why should we have free college and paid maternity leave?

[rbohm]

Originally Posted by Fish & Chips

Everyone benefits from public expenditure in some way. What you benefit from might not be beneficial to someone else, and vice versa.

People with different needs contribute so that everyone gets something back. That's the price of being a civilised society.

All of this is compatible with capitalism.

Due to decades of corporate propaganda, the people who deny this are usually Americans.

Originally Posted by theunbrainwashed

You're talking about Republicans who don't have a higher education. You're talking about people who think a man wearing a suit and tie is a pansie (unless you're Trump), and to be a real man you gotta have your face smeared with coal dust.

Originally Posted by Catgirl64

Those should be funded, as well.

i have no problem with people educating themselves to make their own lives better in the long run. the problem i have is with them getting taxpayer funded college degrees. this sounds nice until the government decides that there is a need for more doctors, lets say, and the government then starts telling people what they will study in college, and then afterwards where they will work. now if someone signs up for that, and goes in knowing that they will study medicine, and then work in the wilds of alaska for X number of years to pay off that education.

there are ways to get an education funded without taxpayer money. there are scholarships, foundation grants, work study programs, employers who help pay for college, etc. and there are even government programs where the government will pay for certain degrees, but then you have to work for the government where they tell you for a period of time to work off that education you got courtesy of the taxpayers. and with these programs, the people paying get something for the money they put up.

[theunbrainwashed]

Originally Posted by rbohm

i have no problem with people educating themselves to make their own lives better in the long run. the problem i have is with them getting taxpayer funded college degrees. this sounds nice until the government decides that there is a need for more doctors, lets say, and the government then starts telling people what they will study in college, and then afterwards where they will work. now if someone signs up for that, and goes in knowing that they will study medicine, and then work in the wilds of alaska for X number of years to pay off that education.

there are ways to get an education funded without taxpayer money. there are scholarships, foundation grants, work study programs, employers who help pay for college, etc. and there are even government programs where the government will pay for certain degrees, but then you have to work for the government where they tell you for a period of time to work off that education you got courtesy of the taxpayers. and with these programs, the people paying get something for the money they put up.

Which already exists, and the government subsidizes that which scholarships etc., don't cover. Other than ideological opposition, tell me the PRACTICAL reasons why higher education in today's world can't be subsidized like K-12. Don't give me theories, or platitudes, give me real-world concrete reasons

[man4857]

Originally Posted by rbohm

i have no problem with people educating themselves to make their own lives better in the long run. the problem i have is with them getting taxpayer funded college degrees. this sounds nice until the government decides that there is a need for more doctors, lets say, and the government then starts telling people what they will study in college, and then afterwards where they will work. now if someone signs up for that, and goes in knowing that they will study medicine, and then work in the wilds of alaska for X number of years to pay off that education.

there are ways to get an education funded without taxpayer money. there are scholarships, foundation grants, work study programs, employers who help pay for college, etc. and there are even government programs where the government will pay for certain degrees, but then you have to work for the government where they tell you for a period of time to work off that education you got courtesy of the taxpayers. and with these programs, the people paying get something for the money they put up.

Here's another problem with reality that you're missing. Even if we fully fund education and people can study whatever they want for free, there will still exist a shortage of doctors, engineers, scientists, etc.. People just don't want to study enough in highly technical fields. Look at the rest of the western countries and you see the same problem.

But artificially putting a barrier on top of education (with student loans) only makes the shortage problem worse preventing those who can potentially make it through these programs from making it through.

I know plenty of folks will complain about basketweaving degrees or what have you but they're most likely the biggest hypocrites. Just ask them their educational background. They have no right to talk about which degree is useful or not until they have earned a degree that is "useful".