Not really true.
As a nation we fund education through high school, which in many places including several of the places I have lived includes vocational school for children that choose those options.
In addition, in most of the country there is a community college system that provides cheaper access to education then the "vaunted" free education in places like Germany... unlike Germany, you get to choose to go, you don't get selected in middle school to determine if you are "bright enough" for the country to invest in your education.
For those going on to four-year college degrees, we pay more per student to attend a public university as taxpayers, than Germany does. Sadly, unlike Germany with its very "spartan" educational system our state universities offer an amazing experience, but at an exceptionally high cost. I have always wondered what does Germany do, that it can fund a four-year university education for an average of $32,000 and we spend more than that for 1 year of college? One year in an American public university costs more than four years in a Germany university.
But even then, we offer access to taxpayer supported loans. All we ask is people carefully consider what they choose to major in so that when they graduate, they can pay back those loans.
In addition, our universities as well as our states provide an incredible array of supplemental educational funding ranging from merit based state and institutional scholarships to need based scholarships.
Our most prestigious universities including both Princeton and Harvard provide students from poor families the ability to get a $400,000 education for almost nothing.
Employers as well as the military offer some amazing scholarships to students. The single most expensive education in the country is totally free (a four year degree from the Air Force Academy). My company provided tuition reimbursement of several thousand dollars a year per employee pursuing a relevant degree in almost any area of health care. We repaid medical school loans over five years for physicians that chose to work for our company up to $200k. Early in my career, evening MBA courses were paid by my employer up to two courses per semester.
That is different than places like Germany, who even if you are "bright enough" to get the state to pay for your university education, the "strings" include you must qualify for one of the limited "seats" the country is funding for that subject. So, if you want to be doctor, good news if you are among the top of those applying, choose something else if you are not.
So, why don't people realize that no country comes close to paying what we do for the education of our citizens. That we have among the most socialistic educational funding where both taxpayers and employers reach into their pockets to fund education and then loan the difference after we have already exceeded what other countries would pay. And we provide an unbelievable amount of flexibility regarding what students can choose to study.
Bottom line, perhaps the real question, you are asking, is why we don't our taxpayers and students get more bang for the buck for massive spending we do on education (more per student than any country in the world, no one comes close).
Why do we trust students to choose the right careers rather than channel them into the careers we think are best by controlling how the educational dollars are spent down to the student level? Those are great questions...
I do wrestle with those myself. I started out college in pursuit of a degree in religious studies funded by taxpayers and alumni as a result of my "sport's scholarship". I married in college my junior year and when my child was born, I dropped out to work to support my wife and child. I realized what European governments realize; education has to have "purpose".
And so I went back to college where I commuted from our home to a local state college at quite an affordable price and in one year completed 42 semester hours including summer classes and graduated with a degree in accounting debt free.
I have a daughter whose first master's degree cost a small fortune and produced almost zero income. She went back and got a combined community/state university degree in Nursing and now is pursuing her employer funded Doctorate of Nurse Anesthesia.
America has the best educational system, with the greatest flexibility and choices in the world. The real question are young people qualified to "navigate" such an amazing complex matrix of opportunities or should the state take a more active role in channeling them to the choices that fit their situation, since in most instances taxpayers are already paying most of the freight.
Our media truly misrepresents the reality of education in America. I will agree that in some instances we would be better off with a European system that graduates far fewer students with degrees for which there is no demand.
But would you propose government take a more active role in determining what students can study based on government's perceived societal needs or should government allow students to choose and use what is effectively "co pay" and hope students understanding that education is never free, choose careers that are capable of funding any debt they choose to incur in pursuit of that education?
