Academia, International, Politics, Society

Germany Abolishes Tuition For University Students

Coat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg220px-LinusPaulingGraduation1922Germany has long shown far greater foresight than the United States in the investment into science, infrastructure, and alternative energy — investments that are now giving the country huge returns as a leading economic system. With a decision of Lower Saxony, the German have now shown precisely how serious they are about keeping the country as one of the most educated in the world: they have eliminated all college and university tuition. The Germans view education as not just a right, but an essential component for continued growth.

There are critics to educational subsidies who raise some good-faith issues of how such payments can eliminate pressure to make efficient choices and actually drive up costs. I actually see value to students paying some tuition. However, with tuition sky rocking in the United States and falling enrollment numbers, the United States is heading to a reckoning in the future for our lack of investment in our workforce. While we have spent trillions of dollars on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (and just renewed our commitment to the later to keep forces in the country), we have continued to cut environmental, scientific, educational, and infrastructure investments. The inevitable result is that we will continue to drop in our competitiveness in the world market and the future economy. Every other country is investing heavily in education while the United States continues to be distracted by shiny objects with more immediate political benefits for politicians.

What is striking is that it is not just third world countries that are investing heavily education, but economic leaders like Germany.

Notably, tuition was only introduced in Germany in 2006 after the German Constitutional Court ruled that limited fees do not violate the country’s commitment to universal education. However, the tuition rates proved unpopular and the country is now tuition free. Of course, there is no such thing as free tuition. The taxpayers are footing the bill. Moreover, such government subsidies can have a negative impact on not just the choices of students (who feel less pressure to make efficient choices) but on schools which are dependent on the government.

Nevertheless, the contrast could not be greater with the United States in terms of the commitment to education as not just a right (as it is in Germany) but as a real national security priority.

The article below has an interesting discussion of how England rejected the free tuition approach but has lost more money due to the higher student default rate on tuition. Yet, the English students face a maximum debt load of $14,550 per year where U.S. tuition rates and debt are soaring. Student loan debt in our country now stands at $1.2 trillion.

Of course, that is less than a third of the costs for the wars, but no one is making such comparisons.

http://thinkprogress.org/education/2014/10/01/3574551/germany-free-college-tuition/

500 thoughts on “Germany Abolishes Tuition For University Students”

  1. Annie, by “lie” if you mean the American Dream, what exactly does that mean to you? To me it means if you work hard in this country you can make a living to support yourself and your family. I have came from not much and done just that thus far. Still have a long way to go, but have been fortunate.

    Maybe some of us have too high standard regarding definition of American dream? The idea that cable television is a necessity nowadays comes to mind.

  2. In a prior life as a human in 1989 or so I was in Austria when the Berlin Wall “went down”. I thought then that a unified Germany would be great for all of Europe and I hoped for a European Union and currency. I was perhaps wrong about the currency. The problem with the EU Currency is that the energetic nations have to support the lazy ones like Greece and Spain. We all know that the rain in Spain never stays in the plane. The Germans are quite smart in this education move here. Other nation states should follow some of their examples. They work hard there. Ich mochter ein double zimmer for ein nach.

  3. Juris, if you noticed I went on to post FIVE videos that explain what the rational behind my statements are.

  4. “What degree of critical thinking is employed when the very obvious in in front of Americans’ faces, yet they fail to see it?”

    I don’t disagree that many people (including Americans) lack critical thinking skills. But labeling and generalizing people or groups, while oversimplifying causes to complex issues, is part of the problem.

  5. I must support Annie’s point here, there is no american dream. That is the carrot being dangled before us while we get the shaft from behind. The fact that one “makes” it doesn’t not belie the point. Where getting sick bankrupts you, where the banks own not only the system but the regulators, where children graduate with enough debts to spend their lives paying back, and when the rich get richer while the rest hover or sink, making it is relative.

    1. po – part of the American dream is deciding whether you want the banks to own you or not. Is there a Senegalese Dream? I sure hope so. I hope there is something that everyone strives for.

      po – it appears you are an immigrant here. I am not. I cannot think of a country I would rather live in. You have lived in Senegal, been taught by the French, speak or read Arabic, so you have a large world to move to. Why are you here? Why aren’t you someplace where there is another dream you can be living? I know why Annie is not living the American dream. She has the kids, the grandkids, she has an MSN, she has the house, but she has health problems. Well, so do I. But that has nothing to do with the American Dream.

      I just had my birthday and realized that I had lived twice as long as I had ever expected to. I should live another 10-15 years more without any problems. To the best of my limited knowledge I have lived longer than any of my male relatives. I have not pursued the American Dream but I have achieved it purely be accident. 🙂

  7. Juris, you’re a part of the problem IF you support the incredibly rigged system that allows a small percentage of Americans to replace our Representative Democracy with an Oligarchy. When working class conservatives (or liberals) buy the lie, they not only hurt themselves hurt America.

  9. The converse is true on the math equation as well. If my income goes UP and I contribute the same amount, then my ‘share’ or percentage of contribution will go down. This is basic basic math.

    I’ve spent the last 20 years trying to get people to understand these very simple math concepts.

    Next. Bonds. Yield versus Rate or Coupon. How the current interest rate can positively or negatively affect the market value of your bond. Par value. Duration of a bond.

    Without trying to offend anyone, the people that struggled the most with these concepts were teachers…..with the rare exception of a math or science based teacher. They always had the deer in the headlights look when they were approached with these concepts.

  11. E.g., The “rich” screwing the “middle class”. Is it really that simple?

    I am “conservative” on some issues and “liberal” on others. Am I part of the “problem”?

  12. @ bettykath

    “Middle- and lower-income Americans increased the share of income they donated to charity, even as they earned less, on average, than they did six years earlier.”

    This is really misleading and quite obvious what that sentence actually means if you think about it. When the dollar amount of income decreases but the dollar amount of charity remains the same, then OF COURSE the percentage given will go up. I know…..math is hard. You have to think about what the statistics are saying and more importantly HOW they are calculated.

    For instance if the total is $100 and I give away $10….I have given 10%
    If the total is $80 and I give away the same amount $10, I have given 12.5% of my total. Depending on how dedicated you are and whether that really impacts you are completely separate issues. So. Yeah. I gave 2.5% more of my total, but in reality, I have given exactly the same as before. Math!!

    What this actually means is that people are so generous that even when times get harder they STILL give money or to charity.

    @ Reisling.

    I prefer Gewurztraminer. It was the favorite of my Aunt who was from Frankfurt.

  13. What degree of critical thinking is employed when the very obvious in in front of Americans’ faces, yet they fail to see it?

  14. IMHO, generalizations and labels of any kind to any extent are signs of oversimplification, ignorance, and a deficiency for critical thinking. E.g., “conservatives are to blame for…” or “liberals are to blame for …”

    1. Annie – I achieved the American Dream as did my wife. I am here to put the lie to your statement.

  19. Hold onto your wallets, Annie’s making another case why there is no room for property rights in her quest for social justice.

  20. Keep it coming bettykath,
    Although the paper doesn’t explain the reason for the percentage decline, it still provides other interesting points to consider:

    “Even though wealthier Americans donated a smaller share of their income, the total amount they gave increased by $4.6-billion, to hit $77.5-billion in 2012, using inflation-adjusted dollars.”

    “The 17 most generous states, as measured by share of income donated to charity, voted for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in the 2012 election. Florida, at 18, was the most generous state to vote for Barack Obama.”

    Oh those greedy, conservative voters! Tsk Tsk

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