No such thing as free tuition ers. But that won't le IKE SANTA CLAUS and there re- tuition will be expensive. Her thele families off the travel, Tree" college tuition campaign puts the 10-year price of im thing, their families and popand sounds great in theory but And as students join mebrill doesn't actually exist in real $450 billion. The American Associa- ton of State Colleges and Universities and become taxpayer ". the ife. For much of the past year, Bernie they will really feel the tomonths sanders' promise to make public high- tells Time magazine that $520 billion tax rates that had to be rainon ittime er education free for all attracted mul- would be closer to the mark commodate the half-trulion-demar titudes of enthusiastic supporters to A promise of "free" tuition is mere cost of their "free" tuition. his presidential campaign. Last week, y a promise to stick someone else Besides, making any good of ser- Hillary Clinton embraced most of the with the tab. At half a trillion dollars vice free encourages people to waste Sanders proposal, paving the way for or more, the tuition tab is already pretty enormous. But if there's any- it. No product was ever valued more him to endorse her formally on Tues- thing we should have learned from 40- highly by being given away for noth- day and, she hopes, to convince voters ing. Enact legislation that lets anyone who # FeltThe- plus years of government efforts to A promise of Bern in the pri- keep higher ed affordable, it is that the go to college on the taxpayers' dime, 'free' tuition is maries to back more Washington pours into holding and we'll see more unmotivated col- her in November. down the cost of college, the more ex- lege students whose time would be far better spent elsewhere. merely a Under Clin- pensive college becomes. ton's new plan, in- Uncle Sam has tried everything - The overconsumption of higher ed- ucation is already pronounced. Just 59 promise to stick state tuition at grants and loans, subsidized work- percent of college students at four- someone else public colleges study jobs, tax credits and deductions- and universities Result? The price of tuition, room, and year institutions manage to earn a de- gree within six years. "Today's college with the tab. would be abol- board at an in-state, public college has students learn a lot less than college ished for students soared from $1,405 in 1971 to $19,548 today - an increase of 1,300 students once did," writes economist from families Thomas Sowell. "If college becomes with incomes up percent. Unlike food, clothing, and en- ergy, the cost of college has raced far free; even more people can attend col- to $125,000. The campaign estimates ahead of inflation. As economic stud- lege without bothering to become edu- that that would make higher educa- cated and without acquiring any eco- tion tuition-free for more than 80 per- ies, including recent work at the Fed- nomically meaningful skills." cent of American families. eral Reserve Bank of New York, have "Free" K-12 education is replete If only. repeatedly shown, the government aid meant to quell the flames has succeed- with problems. To turn a famous Hil- The hard truth, alas, is that high- er education cannot possibly be free. ed only in fanning them. If the Clin- lary Clinton phrase, it requires a will- ful suspension of disbelief to con- In time, the Rockies may crumble, ton/Sanders pledge becomes law, it is virtually certain that college will be- clude that "free" tuition will improve Gibraltar may tumble - but no poli- tician's promise or electoral mandate come even more costly. Perhaps that higher education. It may be good for explains why 20 out of 22 economists politics, but making college free will will ever make the costs of providing only make it worse. a college education vanish. There surveyed by NPR judged Sanders' pro- ain't no such thing as a free lunch. posal a bad idea. That has always been the first pillar Of course, Washington can formal- ly shift the cost of college from stu- of economic wisdom. Even Clinton acknowledges that dents and their families to the taxpay