A Labour minister has just tried to explain on LBC why U.K. society requires young people who attend uni to pay a graduate tax

[EvangelicalAboutButteredToast]

And I’m confused. He was trying to say it was a student loan and then accepted it was a graduate tax and that society deemed that the right thing because they were more likely to out earn those who didn’t attend uni.

I thought that was what income tax was for alongside all the other taxes. Are uni courses subsidised by the government. Is it that?

@thedramaQueen It cannot be afforded! It was when 10% went. Now it’s 37%. Look at the expansion of the university sector. It’s madness to have the idea that general taxation or borrowing pays for this over provision. People are struggling. They also want dc at university. Taxes cannot go up for socialist policies like this, especially when a sizeable minority don’t need the degree to work. Choice costs and we will never afford to revert to free education unless we close at least half of our universities. So it’s not happening.

so is the idea to retune university, so tht if you go to uni your likey to get a management etc position and earn x amount and if you don't go to uni then youll be a worker bee, ?

It can be afforded it a matter of priorities.

Imagine if we said - sorry we can't afford to educate all 15 and 16 years so we will reduce the age to what it was in 1940 and said we will only pay up until 14...and if you want your children educated for longer you'll have to pay...

Perhaps we ought to stop funding state pensions for everyone... (I actually don't agree with this, but if we can't afford to fund young people through the education system why should young people pay for pensioners..)

The UK is an outlier. It contributes 5-10% of the cost of funding undergraduates at university. Comparable European countries, with a similar % going to university or recieving a tertiary education, contribute at least 60%. Of course it's a political decision. The triple lock costs the country the same or more than funding university would cost.

I agree students should pay something. I many more courses should be provided which align with skills needed in the country. But that will cost too.

Students are an easy target to shit on. They always have been. But the next election this will be a big factor, because there are currently 5 million people with a plan 2 loans (and some now on the not great plan 5) which will mean potentially 10 million parents plus grandparents. Something needs to be done to sway things more in the favour of young people.

@bookmarket And nowhere else has the NHS. We decided to expand HE knowing we could not afford it. We have expanded the immensely expensive nhs knowing we cannot afford that either. So students have to pay.

It’s about time we realised we are not other countries. We have chosen a different path. Some other countries have giant regional universities. We can have three in one city. We use student fees to cross subsidise expensive courses and don’t streamline how we offer courses. Nor do we have elite private universities. Other countries do.

@thedramaQueen

i’m fine with socialising the cost of education, but if everyone has to pay as a common good, then really we should be pruning some of the courses offered and really thinking on whether some of them do deliver value for the taxpayer. It’s not really fair for someone who did an apprenticeship to be an electrician to subsidise someone who did a crap degree, when there are shortages of electricians. What behaviour and skills do you want to incentivise?