Of course at first the government paying for college sounds like a great idea. But in the end, the money that government is using comes from America’s wallet.

If the government decided to start paying the tuition for college students all across America, then that would just financially cripple us further as the money would come from taxes. It would be like relieving expenses in college tuition and then just dumping it all onto the taxes of Americans.

Teenagers have trouble relating or understanding this concept because only a small percent of us even have jobs and are paying taxes. To put this onto a student-type scale, I will use my personal experiences with taxes. On my last paycheck, I grossed a whopping $368.25.

After the federal and Indiana state tax were deducted, it was down to $329.10. Now that may not seem like much when put like that, but that is 11% of my paycheck gone before I ever cash it.

If we applied those numbers to a decent $1,000-a-week job, it would end up taking out $110. If you then multiply that number by four times a month and 12 times a year, it would total $5,280 per year. That is taking taxes and looking at them in a very simple way, but I think my point is clear.

Not to mention that according to data released by the National Priorities Project in 2007, only 4.4% of America’s taxes went towards education. That number would skyrocket if the government paid college tuition.

The increase in taxes would be the biggest problem, but another issue at hand is how it would put every student equal to another. If the government paid for college, a student with a 4.4 GPA and a student with a 2.8 GPA would be considered equal.

The students with the higher GPAs should be rewarded with academic scholarships and aided with their college tuition. They have earned that right by obtaining those grades, and the students who just barely sneak into college should not have the same privileges.

Overall, it is just not a good idea to have the government paying for education. Taxes are high enough, and students who do not have scholarship-worthy grades should have to work to pay for their college education.