Thomas, Alan To me the "old " system is when you went to university (or college. I use the words interchangably - tertiary education), got a grant , got educated and left and worked your way through life. You didn't have to think about financing yourselves. If your parents earned more than a certain amount, they'd be asked to contribute a percentage, but you got a grant and got on with it. And Alan, you may only get 6 lectures a week, but you're supposed to do a bit of study too in between. The result was that everybody could afford to go who qualified to go. And it doesn't happen now. The current systems put some kids off, and theyre often the poorest kids. I know perfectly well, just like you two, that poorer kids shouldn't be put off. But they often are. Maybe the fears are irrational or unfounded, but they get put off. The 3 I mentioned arent myths. They happen to be 3 families known to me. And their kids have lost out. It is NOT fair. It should NOT happen under a labour government, especially one stuffed full of ministers who all got free educations themselves. And this crap about "why should X pay for Y" is just that - crap argument. If graduates earn on average an extra £150 000 in their lifetimes then they'll pay an extra £30-40 000 in direct tax in their lifetimes and an extra £20 000+ in indirect taxes in their lifetimes,. So they pay back the extra money invested in their education any way, and society makes a profit from its investment directly in money and indirectly in the skill base which ensues in the workforce. In any case if you guys call yourselves socialists then you should know all about "from each according to his means and to each according to his needs". Young people shouldnt have to think twice about financing their education. The previous generation should sort it for them, just like my parents generation did for us. And if that means higher taxes, so be it. Are our [politicians so dumb that they can't persuade people to pay abit more to get a lot more? Are they so frightened of the Daily Mail? As it happens, they don't need to raise taxes. They just need to make sure they collect in the taxes that people should pay in the first place, but that's another story. The tax system leaks like a culinder and people like me who earn high salaries pay far less as a percentage of their earnings than people on a minimum wage, which is fundamentally immoral and it stinks that Labour doesn't address that either. But again, that is another story.

Please supply an email address so we can contact you and give a brief explanation of why this comment violates the Terms Of Use:
Email Address:

Reason: