@kollegeguy As it happens, despite living abroad and collecting exactly $0 in government benefits as a result, my family - since we’re US citizens - is subject to a considerable level of taxation. By no means are we happily doling out others’ money. Some assumptions you seem to have made are far from correct, and I suggest you not label those who disagree with you “thieves.”
We clearly have different views on the goals and scope of public spending, and I doubt either of us will be convinced otherwise by anything that’s said here, so I’m going to leave it at that.
@HappyAlumnus Degrees with a poor rate of return can certainly be a bad idea for a student, because he/she may be on the hook for over $200,000 when the lifetime earnings boost from a degree in Women’s Studies or Social Work is far less.
NY state is slated to spend an average of $1,740 per student, per year, on this program. Over two years, that’s a tad under $3,500. It doesn’t take much of an earnings boost (and even women’s studies majors get a boost - just not enough to pay for their degree) for the state to recoup that money. This in addition to students whose earning potential later in life is far higher - like the law school graduates in this piece by the NY Times:
A law school grad who goes on to make $150,000 a year, and stays in NY because of this program, will pay for half a dozen sociology majors each year.