Why subsidize wealthy college kids?

[Ali G. 37]

I 110% agree that education should be accessible to those who earn it, rather than just those that are well off. This obviously allows for the best and brightest to get an education rather than just the wealthiest. However, the system falls flat on its face when hundreds of thousand of illegal aliens are permitted to use it as well. Just in case people have not noticed yet, America does not have a bottomless pit of money. Unfortunately the Irish immigrants did not bring leprechauns filled with pots of gold with them. They must have gone to Australia instead..

Due to the national importance of higher education, the federal government took over funding public colleges in AUS. Not only is it a more reliable funding source but it allows students to receive an education at the same rate in any state. As a result, be exposed to a greater diversity of students and thoughts, than they would find in their state alone.

Edited March 8, 2010 by Booyah

[spookyturtle 9,466]

I think education should be subsidized based on intelligence and need. Let the wealthy pay for their own and give help to the smart ones who would not be able to attend otherwise. Education is the key to our future.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I realize you don't agree with this way of doing things, but the rationale of that works something like this: through our taxes, we pay not for ourselves but for society as a whole. The idea here is that if more of our underclass ends up getting an education, the larger societal benefits will benefit us all collectively.

Now I realize I used the word "society" and "collectively" and you're probably breaking out into hives right now. Got any Zyrtec lying around?

[Ali G. 37]

I think education should be subsidized based on intelligence and need. Let the wealthy pay for their own and give help to the smart ones who would not be able to attend otherwise. Education is the key to our future.

Agreed. Well unless they are illegal liens.

Edited March 8, 2010 by Booyah

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The thread is about "higher education", BY.

How many illegals do you think are in the college system?

[Ali G. 37]

The thread is about "higher education", BY.

How many illegals do you think are in the college system?

I don't know but want to find out. Illegals and anchor babies already heavily drain K to 12, particularly in CA.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

I prefer that the money helps out legal Americans.

[Niels Bohr 72]

Of course they've earned it. They got accepted to a major university. The problem is those who are excellent student and poor needs to work during school. This would make it stressful for them to study and work full time.

There's a need for subsidizing as Alienlovechild posted. The make you a well-rounded thinker for one reason, to eliminate ignorance.

Edited March 9, 2010 by Niels Bohr

[SMR 368]

I think education should be subsidized based on intelligence and need. Let the wealthy pay for their own and give help to the smart ones who would not be able to attend otherwise. Education is the key to our future.

The reality is that college is expensive for everyone. A four year degree at a top rate university, after including books, board, room, etc. will run you a couple hundred thousand dollars. While there are a small number of super rich who can cover that out of pocket, for over 99.9% of Americans, that is a huge expense.

Base scholarships and grants on merit alone. While you may have the occasional child of a super-rich millionaire snag one of these grants on merit alone, almost everyone needs help paying for education. Going back to helping society, society is best benefited when the best educational opportunities are afforded to those most able to take advantage of them, regardless of how much money their parents make.

I'm coming at this from the perspective of someone who was essentially ruled out for any need based scholarship or grant because my parents make decent (although not ridiculous) money. Due to the realities of American life, my parents weren't really able to help out with my education and I ended up paying for it by myself, working while studying and by getting a couple strictly merit based scholarships. I went to a school where I got in-state tuition and this was before tuition really started to hike. Now, someone in my position would have a much harder time of it, just because of where his or her parents fell on some chart.