3 ms·

Did you seriously just ask a stranger on HN to explain one of the biggest sociopolitical issues of the last 10 years? Here's an introduction: the GI Bill sent

• gertef 10y ago
  That wasn't "free", that was payment for working in the military for several years.
• edblarney 10y ago
  That's comparing Apples to Oranges. More like Apples to Cars. The US spends more as a % of it's GDP and more $/capita than any nation on earth on higher education - and sends a considerably larger share of it's population to college than most other nations, certainly any European nations where college is free. The % of young people going to college has increased dramatically from 1950 to 2016. And FYI - if you join the Army today, you can still get your education subsidized :) 'Raw' dollars debt doesn't help us understand the picture that much, moreover, if everyone in America started going advanced degrees, that would also increase student debt, but that would be a good thing, no? Americans are on the whole much wealthier, and the opportunity that young people have today vis-a-vis 1950 is so much that it's basically unthinkable back in the 1950's. That said, it's not so good for working class people without jobs, and little job stability.