Want to Really Help Students? Make it Legal to Pay Them!

Everybody from the President, to the libertarians, to populists, Republicans, Democrats, and me, is a champion of the middle class. Anyone who has an understanding of the free market and sound money actually knows exactly what the answer is for achieving a large and thriving middle class. Unfortunately, politicians in Washington know little about the free market and that certainly includes President Obama.

One of the President’s plans to help the middle class is to give everyone two years of free college. Free to him means making someone else pay. I have a better plan. I want to make it legal to pay students to get a useful education by repealing all laws that interfere in voluntary contracts dealing with employment. This includes minimum wage laws. Today our colleges graduate a lot of students with degrees that have not provided them with the skills needed to take the many jobs going begging. What is needed are electricians, plumbers, welders, carpenters, technicians, etc. Why not let people learn on the job for a wage agreed upon by student and the employer-teacher while learning a trade? That would be a lot better than robbing Peter to pay Paul for an “education” that fails to prepare the student for a real job. A healthy dose of liberty would go a long way toward helping the middle class and the entire economy.