Increase in Pell Grants Will Force Tuition Up Across the United States

The heavily indebted United States of America continues to spend billions on programs that are enslaving Americans all in the name of welfare. The federal student loan and assistance programs are no exception.

The Department of Education just announced record increases in Pell Grant availability, which means the government is flooding the education market with more money and colleges and universities will adjust tuition costs to get their hands on as much of it as they can. The more money available in the market means less competition to keep costs down.

"An economic downturn, tuition increases and stagnant incomes have converged to squeeze both American families as they try to send children to college and older students who are seeking more education to improve their job opportunities," said College Board President Gaston Caperton. "The silver lining is that record federal aid in the form of Pell Grants and tax credits is helping to make a college education more affordable."

Oh really? Don't buy into this? If there wasn't all this federal money in the college education market, these schools would have to do a better job of competing for your money--which means they would have to make their tuition rates more competitive. Don't let Mr. Caperton fool you. Since the federal student loan and assistance program began, college tuition has continued to skyrocket.

Increases in grant aid and tax credits don't benefit all students, but they are providing a financial boost for millions of families and students. The largest increase in Pell Grant history led to $28.2 billion in grant aid reaching 7.7 million students in 2009-10 — an increase of almost $10 billion from 2008-09. Grant aid from colleges and universities is also growing, and many students continue to rely on grants from states and private sources.

The great federal deception in college education is not only driving up tuition costs, it's also producing more federal debt. These programs are counter productive to students and they do nothing more than create professional debtors upon graduation--Pell Grant or not.