When you fail to study before exams...

[cookderosa]

I agree with part of your post. I do not agree with $75 a week being easy to afford. If I didn't receive the Pell Grant, I would not have been able to afford $75 per week. Luckily, Texas CCs aren't that expensive anyway.

I worked full-time, but I had bills to pay. I wasn't living at home with my mother. I also had a dependent to provide for making less than $9 per hour. $300 per month would have made us homeless. Of course, one can take on a second job, but that means that there would be practically no time left to put in an adequate amount of effort on schoolwork, especially if one is attending on campus.

The woman in the video does have a point. Making CCs free should be around the same cost as offering grants since grants are often give in excess. Of course, eliminating grants, though, would mean that students would have to take out loans to help with books and living expenses.

While some may believe that some college presidents make too much (a very small percentage make as much as CEOs), reducing their salaries will probably drop tuition rates a couple of dollars at most.

The required fees do hurt. Students should be able to opt out of access to things they won't use.

I guess my problem is that I don't see it as a problem that needs solving.

We do have Pell Grants- and it's true not everyone qualifies, but many do! https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/grant...ships/pell
There are avenues to access scholarships while you're enrolled, especially at the community college level (Rebel can share his daughter's awesome story)
CLEP exams are accepted in some amount at most community colleges in the country for those so inclined
Somewhere around 60% of large companies offer tuition reimbursement in some amount
College isn't the only way to earn a living in this country, only about half the adults even have college degrees
K-12 is already mandated and funded by the government, secondary education is still a privilege - but people are arguing as if it's an entitlement.

Everyone on this board is a shining example of exceptional motivation not exceptional privilege or exceptional talent (though I'm sure we have both, too) and frankly, a little more chutzpah will take a person farther than a few more dollars.