1/ Dumbest possible argument vs. free tuition is "it costs too much". Govts/electorates pay for what they want to pay for. The issue is value & trade-offs: how much extra access are you actually buying? could that be done more cheaply? what other spending must be sacrificed?
2/ The basic issues are a) there's almost no evidence free $ improves social composition of student body and b) once govts are on the hook for 100% of the costs, they tend to put the brakes on system expansion and focus on institutional efficiencies (i.e. reduce $/student).
3/ So "free" doesn't meet an effectiveness test and it has some pretty serious long-term effects on institutional expenditures and hence working conditions. The question is why anyone thinks those things are worth paying money for.
