http://www.demos.org/blog/1/9/15/free-community-college-big-deal-debt-free-college-would-be-transformative
"It wasn’t until the mid-1990s in which borrowing for college became the norm. Before that, low tuition and high state investment meant that students could afford college via part-time work or modest savings. But decades of neglect in our public institutions has led to a moment in which students borrow $30 billion each year to attend public colleges and universities.
Making public higher education a public good again isn’t going to happen overnight, and the idea of free tuition for the 45 percent of American students who attend community college is a nice start. Making public college debt-free again could be transformative."
