So I'm thinking about going back to college next semester but I'm in a sort of moral quandry. I don't have the money to pay for school right now nor do I have the credit for a loan (I've got a co-signer but they wont sign until I get out of community college -- 2 years). Really then my only choice is the Pell Grant which would cover all of my expenses and books at a community college. After I was done with that I could move on to a university with private loans backed by my co-signer.
On the one hand I'm completely against "government handouts." But on the other I kind of see it as a way to get back some of the money that's been stolen. Over the years I've been extorted for far more than the $7,000 or so I'd use up in Pell Grants and likely I'll be raped for far more than that over the span of my life time, especially if I'm earning more money. So...as you can see I'm leaning towards taking them.
What are your thoughts on this matter?
"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds. " -- Samuel Adams.
I tend to agree with Dr. Block on this issue: http://www.lewrockwell.com/block/block100.html
What is wrong/evil is the system itself, not the people who respond to the incentives it creates--at least in this case, where taking a grant isn't an act of coercion (it's the governement taking the money in the first place that is coercive).
Just my 2 cents,
Jordan
Nice. That pretty much sums up the way I thought in the first place. Good. Now I just have to wait a few months so I can enroll.
The problem is, we're forced to use the system whether we like it or not. It's difficult to draw a line somewhere in the middle of roads and this sort of thing, and any line is entirely arbitrary, so it makes no sense to say you're wrong for doing such a thing.
"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows"
Bob Dylan
I think the only thing you could so to make your use of the Pell Grant wrong, would be to fight for its continuation. Using the funds because they are available does not seem wrong, fighting for the continued theft required to fund the grants would be. I know some folks say that by using government supported resources one becomes an advocate for those resources - I don't buy that argument though
It's like the tax rebate checks: everybody's getting back a little bit of the money we all stole from each other.
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