FreedomFighter said:

Not neccessarily. Especially not if government coercion is involved - every time that happens, the economy takes a hit.

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Economist said:

unbeliever said:

Where do you get the funds for this education? Either you have well-to-do parents or you go into massive debt. There are scholarships, sure, but there aren't enough for everybody. It's a matter of logistics that people are going to be excluded from higher education by these factors.

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Yeah I've really never understood this argument (Seuss I believe this addresses your point too).  Just go down to your local community college anywhere in the US and ask how much a class is.  Usually it's $50-$100.  And you usually need to take around 40 classes to graduate (5 classes a semester x 2 semesters x 4 years).  So the total is something between $2000 and $4000.  Most Americans carry more credit card debt than that, so it's really hard to view this as a "hard" barrier to getting an education.  It's definitely a "soft" barrier, most people don't have a spare $4000 just hanging around, but even at minimum wage, $4000 is a VERY achievable goal.

The OECD measured the massive 90% earnings gap between people with a college degree and those without, NOT between people with a Harvard Degree and those without.  So getting a bachelors from your local community college actually gets you more money than most people think.  It gets you into the wide range of jobs that simply say "Must have college diploma to apply".

Now, many Americans in our culture of "must be the best" DO take on massive debts to attend Ivy League institutions, and this is usually what you hear about in the papers, but the reality is, it's just not that expensive to get a bachelor's degree in the United States.

I do think, however, that the key difference between the US and Europe is that you have to choose to get a degree in the US.  With the European educational system, it's not much of a choice since college is free, there's basically very little reason not to do it.  However, by charging even a minimal fee ($2000-$4000), Americans have to show a level of commitment to their education that likely doesn't exist in Europe.

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cybrbeast said:

FreedomFighter said:

Not neccessarily. Especially not if government coercion is involved - every time that happens, the economy takes a hit.

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Says who? Republican propagandists?
In Europe there was a study recently which rated the most economically competitive countries. The Scandinavian countries were at the top of the list. They are also the most socialist countries.

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