Recently, a friend of mine posted on their Facebook that they supported government funded college. Later on, someone commented on their status and said, and I quote, "Thumbs down. Your uncle says he worked and paid for his. Why should the taxes he's paying, pay for yours too? The government does not have money unless they tax the people." He then comments, "Maybe if professors took a pay cut and more students got jobs it would make the cost go down. you already got the first 12 grades paid for by taxpayers. Get a job."
Sir, here is my response to you. Why should professors take a pay cut when the average salary for a full professor at public doctoral institutions made $126,981 last year? $126,981 is absolutely nothing compared to all the work that they do. Now, this professor who is making said amount is quite possibly one that not only has tenure, but also a professor who has either a Masters or a Doctorate. I, for example, have a professor who has neither a Masters of a Doctorate because when they began teaching, they did not need one, only a certain certification.
As to the statement about students having jobs, I am not sure how any of that relates to the government helping pay for a student's education. Coming from someone who has worked nearly three jobs since they were 16, and also had a family where my mother, grandmother, and grandfather were employed, we still did not have enough money to cover to cost of my tuition at my public university. If it were not for government-funded scholarships, I would not be graduating with a degree this upcoming May. Therefore, I can personally say that having a job does not help much when it comes to wanting a higher education.
I must also state that there are students out there who cannot afford a higher education, even with SOME government assistance, but does that mean that they should not be allowed to go to college? For those that do not have the money, yes, they go on to work a job, but it is probably at a fast food chain, such as McDonald's, which only pays minimum wage. Imagine if they were fortunate enough to receive a free higher education and got a degree where they could work a better job and make a better life for themselves. Not only would they benefit from this, but the rest of us could too because that child that originally would not have had the money to go to college, but received the free government assistance to go to college, is now a doctor.
Stop telling me to get a job, I have plenty and they did not help me pay for education. Stop telling my family to work harder because they already do so.
What you should do is allow for your tax dollars to pay for my education because one day, you might need me.
I support government-funded college. Do you?
