before the 2008 recession.
According to Hamburg Senator Dorothee Stapelfeldt, tuition fees are not only unjust, but they discourage young people from pursuing study, especially those who don’t have an academic family background.
It's generous of Germany to offer free tuition to international students, but Americans shouldn't have to go to Germany to afford a college degree. Tell the US Congress to pass a law making college tuition free for Americans - in America!
We, the undersigned, say Americans have been bearing the burden of college debt too long. And if Germany can abolish tuition, there’s no excuse for Americans to have to deal with such excessive debt.
Not only has the cost of a college education in the U.S. skyrocketed in the last few decades, but students have been paying far too high interest rates on loans they shouldn’t have to be taking out in order to get an education, in the first place.
The debt burden graduates are left to carry for a decade or more is not only harming their personal financial growth, but it also harms the overall economy of the country, making it harder for new graduates and young couples to buy homes and other products that helps boost the nation’s economy.
And as the German Senator pointed out, tuition fees, alone, discourage young people from pursuing higher education - so certainly high costs and long-term debt is even less encouraging. What follows is that student who don’t feel they can afford a college education are far less likely to excel in or even finish high school.
Germany has raised the bar on supporting higher education and life-long learning, and it’s time for the US to learn from Germany’s example.
We request that Congress abolish college tuitions fees at all American public universities.
