3 ms·

Price of college is going up. Wages are stagnating. Quite unfortunately, it makes perfect sense that fewer people would think the expense is worthwhile. I wish

Price of college is going up. Wages are stagnating. Quite unfortunately, it makes perfect sense that fewer people would think the expense is worthwhile. I wish we offered free high quality university educations. The USA can coast on its dominance for only so long before the lack of educated people sinks us.

carlosjobim 4y ago
> I wish we offered free high quality university educations. You could sponsor somebody's university or college education, pay a full or part scolarship.
- confidantlake 4y ago
  We need an army to defend our nation. You could stand at the border with a rifle.
  - carlosjobim 4y ago
    There are thousands of scholarships. What do you think they are? They are people like the parent commenter, who think other people deserve a good education, and decide to put their money where their mouth is. And yes, if somebody calls for war, they should be the first to sign up for joining the military. Everybody should put their money where their mouth is.
    - TaylorAlexander 4y ago
      Personally I find this mode of argument, where someone talks about a collective action problem and then someone else replies “well why don’t you do it then” distracting and unhelpful. Collective action problems, by definition, cannot be solved by individual actions. We must first discuss the problem and reach agreement. Pretending that collective actions can be solved by individual action seems to me only to be a tactic to defeat the efforts of those seeking collective change. I should note you never commented on the merits of free university for all. You’ve diverted the conversation in to one about individuals, successfully avoiding addressing the key point I was making.
- TaylorAlexander 4y ago
  Not really. I’m working for a non profit and not particularly flush with cash. Besides, my point is that I wish we had nation wide free university. Let’s say I had more money and I put three kids through college. Pretty cool to do that but that’s not going to change the USA’s strategic position in the world. I’m talking about free public education for all because of how it would benefit the nation.
  - carlosjobim 4y ago
    If you give up so easily, how can you demand that other people do the work for you and provide free education? It is easy to say that "we should" and "somebody should", but that doesn't make any change in the world. Actually doing something - even small - makes a change. Education is probably the field where an individual person has the most freedom and choice in how to contribute. If not with money, then with time. You can sponsor a student a little or a lot, and it doesn't need to be with money. Or you could sponsor an institution a little or a lot. Free online universities accept donations and other contributions. Thousands of people are making free educational YouTube videos of superb quality, revolutionizing learning. Wikipedia is an educational tool built on volunteers. You can never change policy in the USA or any other nation - that is up to the owners of those nations - but you can change the lives of one or many individuals.

carlosjobim 4y ago

> I wish we offered free high quality university educations. You could sponsor somebody's university or college education, pay a full or part scolarship.

confidantlake 4y ago
We need an army to defend our nation. You could stand at the border with a rifle.
- carlosjobim 4y ago
  There are thousands of scholarships. What do you think they are? They are people like the parent commenter, who think other people deserve a good education, and decide to put their money where their mouth is. And yes, if somebody calls for war, they should be the first to sign up for joining the military. Everybody should put their money where their mouth is.
  - TaylorAlexander 4y ago
    Personally I find this mode of argument, where someone talks about a collective action problem and then someone else replies “well why don’t you do it then” distracting and unhelpful. Collective action problems, by definition, cannot be solved by individual actions. We must first discuss the problem and reach agreement. Pretending that collective actions can be solved by individual action seems to me only to be a tactic to defeat the efforts of those seeking collective change. I should note you never commented on the merits of free university for all. You’ve diverted the conversation in to one about individuals, successfully avoiding addressing the key point I was making.
TaylorAlexander 4y ago
Not really. I’m working for a non profit and not particularly flush with cash. Besides, my point is that I wish we had nation wide free university. Let’s say I had more money and I put three kids through college. Pretty cool to do that but that’s not going to change the USA’s strategic position in the world. I’m talking about free public education for all because of how it would benefit the nation.
- carlosjobim 4y ago
  If you give up so easily, how can you demand that other people do the work for you and provide free education? It is easy to say that "we should" and "somebody should", but that doesn't make any change in the world. Actually doing something - even small - makes a change. Education is probably the field where an individual person has the most freedom and choice in how to contribute. If not with money, then with time. You can sponsor a student a little or a lot, and it doesn't need to be with money. Or you could sponsor an institution a little or a lot. Free online universities accept donations and other contributions. Thousands of people are making free educational YouTube videos of superb quality, revolutionizing learning. Wikipedia is an educational tool built on volunteers. You can never change policy in the USA or any other nation - that is up to the owners of those nations - but you can change the lives of one or many individuals.