Why isnt college free in the US and the UK?

[KylieJacobs]

I watched a Ted talk (or documentary... can't remember) about how college tuition should be based on the expected earnings for the field that you're going to college for.

So, a doctor, lawyer, engineer, etc should pay more for college than a fine art major who probably won't earn as much. I think college should be free if it's possible to do it without raising taxes (ex- stop spending so much on wars!), but if not, I think this idea would be more reasonable.

 

[Mila_]

I watched a Ted talk (or documentary... can't remember) about how college tuition should be based on the expected earnings for the field that you're going to college for.

So, a doctor, lawyer, engineer, etc should pay more for college than a fine art major who probably won't earn as much. I think college should be free if it's possible to do it without raising taxes (ex- stop spending so much on wars!), but if not, I think this idea would be more reasonable.

Here is the thing with that approach... you would be incentivizing people to get a fine arts major when we need more doctors and engineers than we need art critics or museum curators.

Here is an alternative criteria you can choose to assign prices for different majors: according to need. Say the country needs 100 doctors, then subsidize that major so more people enroll, and let the children of rich parents study Fine Arts since they are probably the only ones who can afford a career like that anyway.

But the second approach also has it's problems when you end up with a society that runs on a very smooth platform of practicality but lacks cultural production... you end up being susceptible to foreign ideas and lag behind other societies. So the above approach isn't the best either.

This is the problem with trying to fix prices manually... that no matter how you choose to assign them you always end up with problems. Letting "the invisible hand of the market" assign prices is not better because unlike libertarians and capitalists seem to assume, people don't make smart choices, especially when it comes to something far into the future, so you end up with poor bastards graduating with a degree in gender studies, no career path and 50k in debt who then go vote for Bernie.

What I would personally do is make it illegal for banks to issue loans for schools. This way the bubble will be gone in a second. Nobody will be able to afford going to college if they have to pay out of their own pockets so schools will have to bring the tuition cost down in order to survive. It will eventually stabilize at the right price most people can afford. Those who can't afford it will have to find a practical occupation like it always was.

 

[Nikola Tesla]

Some one has to pay the professors Guy. If not you then the taxpayers. And I assume that you are indeed a taxpayer.
If that was the way it was done then the people who don't go to college who pay taxes would end up paying for others tuition.

 

[JickyJuly]

If that was the way it was done then the people who don't go to college who pay taxes would end up paying for others tuition.

We already pay for public schools via tax. Why not add another 2 years or 4 of community college? It might seem unfair, especially to those who don't have children, but educating people into better employment opportunities makes for better communities. A little extra property tax for the chance at having neighbors who don't want to break into your home seems like it may pay off in the long run.

Also, @Guy if you have an idea of what career path you're into, you should look into FAFSA. Depending on your age and income, you might qualify for college grants. They'd probably be enough to pay for community college.

 

[Mila_]

We already pay for public schools via tax. Why not add another 2 years or 4 of community college? It might seem unfair, especially to those who don't have children, but educating people into better employment opportunities makes for better communities. A little extra property tax for the chance at having neighbors who don't want to break into your home seems like it may pay off in the long run.

Also, @Guy if you have an idea of what career path you're into, you should look into FAFSA. Depending on your age and income, you might qualify for college grants. They'd probably be enough to pay for community college.

The problem is we are paying for education people don't even need. There is an education inflation where entry level jobs that didn't require a degree before, now do, even though the job is exactly the same, simply because everyone has a degree now so it has become the new normal.

And of course, having a degree doesn't equate to better job opportunities we have found out painfully these past 6 years or so. Turns out education is not a magic wand

 

[ThePrincessLuxy]

I watched a Ted talk (or documentary... can't remember) about how college tuition should be based on the expected earnings for the field that you're going to college for.

So, a doctor, lawyer, engineer, etc should pay more for college than a fine art major who probably won't earn as much. I think college should be free if it's possible to do it without raising taxes (ex- stop spending so much on wars!), but if not, I think this idea would be more reasonable.

Whoa, that is a revolutionary thought. I have never considered that. I think I might agree!

 

[KylieJacobs]

Whoa, that is a revolutionary thought. I have never considered that. I think I might agree!

Here's the Ted Talk that I was talking about:

 

[AerynShade]

I'm happy to pay higher taxes to live in a well-educated society.

FILL ALL THE BRAINS!

 

[Bocefish]

Higher learning is free, it's the diploma and degrees that are wagered as a commodity.

 

[justjoinedtopost]

College is not free because you are not a corporation.

If you don't have the money to lobby, don't be expecting handouts. Get your ass to the MickeyD's drive-thru where you belong.

 

[EllieGeorge]

College is not free because you are not a corporation.

If you don't have the money to lobby, don't be expecting handouts. Get your ass to the MickeyD's drive-thru where you belong.

Are you kidding? If you are serious, please explain. I know that if you are in poverty, you can get grants (and sometimes scholarships) to attend school. I don't think someone should just stay in poverty because they can't afford to get a degree.

 

[SaffronBurke]

I'm happy to pay higher taxes to live in a well-educated society.

FILL ALL THE BRAINS!

Of all the things to pay taxes for, higher education is at the top of the list of things I think my taxes SHOULD go to. Especially considering how many "entry-level" jobs these days require a degree of some sort. Educate the bb's!

 

[VeronicaChaos]

Higher learning is free, it's the diploma and degrees that are wagered as a commodity.

Pretty much! We have unlimited access to the sum of human knowledge in our pocket. I wouldn't say that it's free; I buy books on subjects I want to learn about, and internet costs money, as well as software if you need any. But it's definitely not comparable to the amount spent on degrees and tuition, and right now we're at a pretty cool place where technologies are becoming more available and cost-efficient to the individual.

I think this idea that higher learning is a school thing, for kids, is harmful to our society. We need to encourage humans of all ages to continue to seek out new information and self-teach.

This is where my criticism of public schools comes in. I think humans are naturally curious and want to learn and we get that squashed out of us when we're kids. We're taught against teaching ourselves which is the most fucked up thing ever.

 

[Shaun__]

Whoa, that is a revolutionary thought. I have never considered that. I think I might agree!

Not all lawyers and doctors are rich. Some spend their lives helping people who can not afford to pay them much in return.

 

[Guy]

Not all lawyers and doctors are rich. Some spend their lives helping people who can not afford to pay them much in return.

Public Defenders don't make much money.

 

[ThePrincessLuxy]

Not all lawyers and doctors are rich. Some spend their lives helping people who can not afford to pay them much in return.

It would make sense to give these specific people a loan forgiveness then like we do teachers who work in impoverished areas.

 

[KylieJacobs]

Higher learning is free, it's the diploma and degrees that are wagered as a commodity.

Very true! The only problem is that you can be self taught, but that means nothing to an employer unless you have a college degree to prove what you know.

 

[Johndoe91]

Higher learning is free, it's the diploma and degrees that are wagered as a commodity.

Did anyone else think of this scene from Good Will Hunting reading this?



(The line starting at~3:25 in particular)