[xsmasher]

>Why is it a good thing to extract money from those "able" to pay more.

Because this is a state-supported system; the state can educate more students if they can get the rich ones to pay more and subsidize the poor ones. If its purpose is to educate more students, then price discrimination helps that purpose more than a "fairer" system would.

>Such a dysfunctional system already exists for healthcare.

In healthcare the uninsured pay more than the insured (and his insurer) pay. That seems more dysfunctional than a progressive system like this.