Stop Arguing over Elite Schools. Just Make Public Colleges Free
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Re: Stop Arguing over Elite Schools. Just Make Public Colleges Free
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Re: Stop Arguing over Elite Schools. Just Make Public Colleges Free
#3Teachers don’t work for free, nor do janitors or administrators. Building maintenance and leases aren’t free.
Re: Stop Arguing over Elite Schools. Just Make Public Colleges Free
#4Nothing is “free”. Sometimes the costs are hidden from most people.
It’s like immigration. If you say, “anyone who comes here can’t be kicked out and you instantly get access to healthcare, food stamps, and free housing” then your maximum payout is the entire planet and you are bankrupt once people realize this.
For public college to be free, I want to limit access, like happens in Europe. Sure college can be free… to the top N people in the state, with N being decided by the payers (i.e. democratic electorate).
Otherwise it’s just wasted money as we delay adulthood for a huge number of people who have no business getting degrees.
Re: Stop Arguing over Elite Schools. Just Make Public Colleges Free
#5We've been prioritizing military spending over education for decades. I'd love to see even a bit of that swing the other way. I don't think taking a small amount from the military, by requiring them to optimize a few budgets, would be impactful on our nations security.
Re: Stop Arguing over Elite Schools. Just Make Public Colleges Free
#6One of my favorite cultural artefacts from Europe is that "Oh you pay tuition? Sorry your grades weren't good enough"
My university only charged you for retaking exams (after 3 tries) and for redoing a year, if you didn't make a baseline of credits. 1 re-do was free. You can re-take any class for free as long as you're enrolled. I used this to take classes from past years that I didn't pass.
While I'm a bad example of using free schooling well, this is exactly the sort of thing taxes should pay for. If the world's richest country can't pay for schooling, ...
edit: I also remember various professors explaining how paid tuition and good education are opposites. You can't have good education with high standards, if people expect a return on their investment (a degree). How can you look someone who paid $100k in the eye and say "Sorry, you do not meet the bar. No degree"?
Re: Stop Arguing over Elite Schools. Just Make Public Colleges Free
#7I don't follow the logic the author is using. Let's say we make all public colleges free for students. "Elite" schools will still exist, and top students will still target schools such as Ivy/MIT/Stanford/etc. One look at the people in executive offices or top political offices and you'll find a substantial portion are graduates from elite schools.
Re: Stop Arguing over Elite Schools. Just Make Public Colleges Free
#8Teachers don’t work for free, nor do janitors or administrators. Building maintenance and leases aren’t free.
Free in this context (and in health care discussions) obviously just means free at the point-of-use. It's so odd that people continue to pretend not to understand that to make some other point.
Re: Stop Arguing over Elite Schools. Just Make Public Colleges Free
#9We've been prioritizing military spending over education for decades. I'd love to see even a bit of that swing the other way. I don't think taking a small amount from the military, by requiring them to optimize a few budgets, would be impactful on our nations security.
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Re: Stop Arguing over Elite Schools. Just Make Public Colleges Free
#10Teachers don’t work for free, nor do janitors or administrators. Building maintenance and leases aren’t free.
Roads don't build themselves, water treatment doesn't happen by itself.
What is society for if not to serve the common needs of the people?