Quote:You do realize there are many, much cheaper ways, both for the individual and for the government, to educate yourself if you so desire?  The internet and public libraries can give you a better education than any liberal arts degree program can and for a fraction of the cost.  Or does the only way to be educated require having a $100,000+ piece of paper that says you are educated?

 

So how do we verify that someone is actually spending their time becoming educated if they're just doing a lot of reading?

 

Life is an ongoing exercise in education, my simple point was that it's in the national interest to have the most educated populace possible, and the costs of learning get in the way of that currently.

 

Obviously for people that want to raise families and live like upper middle class or wealthier people they won't be able to spend their whole life as a student, but for someone who for some reason can't find their passion (or who simply has a passion for learning) if they want to go from doctorate to doctorate I don't see a problem with that being free and the marginal costs of supporting a student lifestyle being paid for by the society that benefits from a more learned populace.

 

I also think tradeschools for things like welding and pipefitting should be subsidized, too.

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