Presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have both come out in favor of "free" public colleges and universities. The scheme could be funded, as CNN describes it, by a "drastic increase in federal spending on higher education."
Governments in the United States pay more (as a percentage of GDP) toward higher education than many other so-called "peer" countries.
According to the OECD's 2018 "Education at a Glance" report, public spending on higher education in the United States is 1.3 percent of GDP. That's equal to public spending in Switzerland and the United Kingdom. And it's higher than spending rates found in Germany (1.2), France (1.2), Canada (1.2), Spain (1.0), Italy (0.8), and Japan (0.7).
https://fee.org/articles/the-us-is-already-spending-more-on-higher-education-than-many-countries-with-free-college/
Governments in the United States pay more (as a percentage of GDP) toward higher education than many other so-called "peer" countries.
According to the OECD's 2018 "Education at a Glance" report, public spending on higher education in the United States is 1.3 percent of GDP. That's equal to public spending in Switzerland and the United Kingdom. And it's higher than spending rates found in Germany (1.2), France (1.2), Canada (1.2), Spain (1.0), Italy (0.8), and Japan (0.7).
https://fee.org/articles/the-us-is-already-spending-more-on-higher-education-than-many-countries-with-free-college/