Several recent events have sparked a debate about what paying for college will be like for students and families in the near future. President Barack Obama announced his proposal for two years of free community college earlier this month. And according to Jonathan Weisman of The New York Times, “President Obama, facing angry reprisals from parents and from lawmakers of both parties, will drop his proposal to effectively end the popular college savings accounts known as 529s.”

And most recently, Congress made it official by voting to do away with ending tax breaks on these plans used for college savings. With this proposal struck down, a Republican congresswoman suggested a way to modernize and preserve the 529 plans.

Rep. Lynn Jenkins’ (R-Kan.) idea is to expand these 529 programs rather than limiting them. Politico reported that the plans would extend to, “… include computers as qualified expenses, eliminate paperwork required when the funds are distributed and allow taxpayers to re-deposit refunds from colleges without taxes or penalties.”

Obama’s plan, which has the intention of assisting Americans in paying for college tuition, is admirable. The plan sounds good in theory, but there is concern it could hurt the largest number of people financially in the long run. Jenkins’ idea is more sensible and more likely to benefit the middle class.

The president’s plan would provide students with two years of zero-charge college education, provided that they maintain a GPA of 2.5 and adhere to several other stipulations. But there are no financial restrictions on the plan. So people who can already afford college without government assistance can opt in, all at the taxpayer’s expense. As a result, the middle class would be taking a huge hit tax-wise.

A better solution to the rising cost of college tuition would be to make paying for college a more realistic goal, and assist students in paying for some expensive items necessary for their education. Jenkins’ plan is pretty close to this ideal situation. Essentially, she wants to modernize the already existing, tax-free 529 savings plan. Previously, the money allocated to the savings account was only eligible to be used for college tuition payment. Now the plan will be expanding to include technology such as computers, which are an essential staple to the modern-day college education.

As Jenkins said, “This bipartisan, sensible legislation strengthens an extremely popular savings plan for middle class families so that all Americans have the opportunity to send their children to the college institution of their choice.”

The upside of this plan is that it allows students the flexibility to attend schools in which they can receive better, major-specific education. College is still incredibly expensive, but this plan is attempting to make it somewhat more affordable. Her goal is to make college more accessible, and allow families to start saving early on so as to lessen the financial burden.

Obama’s plan is not a bad idea. Free community college would certainly increase the number of United States citizens who attend college, and would open the job market for these people. However, the program still needs to work out some kinks in order to avoid straining families already struggling to afford college expenses.

Jenkins’ plan, at this moment, is more realistic and favorable because it begins to take on the problem of astronomically priced higher education, without costing taxpayers.

Victoria Razzi is a freshman magazine journalism major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at vcrazzi@syr.edu and followed on twitter at @vrazzi.

Published on February 1, 2015 at 11:15 pm