The big problem Obama's free community college plan ignores

When President Obama called for two years of free community college, he also argued that nearly everyone should attend — that education should extend not to the 12th grade but to the 14th. The goal, he said, is to make "two years of college … as free and universal in America as high school is today."

Some critics scolded Obama for emphasizing the importance of college over other paths. The plan "bows to elites," wrote Megan McArdle: "Education is a very good thing, but it is not the only good thing. An indiscriminate focus on pushing more people into the system is no cure for society's ills."

But supporters and opponents of the plan both missed something big. Free community college wouldn't create an era of universal college enrollment because that era is already here. So many high school graduates go on to college already that it's unclear how much free tuition would boost attendance rates.