Part 6 – “They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.”
This one was so stupid that I thought it worth jumping ahead:
First of all, these Occupy people are so out of touch that they don’t even realize the federal government took over all Student lending last year!
Secondly, education is NOT a “fundamental human right!” A human right is something which no person should have to work (or pay) for and that no entity should be allowed to charge money or profit from. Life is a fundamental human right. Liberty is a fundamental human right. The ability to acquire and dispose of property is a fundamental human right.
Education is NOT a “right” or an “entitlement” because it requires diligence and labor to obtain, and a person who works harder for their education has the right to more of it. Why should every lazy high school student be admitted to Havard on demand? Should Universities no longer be allowed to charge for tuition? Should teachers no longer be paid and instead simply become wards of the state? Should a parent be denied the choice of a private education for their child because Washington doesn’t differentiate between those willing to save and work hard to send their children to the best schools and those who simply dump their kids on the front doorstep because they think school is primarily daycare for them?
America has the best schools in the world BECAUSE we allow schools to charge for a good education. Tuition is high in American not because of the free enterprise system, but because government distorts the tuition market by guaranteeing student loans and through Pell grants. If the federal government would get out of the business of education (a function NOT authorized by article 1, section 8 of the United States constitution and reserved exclusively to the states and to the people by the 10th amendment) then tuition prices would fall overnight!
It sounds like Occupy is asking for federally funded education as an entitlement. If they get their wish, then the department f education will, in 50 years, have a permanent unfunded liability greater than the total economic output of the planet just like Medicare does today. Way to look out for the future of the Nation people!