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Okay, getting a lil annoyed at the D2020 candidates' spiels about free higher ed and student debt. Here's a #LibertarianSocialist view on this, 3 simple points:
(A) federal support for teaching colleges
(B) universal sabbaticals
(C) free market if you aren't into college (1/8)
(A) federal support for teaching colleges
(B) universal sabbaticals
(C) free market if you aren't into college (1/8)
As to (A), it would be pretty stupid to just give people tuition to any college or university, if for no other reason than that the cost of a credit hour has far outstripped inflation. We need a nation-wide system of colleges that offer quality education, (2/8)
pay the instructors a living wage, and aren't profit-generators and/or the playthings of wealthy donors where the executives are living large and throwing wine and cheese parties. We need schools that focus on that, and that's what we should pay for. (3/8)
For (B), let's have this be like the #UBI. Every citizen gets a semester of free college-level education every 6 years. Give an extra semester's worth for getting a HS diploma or equivalent and that's 2 years free college for every kid getting out of HS. (4/8)
That makes it fair for all of us citizens, including those of us who never got the chance to go to college. We'll want it to work for our kids graduating HS now, so just make it retroactive for all of us 18 years. There's a sh*tload of us who need education. (5/8)
Finally, make it transferable. No rules at all. If you don't want to use your credit, you can ive them to your kids, grandkids, the promising young guy at church, or that nice cashier you hope to get at the grocery store. Or just sell them on the open market... (6/8)
...to non-citizens or people who want to take more classes than they have credits for. Might not be worth much, but might help pay off your college loans, or the loans you had to take because you couldn't afford college and make less than you might have. (7/8)
Like any socialist program, it's the kind of thing that will get better as people use it. Standards will get higher because we all will use it together, and perhaps vote accordingly. It will be a commons that we share, and we'll all be able to profit in the way we choose (8/8).
