“the national student loan debt is continuing to increase every year.” Sanders’ main claim is that the rising cost of high education is making it harder and harder for Americans to get the education they are striving for. Instead of using numbers and graphs like most do to support their claims, Sanders used history and examples to make the audience visualize the issue. In one instance, he described how much has changed for ordinary Americans to get the education they want and need: “In 1978, it was possible to earn enough money to pay for a year of college tuition just by working a summer job that paid minimum wage. Today, it would take a minimum wage worker an entire year to earn enough to cover the annual in-state tuition at a public university.” This backs up Sanders’ warrant of why so many bright young adults are not able to go to college, do not finish, or graduate deeply in debt. Throughout his editorial, Sanders wants the audience to remember how “educational is essential for personal and national well-being,” since we live in such a competitive society that needs a good educated workforce in order to be strong.
When looking at popular press sources rather than academic, many use the authors’ opinion or an overview of the issue rather than actual full research. Personally, I do not think that means they should not be use, but for formal argument sake sometimes they do not offer solid evidence.
The topic in a piece published by Dissent Magazine is “free public higher education is long overdue” (Cottom). The author used some factual information like pulling statistics from over the years and using information from past Democratic platforms and the Obama administration. But for the most part, her backings were just her blunt opinion, which makes the article bias. The author states the cost of tuition is the main reason why only half of Americans go to college but there are other factors like cultural and social barriers imposing on people’s education too. The claim is that free college is only going to benefit a small group of people– “st