In the current system, education isn’t viewed as a system of societal improvement but as a product to improve the standing of the individual. Because the individual is seen as the only one who benefits from their education, the individual pays for it.
Not tooting my own horn here. So your saying as myself being an RN to want to help people that all the people I have helped doesn’t mean jack shit? Not looking for a fight just generally curious.
I’m not one to say it doesn’t matter. I know the benefit good nursing provides. I’m saying, in modern culture, especially in the circles who have political, economic, and cultural power, there is, and has been for decades, a push to think of a college education as an investment product that benefits the purchaser, with little to no consideration being given to societal benefit. They are acting as if your work is not more meaningful/beneficial to society than, say, a Marketing Director. (a position of similar wage which I would say is, at least, not as beneficial, if not actually harmful to society)
Nursing, for instance, is a profession, or even a vocation, which provides tremendous societal benefit, both in the direct ‘people’s lives in medical settings suck less’ sense and in the indirect ‘people get back to health and productivity’ sense. Despite this, it’s not common, as far as I’ve seen, for governments to offer much in the way of benefits to nurses as reward for their service. There’s even a tendency to, when they ask for a raise, to take an attitude of ‘You should be happy. At least you get to know you’re helping people. We need all these extra profits to help compensate us for doing our jobs that don’t help people.’
Mostly as an aside, I’ve actually thought for years that nurses and doctors who are providing direct care to patients (i.e. not people who went to Med/Nursing school and then went into medicine-adjacent business, but people putting in direct labor to help heal people) should have a significant tax cut. Their work benefits society more than the money it would represent, and a cut would make their lives easier, and help balance the years of tuition and effort it takes to get to that position.
I think they mean the nature and true goal of higher education is not to educate, but is singularly profit and make more and more profit each and every semester. Profit above all else but hopefully, but not nessecary whatsoever, an institution’s shamefully underpaid and overworked staff has the time or energy to properly teach the next generation their area of expertise.
Higher education wants $$$ and they know the government and private corporations will issue about any 18 year old kid, fresh out of high school who has been pressued their entire childhood to either go to college or be a homeless prostitute, massive and insanely high interest “loans”
It’s to take from you and burden you with debt that can’t be undone, even in the event of personal bankruptcy. Why would this system give money away when they can loan it out for an abusive & permanent high interest loan that would make even a gambling addict blush?
Ronald Reagan didn’t like that black people could protest while in university.
Only rich people get free stuff in the states, anyone who actually needs it is a freeloader.
its because conservatives lack empathy. theres literally no other reason.
Its not just lacking empathy, its antipathy.
It’s also the student loan racket.
We dont want poors getting educated
Republicans hate clever people.
You can often get such assistance if you are poor. If you aren’t, it’s expected you or your parents will cover basic costs.
Luigi!
I was an orphan at the time, but when I was putting myself through college I had food stamps and it helped me a ton with keeping me fed. I was fortunate to have that program available to me at that time in my life. I also worked several jobs at the same time.
At the public university I attended, there was a student health center where you could see a doctor for routine things. Not a complete hospital or anything but we weren’t totally on our own.
Mostly because all of that is a highly-confusing tangle. Food stamps are hilariously limited in most states, same with Medicaid. Section 8/HUD will almost always make sure you wind up living in the most run-down tenement your town has, run by the shittiest landlord, who will almost always be looking for a reason to evict you - and that even assumes you don’t have to wait literal years. The current wait time for Section 8 housing in my city is something like a year and a half.
food stamps is a bizarre trap in 2025
There’s no reason why they can’t if they qualify for them, afaik. If you have literally zero income and nobody is feeding you, you qualify.
Sorry, if your parents are providing for more than 50% of your expenses they get to claim you as a dependent, and you only qualify based on your parents income.
Wouldn’t apply if you’re literally orphaned, but it can be rough trying to prove your parents disowned you, if they still claim you as a dependent for the tax breaks.
I had to work full time in college, all my money went to rent and the cheapest food I could find. I didn’t qualify for Medicaid, and I only qualified for $30 a month in food stamps. I also didn’t qualify for section 8 housing. It was pretty shocking. That extra $30 a month genuinely helped though
I wish I hadn’t been too proud to go to food banks when I was in college. It would have made my life so much easier
that’s a huge political question. of all time probably.
should we educate and train new warriors in how to not kill?
i guess it’s not going so well.
College students can be eligible for SNAP & HUD.
It is actually the case around here.
The idea is derived from one of the basic human rights: education.
It means, everybody has the same right to education (not just the rich ones), and therefore it is society’s task to make sure that nobody gets denied it just because the parents are poor.
America is run by psychopaths. Who only want suffering for anyone in need. Just how this system has murdered its way to existence.
