Is publc education free in the US?

Answer 1

That depends a lot on personal point of view. Some believe that pursuing free education would be a positive endeavor for the US because (obviously) more people would be educated, and it would put people on more of a level playing field. Others believe that it should NOT be free, since taxpayer money would be funding said "free" education, and because a degree is something meant to set people apart in the job market, making it virtually meaningless if everyone has one.

Making education free means that those who can't afford it, but have the skill or find it necessary to proceed, could have the oppportunity to better their lives when they would otherwise be restricted to minor careers and jobs. It also allows people to get on with life, where most spend a long time trying to work off the debt that is often accrued in the course of study.

However, making it free means that anyone who wants to, could spend a large amount of time at an educational institution and not make any progress, while living off the tax dollar (for that is where the money would have to come from, short of the country becoming a true communist federation). It would also lower the quality of education, as the institutions would have to lower their wages to staff, their budgets for equipment and facilities, and many other things.

The current system - user pays proportionally - is the most effective, at least for the way the system is run. To make it completely free would require massive overhauling of the social and political organising, but there is much to be said for some compromise; a decent subsidy would do a lot of good.