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Who should pay for your education?

Who should pay?

  • Students

    Votes: 129 45.3%

  • Parents

    Votes: 156 54.7%
  • Total voters
    285
Cosmo Kramer

Cosmo Kramer

Prophet of Regret - Chicken Chaser
Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,177
México
I'm mexican and while i guess there most be some cases where it doesnt happen, it's always expected for parents to take care of their sons/daughters education at least until they graduate from college. I know it's not the case in the states and students have to go into debt, sometime for many years in order to afford their own education.
How is it in other countries? Which way is the right way?


I know there's also public education but i want to focus on private here
 
Transistor

Transistor

The Walnut King
Administrator
Oct 25, 2017
37,119
Washington, D.C.
The government. But barring that, it varies from case to case. If a parent has enough excess money, it would be great to help with their child's education. But if the parents are struggling, the child should help out and pay for as much of it as possible.
 
floridaguy954

floridaguy954

Member
Oct 29, 2017
3,631
This poll is horrible. The government should pay at least up to two years for free.

People should be able to have an opportunity to obtain an Associates Degree or a technical school education.
 
julia crawford

julia crawford

Took the red AND the blue pills
Member
Oct 27, 2017
35,137
I mean it really depends. Parents should subsidize the education of their children, optimally, because they are much more likely to be in a financially secure position than an almost teenager. But there are lots and lots of poor parents and in that case the kid should probably take some of the brunt as well, e.g. by working.

But in a normal, functioning society those poor parents would never be put in that position because public education would be the best place to learn.
 
dotpatrick

dotpatrick

Member
Oct 28, 2017
308
Definitely the government and especially the government any place where a bachelor's degree is now what a high school diploma used to be.
 
Cerulean_skylark

Cerulean_skylark

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account.
Banned
Oct 31, 2017
6,408
right now, poverty is a net drain on the country,
and education is a proven tool to increase social mobility. thus since education is a net positive for the health of the economy as well as many defining social factors, it should be the governments responsibility.

but republicans benefit massively from making people's lives as hard and brutal and destitute as possible so there is that argument,
 
Transistor

Transistor

The Walnut King
Administrator
Oct 25, 2017
37,119
Washington, D.C.
John Kowalski said:
I mean it really depends. Parents should subsidize the education of their children, optimally, because they are much more likely to be in a financially secure position than an almost teenager. But there are lots and lots of poor parents and in that case the kid should probably take some of the brunt as well, e.g. by working.

But in a normal, functioning society those poor parents would never be put in that position because public education would be the best place to learn.
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Bingo. It's not really a clear as day either / or situation.
 
GMM

GMM

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,481
Taxes, access to education should be free for everyone regardless of wealth, the smartest people can come from the poorest background and the dumbest people can come from the richest backgrounds, the ideal should always be to have equal opportunity.
 
Pikachu

Pikachu

Traded his Bone Marrow for Pizza
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
6,402
lots of people are just saying gov but like..... we talking just community college or public school? my private undergrad was 70k a year. surely gov ain't paying for that.
 
Good4Squat

Good4Squat

Banned
Nov 2, 2017
3,148
Of the two choices parents, but I don't like the idea that the personal wealth of either yourself or your parents dictate what kind of education you can get. I'd rather that people with low income actually get a chance to make a better life for themselves.
 
Ryuelli

Ryuelli

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,209
The Government. Education should be free, be it gen ed, higher ed, grad school, whatever. An educated society is a healthy society.

If they're not paying though, then ideally parents, but keyword there is ideally. Plenty of parents aren't in the position to drop multiple tens of grand paying to send their kid to college, and obviously being a kid, they probably aren't able to fund themselves either. I'm in an area where the vast majority of schools are title 1 and a huge chunk of parents rely on food stamps to feed their families. They can't afford to keep food on the table much less pay to send their kid to college.

Ideally it should also never be the students paying. I don't think an 18 year old truly understands what they're signing up for with student loans, most have never been exposed to the kind of money that is required to put themself through college in the US.
 
Rosebud

Rosebud

Two Pieces
Member
Apr 16, 2018
43,494
I thought this would be about government, not students/parents lol

With these options, depends on the family financial situation. Students don't really pay for education, they get loans and pay years later, and that's terrible.
 
OP
OP
Cosmo Kramer

Cosmo Kramer

Prophet of Regret - Chicken Chaser
Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,177
México
John Kowalski said:
I mean it really depends. Parents should subsidize the education of their children, optimally, because they are much more likely to be in a financially secure position than an almost teenager. But there are lots and lots of poor parents and in that case the kid should probably take some of the brunt as well, e.g. by working.

But in a normal, functioning society those poor parents would never be put in that position because public education would be the best place to learn.
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Exactly my take too
 
Weltall Zero

Weltall Zero

Game Developer
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
19,343
Madrid
Kurita said:
Government > parents >>>>>>>>>>>> students
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This. Quality, government-sponsored education should be among the foremost priorities of any developed country, right after free medical care. Society becomes stratified in de-facto castes when only the rich can afford education, and thus only their children can access high-paying jobs.

In the case that one lives in a country where this is not a thing (and moving to one where it is isn't a possibility), then it should be the parents' obligation; same as any other primary necessities like food or medical attention, until their children become independent. Don't have children if you can't afford to provide them with the essentials to live a decent life, including education.
 
