Opinion: Declining college enrollments are bad for the U.S. workforce and the country itself [Opinion]
Add to this list the relentless ideological assault on education from the right. Attacks on everything from “political correctness” to myriad otherof Republicans to tell pollsters that they have little confidence in colleges and universities. The numbers are nearly the inverse on the other side of the political spectrum, and those on the left who distrust institutions of higher education are far more likely to cite cost and/or corporate influence.
Despite these problems, it is true, in most cases, that those with a college degree, whether it is an associate’s or a bachelor’s, earn significantly more than high school graduates, and have better health and personal outcomes overall. In terms of social policy, it is also important to note that college-educated citizens are more likely to participate in the democratic process.
In response to the enrollment crisis in community colleges in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom has allocated $150 million in this year’s budget for recruitment efforts of first-time students. Beyond this, however, we need to keep pushing for free college for all and student debt relief so the ticket to the American middle class is truly an option for everyone.
So, rather than jettisoning free community college from the attempt to resurrect President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda,, Democratic leadership should fight for it. There will always be those who cry about the price tag of such initiatives, but the costs of allowing this trend of declining enrollment
to continue and/or deepen will only increase economic, racial and other inequities in our already deeply unequal and increasingly divided and unenlightened country.