Are you saying that, if these old people who can’t subsist on their “rather meager” pension don’t graduate, we ought to seize their belongings to pay back the Pell grants they received?
They’re doing what they can and are learning - they’re doing the work, earning the credits. If they got screwed by an employer that lost their pension or if they receive so little a month that they can’t pay for rent&food after working for 45 years, it’s on us, because we’re the richest country in the world and have people who worked their whole lives yet don’t have pensions to live on. One criterion for evaluating progress in the 20th century was that working class people no longer had to work till they die. It’s always shocking to me to see 75 year olds working as greeters. I feel so, so terrible for them. I know, some would say they do it for fun, but, really? They do it because their monthly pension is $462 a month, their kids cannot help, and they would die otherwise.
The point of taxes is that we’re a nation and, as such, we’re responsible for each other. We, as Americans, belong to a common society, and therefore contribute in the measure of our capabilities, considering that the higher we got, the more we ought to be grateful that our work ethic met the good fortune of being born in this country, part of this nation. Charity is optional, taxes are mandatory, because belonging to a country and being part of society is mandatory. Do I WANT to pay high taxes? No. But for all I gripe about taxes, I wouldn’t mind paying higher taxes, because I’m grateful for what they do. A 7 or 10 braket tax system, with higher brackets for people in the 500K range, 1 million range… would make sense to me. The fewer the brackets, the more the middle class ends up shouldering in relation to what would be the “top brackets”. I don’t agree with how all taxes are used, but I know they’re necessary to “make a society” and keep us going. I am also aware that very rich people practice “wealth optimization” that means they already get all kinds of tax breaks. First order of business in a just society would be to look at the tax optimization tactics, and close the loopholes - look at those who have the most before those who have less. (For example, it seems to me that if you have enough money to operate your own private plane, you don’t need a tax cut for its maintenance, whereas Pell grants recipients can’t go to college without the grants. BTW when they were created, Pell grants covered tuition, room, and board at public universities.)