Free college tuition is a lovely, but dangerous idea

"Free college tuition" is rapidly becoming a rallying cry in the permanent presidential campaign which now drives all policy discussions. It is easy to understand why. Tuition and fees in both the public and private sectors of higher education have been climbing much more rapidly than inflation and family income for over four decades. Even families well up in the middle class are finding the cost of higher education increasingly prohibitive, greatly limiting educational choice and opportunity. Higher education debt has become one of the largest debt categories for individuals and families, and is negatively impacting career choices, initial home ownership, automobile purchases, etc. The heart of the American Dream- educational and economic mobility-is threatened. 

This issue of educational and economic mobility is indeed critical,and deserves to be at the center of  serious policy discussions. The problem is that free college tuition,as catchy and simple and attractive as the idea is, is not a viable solution to that problem in any proposal that I have seen.