Originally Posted by
JDD
I did not see it in the thread, but I would argue pretty aggressively in support of a position that could be over-simplified to something very similar to that.
The fine print would have lots of caveats but at a fundamental level my motivation is that I don't like being around dumb people. The best way to avoid being around dumb people is to invest heavily in education. I also like being in a country with smart people - it has a number of real world impacts that include a massive boost to maintaining our technological base, national defense superiority, and maintaining economic growth. The best way to have a lot of smart people is to ensure everyone has the opportunity to be less dumb, and as a society enjoy being able to reap the advantages of some of the not-dumb people becoming smart. I'm willing to pay a lot in taxes on this exact issue. (I'm not willing to throw endless dollars at universities so they can continue to hire more administration while growing class sizes and killing the instructor to student ratio - while also simultaneously not providing marketable degrees, but again, that's the fine print)