College Education Is Not a Public Good

George Leef

In a recent column, University of Chicago professor Luigi Zingales argued that we'd be better off if government stopped subsidizing higher education and we moved toward a system whereby students pay for it out of their future earnings -- the human capital contract idea. His column drew a reply from Richard Kahlenberg, who was upset at the idea that higher education is a private good. He says it's a public good that we all benefit from, so society should subsidize it. That dispute is the backdrop for my Clarion Call this week. I side with Zingales. We will get the optimal level of both education and training if we leave it up to the self-interest of individuals. Conversely, if government gets involved, we will have great waste of time and money with no gain in education. Subsidizing higher education simply diverts resources away from more beneficial uses.

 

 

Image: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

  • Share

Most Commented

October 29, 2024

1.

The Looming Irrelevance of Middle East Study Centers

Today’s Middle Eastern Studies Centers are facing a crisis due to the winds of change in the Middle East and their own ideological echo chamber....

November 19, 2024

2.

Lee Zeldin Should Reform EPA Science Policy

NAS welcomes the nomination of Congressmen Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency....

November 20, 2024

3.

NAS Welcomes Administrator McMahon's Nomination to Serve as Education Secretary

With McMahon, the new administration has a chance to drastically slim down and depoliticize the Education Department....

Most Read

May 15, 2015

1.

Where Did We Get the Idea That Only White People Can Be Racist?

A look at the double standard that has arisen regarding racism, illustrated recently by the reaction to a black professor's biased comments on Twitter....

October 12, 2010

2.

Ask a Scholar: What is the True Definition of Latino?

What does it mean to be Latino? Are only Latin American people Latino, or does the term apply to anyone whose language derived from Latin?...

May 26, 2010

3.

10 Reasons Not to Go to College

A sampling of arguments for the idea that college may not be for everyone....