<p>As Justice Holmes once said, “I like paying taxes. They buy me civilization.” Taxes do buy civilization. I can understand the “I don’t want government in my back pocket” sentiment from the millionaire / billionaire plutocracy who can afford private security, private schools, and private living in their Ayn Rand retreat from the rest of the world, but not from everyone else. We are a society, not a collection of anarchic individuals and should be pulling together, not against each other. Taxes are at historical lows, not highs.</p>
<p>Saving tax money on education means that it will be spent on social services, crime, etc. Not all public colleges need to be liberal arts, some should be vocational. People who lose jobs to obsolete industries should be able to go back to publicly funded colleges for retraining at little personal expense (they don’t have jobs after all). </p>
<p>I will cede the point about about government waste, corruption, and frivolity with government money creating a strong incentive for individuals to part with less of their hard earned cash in taxes. However, the solution is not less government, it is better government. We need to hold government more accountable with our votes and make ourselves the masters of our democracy, not “starve the beast” and have a crippled government that serves only the members of it, and the lobbyists who buy the government officials. </p>
<p>Thus, the point of the OP is well taken. Education through graduate or professional school is a service that should be funded by taxes and available to all who qualify, not just those who manage to have parents who are successful enough to send them.</p>