Democratic Primaries
In reply to the discussion: Pete Buttigieg argues against free college. This is why progressives can't agree about subsidizing t [View all]Blue_true
(31,261 posts)A society needs skillsets of all types. We need plumbers, electricians, toilet and floor cleaners, doctors, nurses, lawyers, ect. College is not for everyone, so any plan must be designed to cover as many people as possible. A college degreed person SHOULD pay more in taxes over a working career, but with tax payment avoidance by some, there is no certainty that society will get it's free tuition investment back, with extra dividends. So, if society pays for one kid's college, what do we give the kid that takes a job at McDonalds after high school because he or she was not into college? In theory the second kid ends up helping to pay the way for the first kid. Do we give the first kid $30,000 dollars tax free?
Any assistance system is going to have some unfairness associated with it. How do we minimize that unfairness? One method would be to offer life-long educational assistance that can be utilized once, kid 1 may use that assistance for college right out of high school. Kid 2 May wait until 30 to think about a better future for himself or herself. The issue that I have with free tuition is that it ends up favoring people that already have an advantage, kids whose family recognize the value of a good college degree, it does nothing for kids that don't have that support. Free college most likely will increase racial income disparities also.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden