<p>I largely agree on the nature of subsidies, and I have great sympathy for young people whose parents don’t step up to pay for college. But economists of education, looking around the world, have noticed that college access is greatest in countries with a mixed system (like the United States) of some publicly subsidized colleges with low list price (such as a typical state university), some private colleges with a high list price, and both government and students’ families paying for college. That gets the most students in college across the broadest range of family income levels.</p>