11 ms·

> Another solution is to let you go to school for free and then pay a percent of all your future earnings back to your college, or at least into a pool that pay

> Another solution is to let you go to school for free and then pay a percent of all your future earnings back to your college, or at least into a pool that pays for the next generation's college. We could call it income tax :)

crocal 9y ago
Nah, let’s find some flashy Valley name for the concept and disrupt the market.
- dweekly 9y ago
  Personalized Education ICOs. Everyone gets their own token redeemable for a portion of lifetime earnings and tradable on an exchange. Traders can go long on an investment or short you if they forsee the market digesting an event decreasing your likely lifetime earnings.
  - gknoy 9y ago
    You might enjoy (or have already read ;)) "The Incorporated Man", a fiction novel which has this basic premise: Everyone's a minority shareholder in their own personal corporation. (except the main character). It's pretty well written, and both the main character and the antagonist have points of view which make sense, IMO.
  - FLUX-YOU 9y ago
    ILOs - Initial Life Offerings
- was_boring 9y ago
  yes, and make sure to include a blockchain.
julien421 9y ago
Actually, it is already happening: holberton school, make school, lambda school, etc... :)
VeronicaJJ123 9y ago
Most people do not go to college and still pay for income tax.
- ConceptJunkie 9y ago
  Income tax covers way more than education.
  - jedberg 9y ago
    Exactly, which is why this would be a special additional tax that is just for college graduates and just goes back to the colleges.
    - mulmen 9y ago
      That’s just slightly more transparent income tax.
    - ahoka 9y ago
      Also a special tax for sick people?
      - jedberg 9y ago
        We have that. It's called insurance.
      - VeronicaJJ123 9y ago
        Heard of health insurance ?
    - isostatic 9y ago
      This is the system we have in the UK. The crucial differences between having it as an extra tier of income tax of 9% above £21k (going to £25k soon) are 1) Those that don't directly benefit from university (say you become an electrician) don't have to pay 2) Those that earn millions don't pay it - they pay their £50k loan off (40% of that is living costs), but then those people tend to avoid income tax anyway 3) Those that emmigrate still pay it All in all it seems fine, but it's used as a political football by those that want to tax builders to pay for the education of stockbrokers (Labour)
ConceptJunkie 9y ago
The problem with subsidizing college in any way, including the current student loan system is that it encourages people to go to college whether it makes sense or not, and as several people have mentioned in this discussion, in a lot of cases, it doesn't make sense. Anyone who is properly motivated should be able to go to college, but when I hear cries for a free college education, I can imagine that that would stimulate a huge influx of people who do that simply as an excuse to take a 4-year vacation (of sorts). People who are properly motivated and who have what it takes should be able to go to college, but it needs to cost something... just not as much as it does now.
- randomsearch 9y ago
  Perhaps you should start charging for individual high school classes, in case people learn things out of curiosity rather than if it makes them a more valuable member of your workforce.
- lurker456 9y ago
  How would you define whether it makes sense ? Free market or some other metric ? From society's point of view, having an educated population arguably has more benefits besides the immediate economic one, much like having an universal health service, having a police force or permitting LLC's to exist. If it's spiraling out of control in the US, reducing costs per head would be far better than reducing the overall headcount.
- whyenot 9y ago
  I tend to agree with you about the problem although I am not sure that it has been an issue in other countries with free college education. Maybe the solution would be to emulate some European countries and also pay for vocational training, or subsidized trade apprenticeships.
- kartan 9y ago
  > People who are properly motivated and who have what it takes should be able to go to college, but it needs to cost something... just not as much as it does now. In Spain there is a limited number of open position in different studies. You get an test and people is sorted by their grades. The people with higher grades get to the college they choose. It is not perfect as people in better neighborhoods get better education and can get more easily to college. But at least, it is closer to a meritocracy and costs less money. > as an excuse to take a 4-year vacation If you don't pass a minimum of credits the first year, you get kicked out. A lot of people doesn't pass this phase. There is ways of solving the problems, but you need a government with willingness to do it.
jedberg 9y ago
It would be similar, but it would be an additional tax that only college graduates pay and is entirely redirected back at the colleges.
stuffedBelly 9y ago
Actually Singapore has a similar program. The Singaporean government pays tuition for some students for them to finish their higher education abroad. After graduation, they come back and work for the government full-time for a couple of years in exchange.
GFischer 9y ago
We have that in Uruguay, and it's no fun (I agree that getting into debt sucks as well). State/national University here used to be 100% free, but now every graduate has to pay, starting 5 years after graduation, until they turn 65, if they make over U$ 1000 - irrespective of whether their employment has anything to do with their career. So, a 25 year old graduate gets to pay for the next 35 years. Unlike student debt, you never pay it back, and the cost is also adjusted upwards every year - ostensibly according to inflation, but might be higher. Students that elected to pay their tuition in a private university don't have to pay. In a way it's more fair because impoverished people have a chance to do a degree, and they even get a scholarship that includes money for living expenses and textbooks, but OTOH most of the graduates don't earn much above U$ 1000 and they have to pay 5 to 8% of their salary for all their working lives - I'm not sure if that's a good deal.
gozur88 9y ago
No, we couldn't, because people who don't go to college will be paying it.

