I believe education should be free, that is, paid for by the state, PROVIDED the student can pass the entrance examinations of the accredited educational institution. Conservatives had tried to convince the public these grants would be available to any dumbass who applied for it (can you hear the racist dog whistle there?). Its loud and clear for me. As for the high threshold for when debt cancellation kicks in, well.., that's how you get the middle class to sign on. You throw them a bone, but you make the poor pay for it.

Education should be free for anyone who can pass the entrance exams, just like health care should be free to anyone who's sick, or legal representation for anyone who's going to trial. I don't have kids, but I don't mind paying taxes to educate yours. Its good for the country, whether or not you have any kids. Besides, the government picked up the tab for my schooling, I have a debt to pay back and I will not weasel out of it' Its the patriotic thing to do.

If your house is on fire, the fire fighters should be free. If your ship is sinking, the coast guard should be free. If you're being robbed, the cops should be free. The way its set up now, only people who can afford tuition get to go to school. But the cost of education is not covered by tuition fees. It is paid for by the taxpayers, whether it comes from State funding of universities, or State-guaranteed loans to any dumbass who is conned into applying for it.

If the "taxpayer" can't afford the price of admission (tuition) he has to borrow, and the government protects the lender from risk. It needs to stop. Its a fucking racket, baby.

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The system I favor, which I outline above (and which pretty much describes the programs which helped pay for MY education), are pretty much how the rest of the "developed" world does it now, For example, in countries like India, millions of highly qualified graduates are produced at taxpayer expense and they cannot be absorbed by their economies. So they come to the USA where they take away jobs from our doctors, engineers, scientists, professors. Have you noticed how many Asian surnames are on our medical marquees lately? Of course, they will work for less, and "Americans don't want those jobs any more". Of course, in America, science and math are BORRRRIIING! Real men get business degrees. So maybe Gupta is getting screwed too, but he's still better off than if he had stayed in India.