Euphoria

Euphoria

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,507
Earth
Not all parents can afford to take on student debt, just as their children cannot necessarily take on the student debt. If higher education is a requirement for getting a job then higher education should be provided via taxes just like pre-k through 12th grade.

I am of course speaking as someone in the US.

What we did for our daughter was open up a 529 account and I would encourage others to do the same. Even if you only put in a small amount of money it will lighten the burden you face as a parent or student when you are 18+ and ready to move onto college.
 
Socivol

Socivol

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,659
The government like many have said. Having an educated society is a benefit for everyone.
 
Chan

Chan

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
5,334
Private education is a scam. My girlfriend paid $120k for her degree while I paid nothing for mine, we both have the same title.
 
Bear and bird

Bear and bird

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,588
In Norway a lot of students end up paying for their education, but we've got a very good system for student loans. 40% gets written off if you complete your courses and the rest of the loan tend to have a very low interest rate (mine is locked to 1.5% right now).

Parents often end up chipping in anyways, especially if their kids go to college/uni in the bigger cities, but from my perspective I would go with:
government + students > parents.
 
Alvis

Alvis

Saw the truth behind the copied door
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,224
Spain
The goverment is paying for my university education (not only by making it free, but also by actually giving me actual money into my bank account each year so I can keep studying. And no, I don't have to give it back. Ever. It's my money, so I can pay my expenses. It's not debt.)

Where is that option?
 
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John Caboose

John Caboose

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,199
Sweden
No tuition fees, those costs should be taxpayer "dollars". Living costs for students can be covered with financial support in combination with student loans which is also done through government. This is how we do it in Sweden and IMO a great way to do it.
 
Paroni

Paroni

Member
Dec 17, 2020
3,398
I'm from Finland.

University education is (almost) free here, since it still includes mandatory membership fee of the student body. It's exact cost depends on university, it's usually about 80-100€ per year. By paying the membership fee you also get a student card, which gives you huge amounts of discounts in stores, restaurants and (most importantly) public transports.

Government also supports students financially. University students get 252,76€ for 50 months (if studies go over that time the students just have to pay living expenses themselves) + 80% of their rent covered (maximum rent paid depends on area where student is living, in Helsinki for example you can get maximum of 512€ of your rent covered). Getting student subsidies requires advancement in studies, you need to get 5 credits per subsidized month and student's advancement for previous year is inspected every October.

Students can also take student loan on top of that. It's automatically granted to everyone but students can decide by themselves how much of it they want to actually take, maximum is 32500€. If you graduate within the "targeted time" which is usually ~5 years (though it varies by degree) you can get part of the student loan forgiven, usually ~20%.
 
Heisenberg

Heisenberg

Member
Oct 25, 2017
444
I don't understand the responses regarding parents in this thread. I never once expected my parents to pay for my college.
 

Deleted member 79451

Member
Aug 30, 2020
2,171
User Banned (2 weeks): inflammatory accusations
It should be society so that everyone has the opportunity.

Heisenberg said:
I don't understand the responses regarding parents in this thread. I never once expected my parents to pay for my college.
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Yeah I mean this is the old boomer ideal, but it seems wild. For college, loans and working is really not too big of an ask. My parents weren't able to give me anything for direct college funds. I still have loans, but it's not a huge deal.

Weltall Zero said:
Don't have children if you can't afford to provide them with the essentials to live a decent life, including education.
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OK Mr. Eugenics

Paying for your kids education is not practical in some places, like the United States. Only the very rich would be allowed to reproduce.
 
PAFenix

PAFenix

Unshakable Resolve
Member
Nov 21, 2019
14,610
I opened this thread expecting reactions to this story:

www.yahoo.com

Mom makes stark financial decision after discovering daughter’s OnlyFans account: ‘Extremely upset’

The mother felt as though the daughter gave her no choice.
www.yahoo.com www.yahoo.com

tldr: Father lost his job due to covid. Home/med bills are becoming tight. Agreed to pay through daughter's current semester and leave her to finish out her senior year on her $5k a month salary from OnlyFans. Daughter gets pissed and has stopped speaking to them. Article title is misleading as the mom gave her blessing for her kid to do an OnlyFans before dad lost his job.

Anyways, I'm not sure how to answer. OP doesn't want to discuss government being involved, which was going to be my answer. A family's financial situation should not hinder their ability to give their children a better life. But with that said, my parents are currently putting money away for my kid's college education, so I know I have a privilege not given to others.
 
Psychotext

Psychotext

Member
Oct 30, 2017
16,678
In any sort of civilised country, the answer is the government, without question.

The entire of society benefits from a highly educated population.
 

Deleted member 29280

Banned
Nov 1, 2017
1,844
Why shouldn't the government pay to fully educate its own people? Unless certain parties have a vested interest in keeping them uneducated, underpaid and easily exploited? Oh....
 
Rosebud

Rosebud

Two Pieces
Member
Apr 16, 2018
43,494
Heisenberg said:
I don't understand the responses regarding parents in this thread. I never once expected my parents to pay for my college.
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If they can, why not? We always see awful stories of how people only ate noodles for years during college, or how stressed/anxious they were...

But this "burden" should always be on the govt.
 
Baji Boxer

Baji Boxer

Chicken Chaser
Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,376
If parents push you to go to a private university over a public university, they should pay. Student pays for graduate school if they choose to go that route.
 
LinkStrikesBack

LinkStrikesBack

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
16,348
The government, up to *at least* the first degree. They're the ones who benefit most from having a highly educated workforce.
 
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