but what if your rich daddy paid for it? Isn't the rich kid (or the working class kid who gets grants, loans, GI Bill, campus employment or other student aid also getting a "free ride"? No, an education, like health care and legal representation is a human right. No one should be doomed to ignorance, pain or death, or denial of his human rights just because he can't afford a teacher, a doctor or a lawyer. Now I do agree that all benefits must be rationed, we simply can't provide everything for free for everybody. But the rationing must not be based on your economic class; especially if you are a child.

The only thing that should determine if you "deserve" to stay in school is if you can do the work, as determined by your grades and examinations. "Taxpayer paid daycare" isn't because college is too cheap, its because academic standards are too low. And the reason they are so low is because too many people think their dumbass kid deserves to go to school because they pay taxes and can afford a small, token tuition. The system is middle class welfare, pure and simple.

Most people don't use their college training on the job. I never did, except for one course in Fortran I took at University. All the math and science I needed I got from high school. And I was a high-tech Silicon Valley engineer! Except for a few professions that require specialized technical training and certification documents, you learn what you need on the job; the true role of college is to persuade some Human Resources Department that you have learned how to learn, have a decent attention span and work ethic and are willing to put up with crap and follow orders and defer your expectations. Also, by the time you graduate from University, you generally have the basic skills you should have mastered in high school, like spelling, grammar, and basic arithmetic.

So who pays for it? Those who benefit most from it. The better educated man is a better citizen, a more productive worker, and a bigger taxpayer. And that is good for the country, not just for him. I look at it this way: I'm glad to pay taxes to send your kids to school, even though I have no kids of my own. I help pay for the space program even though I know I'll never be an astronaut myself. I do not feel abused or ripped off, that is my duty as a citizen, I owe it to my country.