Sometimes America is so caught up in technicalities and what ifs. Sometimes this country becomes a machine, a Tin Man even. We have no heart, no compassion. I do not really understand what it is to be desperate or poor. My life has been privileged since day one. But I do understand what it means to care about my fellow man. So why is wellfare such an issue? Why isn't the government's responsibility to protect its citizens on the economic and military front? It's as if this country believes its a dog eat doge world. If your lazy your poor; if you work hard you will be alright. That is not always the case. Sometimes, people need a helping hand. Sometimes, we have to care about someone other than ourselves. This world is hard. There are not enough jobs to pay for everyone's 2.5 kids, house in the suburbs, and a white picket fence. People take what they can get. Our government should not be so cold and unfeeling towards their citizens; it has been making extreme progress since the mudraking days. But its not enough. The government should take a more active role in this vestment of federal budgets. In order to stop perpetuating the cycle of poverty I believe its in America's best interest to make college free. That way anyone who wants to better themselves through education has the ability to do so without financial worries.
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While I believe that your heart is in the right place, I believe we, unfortunately, must be realistic. If we were to have a "free" college, obtaining a degree from it would probably end up being considered as the equivalent of a GED. The only one's who would go to these free colleges would be as you said those unable to afford regular college institutions. Therefore these free colleges would be quickly labeled as lesser colleges.
While it sounds harsh, it would probably be the most likely outcome. . . maybe
Shux, I think he was alluding to France's system of universal upper-education, not a few duty-free schools. That system would be a tremendous investment in the future. I've had this thought lately in fact, because there's a mill-levy (6 million dollars I think) in the Montana town I reside. Jefferson spoke to an educated, informed middle class with the potential to make healthy democracy and even healthier small local businesses go around. I think this would work in the United States.
If you'd like to read an interesting opinion about the future of upper-ed., check out James Howard Kunstler's "Making Other Arrangements."
my documentary...
"some folks say that a hippie won't steal,
but I caught three in my corn field"
--John Hartford
Your suggestion would not work by allowing just anyone to go to college. If their education were on the government's dime (that would include paying the people who teach them, the upkeep of the buildings in which they are taught, and various programs many colleges have thanks to the tuition and fees, which would include all the student organizations at my Alma Mater), then a lot of people who go to college now would just not be allowed in. People fail out of college all the time, and it's no big deal to the college system at large, because they are paying for their own education. If the government were paying for it, you could rest assured that not everyone would have that opportunity. Perhaps we would go toward France's system of colleges, where only the smartest in each class has the opportunity to go, and you test into the profession you want to go into right after high school, rather than waste those four precious years trying to figure out what you want to do with your life.
Of course, that kinda ruins the college experience, doesn't it?
~C
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