The average high school graduate’s annual income = $30,000.

Lifetime income = $1,200,000.

Average AGI income tax rate = 3.3%.

Taxes over lifetime = $39,600.

The average college graduate’s annual income = $52,500.

Lifetime income = $2,100,000.

Average AGI income tax rate = 14.3%.

Taxes over lifetime = $300,300.

Therefore the government makes $260,700 more in taxes from a college graduate over their lifetime.

The average tuition to university in state = $9,139 per year. Over 4 years it is $36,556.

The Return on $36,556.00 tuition investment = $224,144 per person.

That is a 758% increase in tax revenue per citizen given free college tuition.

That is a 613% return on investment.

Not to mention, the unemployment rate is twice as high among Americans without a college degree.

What’s Bernie Sander’s plan for public colleges and universities:

MAKE TUITION FREE AT PUBLIC COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES!

This is not a radical idea. Last year, Germany eliminated tuition because they believed that charging students $1,300 per year was discouraging Germans from going to college. Next year, Chile will do the same. Finland, Norway, Sweden and many other countries around the world also offer free college to all of their citizens. If other countries can take this action, so can the United States of America. In fact, it’s what many of our colleges and universities used to do. The University of California system offered free tuition at its schools until the 1980s. In 1965, average tuition at a four-year public university was just $243 and many of the best colleges – including the City University of New York – did not charge any tuition at all. The Sanders plan would make tuition free at public colleges and universities throughout the country.

[A Note on the Opposition] The primary and most supported attacks against this article have stated that the job market will be saturated with college graduates and therefore diminish a degree’s value. This has nothing to do with the information presented here. Bernie’s plan does not invite 100% of Americans to suddenly go to college. It offers student debt reduction and free tuition at public colleges and universities. This does not mean that suddenly everyone will have a degree and thereby reduce a degrees value. That is pure fiction used to undermine the value of his plans for students. The numbers presented here reflect the value of each student that we invest in. That means whatever amount of students his policy allows to attend public colleges and universities will individually be profitable to the US treasury. In no way does this article state that all Americans will instantly be going to college and drastically changing the job market. It is pure misinformation.

Source College tuition fees http://www.collegedata.com/cs/content/content_payarticle_tmpl.jhtml?articleId=10064

High school and college lifetime earnings http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/moneymatters/a/edandearnings.htm

Percentage of AGI paid in income tax http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/01/31/the-average-american-pays-this-much-in-income-taxe.aspx

Bernie Sanders Complete College Plan https://berniesanders.com/issues/its-time-to-make-college-tuition-free-and-debt-free/