On Free College Tuition

The modern progressive emphasis on free college tuition is badly misplaced, for 2 reasons.

First, at public colleges, the biggest burden on poorer folks is room and board. Tuition is practically nothing! We should be giving free room and board instead. (PMC = professional middle class here)

https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/1187930031219019776

Second, lots of people don’t go to college, many of which never will. And these folks tends to be less well off, so they need help too. “[W]e should as a society designate ages 18–24 as the attachment zone during which all paths into a career are fully supported by public benefits and services. Students get their free school. But, under the exact same umbrella, nonstudents get their free vocational training, subsidized apprenticeships, in-work subsidies, public jobs, and whatever else it takes to ensure a lasting labor force attachment [My father has suggested startup money for new businesses]. That would be a program that is actually in fitting with the ideals of universalism.”

https://medium.com/@MattBruenig/the-college-debate-is-as-incoherent-as-ever-d8a0db0e8bd8