[jeffreybaird]

Raise the income tax, create a VAT, kill the mortgage-interest tax deduction, add a Financial transaction tax, tax capital gains like normal income, stop subsidizing fossil fuel extraction, add a carbon tax, and lower the threshold for the inheritance tax and raise the percentage.

[chrisdhoover]

Instead, can we have a negative income tax?

[dredmorbius]

Land, wealth, and other rents taxes.

[ConfSibi]

Making college free is a huge waste of resources.

College is largely an exercise in social credentialing and signaling. If we make college free, the people who want to get ahead in society will just go to expensive graduate programs in order to distinguish themselves. Then the discussion will shift to fully funding those programs...

Our current system is very fair. Take out a loan if you need to, but make sure your post graduation prospects justify taking a loan out. If they don't, then don't get the loan.

One of the major reasons why college is so expensive today is because the availability of loans means Universities are able to continuously hike tuition in support of ever expanding bureaucracies (not in support of the core educational mission) without fear of students not being able to pay, because the loans mean students can always secure funding! Society is basically writing them a blank check... The answer is NOT to give them even more money!

College education has become a financial black hole that will only expand if we throw more money at it.

[PascLeRasc]

I have some bad news for you: graduate programs are usually fully funded and some PhD students even get a stipend for attending.

[ams6110]

PhD students getting stipends are essentially contract employees. They are doing work, either as associate instructors or research assistants, for that money.