For over a hundred years, free public education has been available in the United States. Over time, the number of years the government pays for people to go to school has increased as people need to know more and more to adequately participate in society. In recent times, some people have suggested that public education funding should be extended to college.
Among those who support this idea, there is division. Some people, like Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), support funding a four year degree for all Americans. AOC wrote on Twitter that “Everyone contributes & everyone enjoys. We don’t ban the rich from public schools, firefighters, or libraries bc they are public goods.”
Others, like candidate Pete Buttigieg, suggest that only those whose families are less well-off should enjoy public funding for their education. He says, “Americans who have a college degree earn more than Americans who don’t. As a progressive, I have a hard time getting my head around the idea of a majority who earn less because they didn’t go to college subsidizing a minority who earn more because they did.”
The central disagreement between these two groups is on whether a college education mostly benefits the individual (as Buttigieg seems to believe) or whether it benefits other people enough to call it a “public good” as does AOC. If it mostly benefits the individual, then the government does not have much business providing it to those who already have the means to provide themselves that benefit, i.e. those who are well-off. With programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) the government pays for the food of the poor, but not of the rich. But, the government does pay for the fire and police protection of all its citizens. Food is a private good. Fire and police protection are public goods.
However, if college education is more of a private good, then one is left to wonder whether K-12 education is also a private good. Why should the government fund it? At this point, the debate shifts. Whether you think a certain kind of education is a public or private good depends on whether you think there is a significant difference between the importance of what you learn in grades K-12 and what you learn in college. Ethics and philosophy, for example, are rarely taught in grades K-12. Most people only encounter these subjects in college. You, reading this, are likely a K-12 student given a rare glimpse at ethics education. Do you think what you are doing right now is valuable for just yourself, or for society as a whole? If you do, that belief may inform your opinion about whether college education is a private or public good.
–DISCUSSION QUESTIONS–
Is a college education a private or public good? If you believe it is a public good, how is it analogous to K-12 education and what exactly are the public benefits of a given individual’s college education? If not, do you believe K-12 education is a public good? If so, what is the relevant difference between the two?
Should the government fund anyone’s college education? What is the role of the government in advancing the public good, if any?
Should the government fund only the education of some? If so, what morally significant factors would determine who qualifies for government-funded education?