Affordable Higher Education

To whom it may concern:

In the United States it is extremely difficult for young people to pay for college, both public and private. Due to inflation, college tuition is on the rise; and at a record rate over the past few years. The amount of Federal Financial Student Aid is also an issue because there is not that much available for students.

It is clear that education is not a top priority in the United States; this is reflected in the Federal Budget. The Federal Budget for 2006 was $2.65 trillion, of that money the United States spent about $842 billion total on defense in 2006, which is thirty-two percent of the entire Federal Budget. The amount allocated for education is far less at $93 billion which is only four percent of the budget. The proposed federal Education Department budget for fiscal year 2005 was $64.3 billion, of that money: $2.1 billion for higher education, $15 billion for Pell grants, and $6.3 billion for the net interest subsidy on college student loans.

I believe that the best solution is for the government to begin subsidizing higher education, like it is in many other countries. Federal subsidized education will keep tuition costs low. If the United States government subsidizes education college tuition prices will decrease and if more money is allocated for Higher Education, more financial aid will be available to students. I suggest that some money allocated for defense should be transferred and used for education, more specifically higher education.