<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div>That puts (un)paid to Vietnam-style student radicalism in the US.<br><br>Sent from my iPhone</div><div><br>On Oct 5, 2014, at 9:37 AM, E. W. Johnson via Peace-discuss <<a href="mailto:peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net">peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net</a>> wrote:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div>
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<big><big>High tuition fees in the U.S. have caused student loan
debt, which stands at $1.2 tril....<br>
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Just imagine the interest payments, Buck-o.<br>
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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 10/05/2014 11:14 PM, David Johnson
via Peace-discuss wrote:<br>
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<h1><big><big>This Country Just Abolished College Tuition Fees</big></big></h1>
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<div class="cat-date-line"><big><big><span class="cat-date-line2"><a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.popularresistance.org/category/educate/" title="View all posts in Educate!" rel="category
tag">Educate!</a></span> <span class="cat-date-line3"> <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.popularresistance.org/tag/debt/" rel="tag">Debt</a>, <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.popularresistance.org/tag/education/" rel="tag">Education</a>, <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.popularresistance.org/tag/germany/" rel="tag">Germany</a> </span> <br>
<span class="cat-date-line4">By Joaquim Moreira Salles,
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://thinkprogress.org/education/2014/10/01/3574551/germany-free-college-tuition/" target="_blank">www.thinkprogress.com</a><br>
October 4th, 2014</span><br>
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<p class="photo-credit"><big><big><em>German Chancellor Angela
Merkel with college students CREDIT: AP</em> <em>Photo/Michael
Probst</em></big></big></p>
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<p><big><big>Prospective students in the United States who
can’t afford to pay for college or don’t want to rack up
tens of thousands in student debt should try their luck
in Germany. Higher education is now free throughout the
country, even for international students. Yesterday,
Lower Saxony became the last of seven German states to <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/22027/1/germany-scraps-tuition-fees-for-all-universities">abolish
tuition fees</a>, which were already extremely low
compared to those paid in the United States.</big></big></p>
<big><big> </big></big>
<p><big><big>German universities only began charging for
tuition in 2006, when the German Constitutional Court
ruled that limited fees, combined with loans, were not
in conflict the country’s commitment to universal
education. The measure proved unpopular, however, and
German states that had instituted fees began dropping
them one by one.</big></big></p>
<big><big> </big></big>
<p><big><big>“We got rid of tuition fees because we do not
want higher education which depends on the wealth of the
parents,” Gabrielle Heinen-Kjajic, the minister for
science and culture in Lower Saxony, said in a
statement. Her words were echoed by many in the German
government. “Tuition fees are unjust,” said Hamburg’s
senator for science Dorothee Stapelfeldt. “They
discourage young people who do not have a traditional
academic family background from taking up study. It is a
core task of politics to ensure that young women and men
can study with a high quality standard free of charge in
Germany.”</big></big></p>
<big><big> </big></big>
<p><big><big>Compared to American students, Germans barely had
to pay for undergraduate study even before tuition fees
were abolished. Semester fees averaged <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.economist.com/node/18898286">around
€500</a> ($630) and students were entitled to many <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.studentuniverse.com/student-blog/study-abroad/benefits-student-germany">perks</a>,
such as cheap (often free) transportation within and
between cities.</big></big></p>
<big><big> </big></big>
<p><big><big>Free education is a concept that is embraced in
most of Europe with notable exceptions like the U.K.,
where the government voted to lift the cap on university
fees in 2010. The measure has reportedly cost more money
than it brought in. <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/mar/21/student-fees-policy-costing-more">The
Guardian</a> reported in March that students are
failing to pay back student loans at such a rate that
“the government will lose more money than it would have
saved from keeping the old £3,000 ($4,865) tuition fee
system.”</big></big></p>
<big><big> </big></big>
<p><big><big>UK students often compare their plight to their
American counterparts, but most Americans would be
fortunate to pay as little as the British do: a maximum
of <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/student-finance/uk-tuition-fees-how-much-does-it-cost-study-uk">$14,550
per year</a>. High tuition fees in the U.S. have
caused student loan debt, which stands at $1.2 trillion,
to spiral out of control. It is now the second-highest
form of consumer debt in the country. According to the <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/specialfeatures/2013/08/07/how-the-college-debt-is-crippling-students-parents-and-the-economy/">Institute
for College Access and Success</a>, two thirds of
American college students will leave their alma mater in
significant debt (averaging at $26,600).</big></big></p>
<big><big> </big></big>
<p><big><big>While there are many government measures that
could ease the massive burden of student debt, some
straightforward steps could make higher education
accessible to all. <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://thinkprogress.org/education/2014/04/16/3427593/tennessee-free-college-tuition/">Tennessee</a>,
for example, recently voted to make two-year colleges
free for all high school graduates. The U.S. as whole
could take a note from Germany and make public
universities free <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/heres-exactly-how-much-the-government-would-have-to-spend-to-make-public-college-tuition-free/282803/">with
relative ease</a>. The government spends around $69
billion subsidizing college education and another $107.4
billion on student loans. Tuition at all public
universities comes to much less than that, around $62.6
billion in 2012. By restructuring the education budget,
the cost of attending public universities could easily
be brought down to zero. This would also put pressure on
private universities to lower their cost in order to be
more competitive.</big></big></p>
<big><big> </big></big>
<p><big><big>At least for now, however, learning German might
be the best financial choice an American high school
student can make.</big></big></p>
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