One of the Founding Fathers’ basic principles was that a free society cannot survive as a republic without a broad program of general education. As early as 1647 there was a law in Massachusetts requiring every community of 50 families or householders to establish a free public grammar school to teach the fundamentals of reading, writing, ciphering, history, geography, and Bible study. Every township containing 100 families was required to establish a secondary school in advanced studies to prepare boys for attendance at Harvard. Today too many students advance in grades based on age instead of learning. Colleges offer too many degrees with unmarketable acquired skills.

This country developed due to the hard work of laborers. No matter how sophisticated technology becomes there will always be a need for laborers who contribute to society. Productive laborers deserve the respect of all members of society. Many laborers have no need or desire to obtain college degrees. Why should they be burdened to pay for others to obtain free college education?