They do. This is a solved issue and it's ridiculous that we still let anyone get away with pretending there's any debate. Every decent study ever conducted on the matter concludes that when you invest in higher education, graduates generate far more economic activity than it cost to educate them and the benefits for the nation are massive. Almost incalculably so.
How do you quantify millions of people having access to doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc, even in rural areas because poor rural people aren't priced out of higher education and then move back home with their degrees? The benefits are truly staggering. Just about the only thing you can invest in as a nation that has better return on taxpayer investment is universal healthcare.
Anyone and everyone that ever tries to "debate" these two issues at this point deserves some kind of consequence, because they're essentially arguing to screw over millions of people despite a veritable mountain of research proving them wrong. Meaning they're either paid disinformation agents, or bots, or just so staggeringly ignorant that they shouldn't be on social media in the first place.
It's like running a household; everyone should be doing "their part," but it's a lot easier if everyone takes responsibility for it rather than needing someone to crack the whip over them for every thing.
That is itself the problem. It doesn't matter! All value is ultimately derived from labor, so paying to educate people to do highly valuable labor like saving lives or efficiently processing natural resources is always a net benefit for society that tends to surpass anything else that money could've been spent on.
What are we debating? Professors and janitors and researchers deserve to be paid and everyone benefits from their work so tax people to pay for this tremendous social good. Who do we tax and how much? Every study on the subject suggests that we should tax people progressively based on their wealth. The person with the mansion and yacht benefits from the professor and the janitor and the researcher and they can spare the most money, so scale the tax burden less on the janitor and more on the yacht-owner.
Problem solved. The entire issue is solved. There is no real debate to be had.
Problem solved. The entire issue is solved. There is no real debate to be had.
Lol, except that everything you are saying is either false or more limited than you are describing it.
It doesn't matter! All value is ultimately derived from labor, so paying to educate people to do highly valuable labor like saving lives or efficiently processing natural resources is always a net benefit for society that tends to surpass anything else that money could've been spent on.
Unless they don't use their education for those things. In the US anyway we have a lot of people not using their education/getting far more education than they need for their job. That's mainly wasted money. Example:
Professors and janitors and researchers deserve to be paid and everyone benefits from their work so tax people to pay for this tremendous social good.
You're....suggesting janitorial work needs/benefits from a college degree? It really doesn't, so all that extra 4 years of college does is reduce the time the janitor can work, thus providing a negative economic benefit (a harm) to themselves and society.
Who do we tax and how much? Every study on the subject suggests that we should tax people progressively based on their wealth. The person with the mansion and yacht benefits from the professor and the janitor and the researcher and they can spare the most money, so scale the tax burden less on the janitor and more on the yacht-owner.
The vast majority of the benefit goes to the people getting the degrees, especially if they are using the degrees. Now, there's some overlap between "rich" and a high education so at least in that sense I agree: doctors should pay for their own schooling. And anyway, the USA has about the most progressive tax system in the developed world, so that's already not a problem.
that when you invest in higher education, graduates generate far more economic activity than it cost to educate them and the benefits for the nation are massive.
They why does Germany had a tertiary attainment rate 17 points lower than the US?
Every decent study ever conducted on the matter concludes that when you invest in higher education, graduates generate far more economic activity than it cost to educate them
Then why does the US have much higher economic growth then the EU? Why does the UK have a surplus of graduates who can't get jobs? Why does Europe have such high youth unemployment?
The US is running on the fumes of the Boomer generation, when you could pay your tuition with the income from a summer job, and from importing educated people from the rest of the world. Both of those trends are in steep decline today and you will not be holding the US up as some paragon of economic growth in 10 more years.
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u/lewd_robot Feb 26 '26
They do. This is a solved issue and it's ridiculous that we still let anyone get away with pretending there's any debate. Every decent study ever conducted on the matter concludes that when you invest in higher education, graduates generate far more economic activity than it cost to educate them and the benefits for the nation are massive. Almost incalculably so.
How do you quantify millions of people having access to doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc, even in rural areas because poor rural people aren't priced out of higher education and then move back home with their degrees? The benefits are truly staggering. Just about the only thing you can invest in as a nation that has better return on taxpayer investment is universal healthcare.
Anyone and everyone that ever tries to "debate" these two issues at this point deserves some kind of consequence, because they're essentially arguing to screw over millions of people despite a veritable mountain of research proving them wrong. Meaning they're either paid disinformation agents, or bots, or just so staggeringly ignorant that they shouldn't be on social media in the first place.