Student Loans Forgiveness? Why Not Petition for Making Higher Education for Free?

I just read a “petition” for President Obama to forgive student loans on facebook, and it got me thinking… why put a band-aid on this issue? Why not petition to make higher education free (or tax-payer funded), similar to how elementary, middle and high schools are? Or most countries in Europe? Sounds like a “socialist” idea? Perhaps, and even a radical concept, but who really benefits by making higher education expensive, and privatized/or for-profit? On the other side of the spectrum, who benefits my making higher education free, and open to everyone? It may sound ambitious but by providing education to everyone who is willing, passionate and driven to learn and acquire new skills and knowledge, individuals can potentially contribute something valuable in order to advance our society. If one wants to become a doctor, money should not be a deterrent. We are becoming more and more complacent and accepting of other non-value adding activities, such as chopping up the exchange-traded products and selling the pieces to other clients, and other numerous & devious ways devised by the rich to maximize earnings which potentially cause home foreclosures, continuously rising college tuition fees, faulty health care system, and (hopefully not) a third-world America, with lobbyists strongly influencing some legislation, tax laws and other rules and regulations, thus lowering the quality of American life.

I don’t see a problem with a society where everyone is well-educated… so why not make higher education free? If we can spend billions of dollars to launch a space shuttle, or find a way to put a man on the moon, why can’t we make higher education free?

One aspect of how our quality of life is deteriorating is apparent when you look at our health care system. Our society complains that our health care system is screwed up, and that there is not enough good doctors. Could it be that the lobbyists, funded by big insurance companies, are strongly influencing the health care legislation, denying insurance to people with pre-existing medical condition, or limiting the dollar obligation for malpractice? Or, perhaps there really is not enough good doctors. The increasing tuition fees, especially for medical school is doing our society a disservice. It is so expensive that in order to pursue this type of education, one has to have significant amount of money to finance their education. Although it is not impossible to pursue this career for people with less financial fortune, doing so without financial support will cause the individual to become financial slaves to their student loans, therefore discourage others to pursue this route. There are also other reasons but these two factors alone already reduce the pool of potential would-be doctors. With a small pool of doctors, not everyone is going to be great at it, therefore, creating an even smaller pool of good doctors. There are some financially fortunate ones who graduated with a degree in Art History or non-medical, non-science, non-engineering background (which I am not saying is not important in our society), and could not find a job for over two years, therefore they went back to school and pursued med school/law school after that. My point is, if you have the financial capital, you can afford to have several options and paths ahead of you. Are they going to be good doctors? Maybe, maybe not, but we know that it probably was not their “passion” or what they initially wanted to do. It’s a cliché but if you like what you do and are passionate about it, success will follow, as you can see with the exceptional individuals like Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton, Plato, Aristotle and the like who have contributed greatly to our society’s advancement.

Da Vinci, Newton, Plato, Aristotle, and the like were all products of free education, and that is mostly because they belonged to aristocratic and influential families. They did not have other financial issues or student loans to worry about, and they were free to study and pursue what their hearts desired. They learned and discovered new things because they were passionate with what they wanted to do. They were well-rounded people, who did many things in their lifetime. Leonardo da Vinci was a painter, mathematician, an engineer, an architect, musician, scientist, inventor, botanist, and many more. He did all this because he had a thirst for knowledge and creativity. Isaac Newton sat under an apple tree while he was sleeping, and an apple fell on his head and thought and thought until he came to understand, explore and explain “gravity.” Aristotle learned from Plato, and Plato learned from Socrates, who was deeply passionate about thinking and sharing his philosophies. However, not all professors are like Socrates anymore, who taught because their heart desired to. Universities claim that tuition fees are rising because they need to be competitive to attract talent (intelligent professors). If money is the motivation, how is success going to follow (ref. cliché mentioned above: if you do what you are passionate above, success will follow). Warren Buffet is a good modern day example who was passionate about what he wanted to do, and had Socrates-like mentors, Benjamin Graham and David Dodd. As you can see, even our government turns to him for financial advice. Obama recently implemented (or is trying to implement) the “Buffett Rule” for millionaires.

People who are constantly trying to find ways to put food on the table for their family rarely have time to enjoy and experience other things. Their kids also do not have the luxury to choose from several options, i.e. if their first chosen major doesn’t work, they cannot just go back to school again. They are constantly bombarded with how to obtain the basic needs that there is no time for them to be creative, be spontaneous, discover what other opportunities are out there, or explore the world. Abraham Maslow actually defines this in his study, the five basic hierarchy of needs: 1) Physiological (food, water, etc to live); 2) Safety (employment, family, health, property); 3) Love/Belonging; 4) Esteem; and 5) Self-Actualization. As you can see, if one and two are not achieved, it is hard for someone to obtain 3, 4 and 5. Aristotle, da Vinci and Newton were all passionate and self-driven because they can afford to. The younger generation of today, especially the less financially fortunate ones, or those who are still unable to find jobs, are unable to be creative, spontaneous, and discover the world, because they are too busy worrying about getting a job that can help them pay for their student loans, pay for their car loans, rent, etc. There are a few exceptions though, such as the ones with entrepreneurial spirits.

The environment we live in seem to value society’s mundane needs more: more money, higher return on investment, bigger house, nice cars, and that’s because of how our society has evolved. When there is a financial crisis, our society wants “help,” which again does not target the root cause of the problem but merely put a band-aid on the issue. We want better health care, we want our student loans to be forgiven, we want our foreclosed homes to be forgiven, we want *insert other issues here.* Wouldn’t it be nice to have a surplus of doctors, rather than a shortage of doctors in our society? Who knows, this might even lead to competitive market for cheaper (or free) medical care for everyone…


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