Who pays for free community college? #tellusatoday

We asked our followers what they thought about the plan for two years of free community college. Comments from Twitter are edited for clarity and grammar:

The benefits will outweigh the costs. Californians like me had free community college until the 1980s.

— @topchef58

I am mostly for it. There's nothing wrong with a more educated society. Although an oversaturated job market may be a concern.

— @profoundone1

Funding education rather than wars will save money and give more opportunity to the middle class.

— @lucydog93

Nothing in this world is free. What is needed is an interest-free loan payable out of future income tax returns.

— @MYOFFICES

Free community college is a great idea. How it works and who will pay for it is another thing.

— @AndreJalil

Hopefully it will address high private college rates and lower student debt.

— @KnightStu

If academic expectations were higher in K-12, students wouldn't need two more years of "free" education.

— @thesilentwoman

Letter to the editor:

Community colleges are nothing more than high schools for 18-year-olds. Anyone with poor test scores and a low high school grade point average is welcome. Low-performing high school students should get jobs, not continue loitering in classrooms ("Obama pitches free two-year college plan in Tennessee").

President Obama's plan to make community colleges free is misleading. We, the taxpayers, will be stuck with the bill. And what is our return for our investment?

Obama does not have a financial stake in his proposed folly. His return on investment is the disruption of the GOP's agenda in Congress and garnering more votes for Democrats.

Elio Valenti; Brooklyn, N.Y.

Comments from Facebook are edited for clarity and grammar:

One of the primary reasons that college costs have grown so fast is because of all the "free" money thrown at higher education.

— Mathew Andresen

How difficult is it to understand that by free, President Obama means free to graduating seniors and others who put in the work?

It's silly that so many are willing to spend trillions of dollars on wars but are afraid of investing billions to educate our workforce to further economic growth.

— Mark Eric Bell

We need to re-analyze the purpose of getting a degree, whether an associate's, bachelor's or master's. It matters but is not the deciding factor in which job you choose. A degree in art can open a slew of opportunities, from video game design and graphic design to Web design. The goal of education is to expand the mind first, not your pocketbook.

— Anthony Christopher White

In my state, with the tax breaks, the tuition is almost free anyway. This should be a state issue. Community colleges will raise prices if the federal government pays.

— Peter Stein

I would rather see a plan to increase test scores and graduation rates in troubled areas. This plan doesn't help those behind already. We should help them first.

— Linda Horner

For more of the conversation, follow @USATOpinion or #tellusatoday on Twitter.