Right, there's a divide there. But the salient point I've seen raised is that the problem isn't so much access. It's the guidance or other motivation to use t

Right, there's a divide there. But the salient point I've seen raised is that the problem isn't so much access. It's the guidance or other motivation to use the access that's the problem. Access without the proper guidance/motivation is just another way to destroy the productivity of the people who can least afford to lose any. It's like the lottery problem. The people who can least afford the disposable income that should allow for engaging in such a statistically unlikely reward are the ones who far and away spend the most on it. The lottery increases the prosperity gap in this country, and the very institution that should be decreasing that gap (the government) acts to increase it. Is free access of net benefit or detriment? I think we should put assumptions aside and evaluate that question carefully. Once the government takes action, it rarely pulls back -- even in the face of overwhelming evidence that it's doing more harm than good. That's because the momentum of government action produces too much money and power for the people in charge.