crocal 9y ago

Nah, let’s find some flashy Valley name for the concept and disrupt the market.

dweekly 9y ago
Personalized Education ICOs. Everyone gets their own token redeemable for a portion of lifetime earnings and tradable on an exchange. Traders can go long on an investment or short you if they forsee the market digesting an event decreasing your likely lifetime earnings.
- gknoy 9y ago
  You might enjoy (or have already read ;)) "The Incorporated Man", a fiction novel which has this basic premise: Everyone's a minority shareholder in their own personal corporation. (except the main character). It's pretty well written, and both the main character and the antagonist have points of view which make sense, IMO.
- FLUX-YOU 9y ago
  ILOs - Initial Life Offerings
was_boring 9y ago
yes, and make sure to include a blockchain.

julien421 9y ago

Actually, it is already happening: holberton school, make school, lambda school, etc... :)

VeronicaJJ123 9y ago

Most people do not go to college and still pay for income tax.

ConceptJunkie 9y ago
Income tax covers way more than education.
- jedberg 9y ago
  Exactly, which is why this would be a special additional tax that is just for college graduates and just goes back to the colleges.
  - mulmen 9y ago
    That’s just slightly more transparent income tax.
  - ahoka 9y ago
    Also a special tax for sick people?
    - jedberg 9y ago
      We have that. It's called insurance.
    - VeronicaJJ123 9y ago
      Heard of health insurance ?
  - isostatic 9y ago
    This is the system we have in the UK. The crucial differences between having it as an extra tier of income tax of 9% above £21k (going to £25k soon) are 1) Those that don't directly benefit from university (say you become an electrician) don't have to pay 2) Those that earn millions don't pay it - they pay their £50k loan off (40% of that is living costs), but then those people tend to avoid income tax anyway 3) Those that emmigrate still pay it All in all it seems fine, but it's used as a political football by those that want to tax builders to pay for the education of stockbrokers (Labour)

ConceptJunkie 9y ago

The problem with subsidizing college in any way, including the current student loan system is that it encourages people to go to college whether it makes sense or not, and as several people have mentioned in this discussion, in a lot of cases, it doesn't make sense. Anyone who is properly motivated should be able to go to college, but when I hear cries for a free college education, I can imagine that that would stimulate a huge influx of people who do that simply as an excuse to take a 4-year vacation (of sorts). People who are properly motivated and who have what it takes should be able to go to college, but it needs to cost something... just not as much as it does now.

randomsearch 9y ago
Perhaps you should start charging for individual high school classes, in case people learn things out of curiosity rather than if it makes them a more valuable member of your workforce.
lurker456 9y ago
How would you define whether it makes sense ? Free market or some other metric ? From society's point of view, having an educated population arguably has more benefits besides the immediate economic one, much like having an universal health service, having a police force or permitting LLC's to exist. If it's spiraling out of control in the US, reducing costs per head would be far better than reducing the overall headcount.
whyenot 9y ago
I tend to agree with you about the problem although I am not sure that it has been an issue in other countries with free college education. Maybe the solution would be to emulate some European countries and also pay for vocational training, or subsidized trade apprenticeships.
kartan 9y ago
> People who are properly motivated and who have what it takes should be able to go to college, but it needs to cost something... just not as much as it does now. In Spain there is a limited number of open position in different studies. You get an test and people is sorted by their grades. The people with higher grades get to the college they choose. It is not perfect as people in better neighborhoods get better education and can get more easily to college. But at least, it is closer to a meritocracy and costs less money. > as an excuse to take a 4-year vacation If you don't pass a minimum of credits the first year, you get kicked out. A lot of people doesn't pass this phase. There is ways of solving the problems, but you need a government with willingness to do it.

jedberg 9y ago

It would be similar, but it would be an additional tax that only college graduates pay and is entirely redirected back at the colleges.

stuffedBelly 9y ago

Actually Singapore has a similar program. The Singaporean government pays tuition for some students for them to finish their higher education abroad. After graduation, they come back and work for the government full-time for a couple of years in exchange.

GFischer 9y ago

We have that in Uruguay, and it's no fun (I agree that getting into debt sucks as well). State/national University here used to be 100% free, but now every graduate has to pay, starting 5 years after graduation, until they turn 65, if they make over U$ 1000 - irrespective of whether their employment has anything to do with their career. So, a 25 year old graduate gets to pay for the next 35 years. Unlike student debt, you never pay it back, and the cost is also adjusted upwards every year - ostensibly according to inflation, but might be higher. Students that elected to pay their tuition in a private university don't have to pay. In a way it's more fair because impoverished people have a chance to do a degree, and they even get a scholarship that includes money for living expenses and textbooks, but OTOH most of the graduates don't earn much above U$ 1000 and they have to pay 5 to 8% of their salary for all their working lives - I'm not sure if that's a good deal.

gozur88 9y ago

No, we couldn't, because people who don't go to college will be paying it.