Why "Free Education" Is Bad News | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Politics and Activism

Why "Free Education" Is Bad News

Free education would send this economy into a tail spin.

449
Why "Free Education" Is Bad News
The Norwich Radical


The concept of free education has been around for a while in the United States. Recently, former Democratic Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders had big plans of implementing his 100 percent free college education system into the United States, but after his loss to Hillary Clinton in the primary's, questions are being asked if Hillary will adopt this free education system into our Country. And yes she will. This article will talk about the economic ramifications of such "free education System" and why it will surly fail or will fail our economy.


What does education level have to do with the economy?

The demand of a higher level education is an important thing to measure in economics. After all, higher educated workers grow our service based economy. As economies progress, jobs evolve. Easy jobs require little education; hard more complex jobs require a lot of education. Jobs progress in that cycle, and the natural balance of economies keep that cycle going.

The good thing about our current education system is that our economy has reached an equilibrium with the education it demands. Some people drop out of high school or complete a PhD. The variety of education levels is what keeps an economy flowing. The good thing is, we have jobs to meet every education level. Most economies work off of that system of education to job balance. When the education system is modified in any way it can cause a big issue for economies.



Free education might seem like a dream come true, but what are we losing?

Some of the major issues facing countries like Finland, Norway, Sweden, and other extremely developed countries, is the labor force participation.The labor force participation rate is a great tool to use to see employment rate of able body workers.

Since Free Education has been implemented in Finland the Labor Force Participation rate has dropped to 59 percent. That means 41 percent of that nation's able body workers are unemployed or not participating in the workforce at all. Also, Finland’s unemployment rate is almost 10 percent. That means that 31 percent of able body workers are not even actively seeking employment.

And get this, because of their free education, Finland has one of the highest post-secondary education rate in the world (college) at over 66 percent.

If 66 percent of the country’s whole population has a college degree, then why are 41 percent not even working?


What problems arise when free education exists?

When education becomes free and readily available it causes some issues. If an economy is based on one occupation type, i.e. tertiary and quaternary type jobs and not multiple education level jobs it becomes unbalanced. When that happens, job shortages start occurring and even degrees become devalued. like the whole saying goes "if everyone's special, then no one is". If everyone has a degree then what is it worth?



The reason why labor force participation is so low is simple, why would you want to work in a factory with a college degree. People become frustrated that they can’t find a job that they deserve and give up looking.


The main point:

Fee education creates a youth workforce loaded with degrees who are unwilling to work because they cant find a job that they think they deserve. This is why you see the "more developed countries" failing due to their country's debt because half of their workforce is unwilling to work.


Economies are extremely complex, supply and demand of education is an easy scale to tip. When education becomes free it increases the supply of degrees into the market. That, in turn, decreases the demand When there is less demand for degrees it causes a shortage of jobs, unemployment, and degree devaluation. More or less free education has its pros and cons but for the most part, it’s a bad idea.


Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Featured

12 Midnight NYE: Fun Ideas!

This isn't just for the single Pringles out there either, folks

13806
Friends celebrating the New Years!
StableDiffusion

When the clock strikes twelve midnight on New Year's Eve, do you ever find yourself lost regarding what to do during that big moment? It's a very important moment. It is the first moment of the New Year, doesn't it seem like you should be doing something grand, something meaningful, something spontaneous? Sure, many decide to spend the moment on the lips of another, but what good is that? Take a look at these other suggestions on how to ring in the New Year that are much more spectacular and exciting than a simple little kiss.

Keep Reading...Show less
piano
Digital Trends

I am very serious about the Christmas season. It's one of my favorite things, and I love it all from gift-giving to baking to the decorations, but I especially love Christmas music. Here are 11 songs you should consider adding to your Christmas playlists.

Keep Reading...Show less
campus
CampusExplorer

New year, new semester, not the same old thing. This semester will be a semester to redeem all the mistakes made in the previous five months.

1. I will wake up (sorta) on time for class.

Let's face it, last semester you woke up with enough time to brush your teeth and get to class and even then you were about 10 minutes late and rollin' in with some pretty unfortunate bed head. This semester we will set our alarms, wake up with time to get ready, and get to class on time!

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 5 Painfully True Stages Of Camping Out At The Library

For those long nights that turn into mornings when the struggle is real.

2721
woman reading a book while sitting on black leather 3-seat couch
Photo by Seven Shooter on Unsplash

And so it begins.

1. Walk in motivated and ready to rock

Camping out at the library is not for the faint of heart. You need to go in as a warrior. You usually have brought supplies (laptop, chargers, and textbooks) and sustenance (water, snacks, and blanket/sweatpants) since the battle will be for an undetermined length of time. Perhaps it is one assignment or perhaps it's four. You are motivated and prepared; you don’t doubt the assignment(s) will take time, but you know it couldn’t be that long.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 14 Stages Of The Last Week Of Class

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

1657
black marker on notebook

December... it's full of finals, due dates, Mariah Carey, and the holidays. It's the worst time of the year, but the best because after finals, you get to not think about classes for a month and catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the semester. But what's worse than finals week is the last week of classes, when all the due dates you've put off can no longer be put off anymore.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments