Letter: Student fees: nation must foot the bill
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Student fees: nation must foot the bill
Sir: If the nation is going to benefit from a better-educated work-force, then the nation should pick up the bill for the educational fees. If graduates do truly earn more because of their degrees, then they already contribute more through the higher taxes they pay. Any expansion of higher education should therefore rapidly become self-financing as the new graduates embark on their careers.
The proposed undergraduate tax - for that is what charging students pounds 1,000 a year in tuition fees is - looks like little more than yet another way of reducing government expenditure by transferring a universal tax burden on to a small group of people at the very time in their lives when they will need every penny they earn. This is grossly unfair, not least because it is a flat-rate tax to be levied regardless of either ability to pay or future earnings potential. Do we really believe that tomorrow's pounds 25,000- a-year teacher should pay the same as tomorrow's pounds 250,000-a-year lawyer or financier?
K G JAMES
Rodney Stoke, Somerset
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments