The free college movement began with a trickle. A mention here or there, trumpeted by the likes of Bernie Sanders and Occupy Wall Streeters and later taken up by Black Lives Matter (though it now seems to have been removed from their official platform). But that trickle turned into a tsunami as the 2020 Democratic primary dominated what seemed to be the longest news cycle in history. Practically every candidate glommed onto the movement to make college free, each with their own version of what “free” really meant. When Democrats took control of the White House and both chambers of Congress in January 2021, it seemed that a federal free college regime was imminent — much to the chagrin of people like me who prefer a market-based approach and to the joy of those on the left.
Fast forward to today and it seems that the inevitability of federal free college was just a mirage. As it disappears, advocates will likely be taking the first back to where it began and where it belongs; the states.
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