In the first article the graduate tax would be used to increase the number of people going in to further education – so almost the exact opposite of what we actually need!
Also in the first article:
1) if the returns are partly to society and partly to the graduate, then a tax that funds part-but-not-all of the university system seems reasonable
2) even if the returns are primarily to the graduate, government involvement isn’t necessarily a bad idea because of poor liquidity over time: while I know that getting a NatSci degree from Cambridge will put me in a good position to be hired by Goldman Sachs and paid an enormous amount of money, if I’m 18, my dad’s a dustman and the fees are £30k a year then I still can’t go
3) the negative returns point is fairly obviously nonsense – rather, men who study humanities degrees are likely to choose professions like academia, media and charity work that pay poorly. I’ll buy you 17 pints if you can find *an industry* with a negative graduate premium
Andrew Duffin
Still on the graduate tax.
When I was a student I got the minimum grant (£50 a year iirc) and paid all the fees, such as they were.
In other words, the State did not subsidise me then, so there’s no reason for them to come looking for their (non-existent) contribution back now, is there?
Ed
The thinking behind this idea is that as it’s the graduates who benefit from their education, through their higher earning power over the decades, it should be said graduates who pay for the education system.
Idiots. Those who enjoy higher earning power because of their taxpayer funded degrees are already paying more in tax.
ChrisM
Sounds fair enough to me….
…. so long as people who have used a hospital pay extra tax, people who have drawn benefits pay extra tax, people who have been in prison pay extra tax, people who have been to school pay extra tax, people who use libraries pay extra tax, etc,
otherwise they can stick it up their arse!
pj
“Indeed, I’ve seen figures that an arts degree for a male now reduces, not increases, lifetime earnings……… We’d like you to pay extra tax because of the way we funded your decrease in earnings?”
And this is a bug not a feature?
pj
And….
Food production? Hedge funds?
I thought Common Agricultural Policy was to grub out all the hedges to make farming more efficient. Now they’re funding planting them again?
Can we leave yet?
Eva
Oh, they should by all means tax university graduates for decades! Absolutely – and then watch the brightest students go to universities in the US.
And how is the enforcement of this exercise in social engineeering supposed to be administered anyway? And what if someone drops out? Oh, the possibilites for fuck-ups and vast amounts of money being spent on admin are endless….
In the first article the graduate tax would be used to increase the number of people going in to further education – so almost the exact opposite of what we actually need!
Also in the first article:
1) if the returns are partly to society and partly to the graduate, then a tax that funds part-but-not-all of the university system seems reasonable
2) even if the returns are primarily to the graduate, government involvement isn’t necessarily a bad idea because of poor liquidity over time: while I know that getting a NatSci degree from Cambridge will put me in a good position to be hired by Goldman Sachs and paid an enormous amount of money, if I’m 18, my dad’s a dustman and the fees are £30k a year then I still can’t go
3) the negative returns point is fairly obviously nonsense – rather, men who study humanities degrees are likely to choose professions like academia, media and charity work that pay poorly. I’ll buy you 17 pints if you can find *an industry* with a negative graduate premium
Still on the graduate tax.
When I was a student I got the minimum grant (£50 a year iirc) and paid all the fees, such as they were.
In other words, the State did not subsidise me then, so there’s no reason for them to come looking for their (non-existent) contribution back now, is there?
The thinking behind this idea is that as it’s the graduates who benefit from their education, through their higher earning power over the decades, it should be said graduates who pay for the education system.
Idiots. Those who enjoy higher earning power because of their taxpayer funded degrees are already paying more in tax.
Sounds fair enough to me….
…. so long as people who have used a hospital pay extra tax, people who have drawn benefits pay extra tax, people who have been in prison pay extra tax, people who have been to school pay extra tax, people who use libraries pay extra tax, etc,
otherwise they can stick it up their arse!
“Indeed, I’ve seen figures that an arts degree for a male now reduces, not increases, lifetime earnings……… We’d like you to pay extra tax because of the way we funded your decrease in earnings?”
And this is a bug not a feature?
And….
Food production? Hedge funds?
I thought Common Agricultural Policy was to grub out all the hedges to make farming more efficient. Now they’re funding planting them again?
Can we leave yet?
Oh, they should by all means tax university graduates for decades! Absolutely – and then watch the brightest students go to universities in the US.
And how is the enforcement of this exercise in social engineeering supposed to be administered anyway? And what if someone drops out? Oh, the possibilites for fuck-ups and vast amounts of money being spent on admin are endless….