The American Opp tax credit should be extended because it is a huge help for families struggling during these sad economic times. It helps to offset some of the debt acquired during the college years.
I will have three children in college at one time the year this credit is to expire. That is a $7500 savings which is huge being that we are a single income family and my husband makes less than $75,000 a year (which is far less than he made 10 years ago as he has had to take a paycut and lose his overtime).
How is the next generation going to ever get ahead if they don't have the opportunity to go to college? And how will they afford it without the tax credit help? ==================================================
To give it some perspective, in that same ten years that your family's income was decreasing, the cost of a college education (across all types of institutions) rose by roughly 32%. Many parents do not realize (until their children are in high school) that what seemed possible and even likely ten years ago, is out of the question now. At least the college tax credit makes it possible to get a public postsecondary education, even if it does not help much with private schools.
