I am "shocked, appalled, and disgusted" by the Jan. 11-17 Sound-Off “Free College Tuition” in North Country This Week. Not only does this piece reflect an alarming degree of open hostility toward lower- and middle-income working families, it also reflects claims and assumptions that are beyond ridiculous. College tuition, even at public institutions here in the US. is out of control and much higher than in the past. California, for example, had waived tuition for in-state residents at public universities until the 1970s. At that time, most New York state public institutions still charged little or no tuition. The author of this uninformed and resentment-driven diatribe alleges that one can pay for public college even on a minimum-wage job today. Anybody with basic math skills can easily refute this claim, especially when living expenses are taken into account. Fair access to education is a basic human right, and many of the world's most successful and developed countries, such as Germany, Finland, and Denmark, guarantee tuition-free higher education. It is high time for the U.S. to catch up.