@labegg I agree with you emotionally and that is why we are funding our children’s education. I love them and their happiness is vital to mine. The statement that a parent is only as happy as her unhappiest child is really true. I am happy and grateful to be able to give them a good start on the futures they wish for themselves.
However, I do feel that society should bear some of the costs of education because society is reaping the benefits. My educated children will provide the workforce necessary to keep society going. For the most part, society depends on parent’s love and desire for children to keep the current system working. But that can only go so far. When the cost of raising children to fully functional adults becomes to great a burden to bear, people stop having them. Declining birth rates can be an enormous problem for a country. Look at Japan. I would love to see a system where a hard working, motivated kid could work his way through college. In some places, thats quite possible. In others, its not.
I also feel that its not wrong for children to bear some of the cost of their own education since they will also be benefiting tremendously from it. That could mean taking out loans or working part time or “paying” back in other ways.