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Much of the problem seems rooted in a misunderstanding of the question of who benefits from education. If we adopt the captialist discourse, it would follow that the person who benefits from a service should pay for it as an investment against future rewards (better job etc.) Even if this discourse is generally correct (a big if), it presumes that the individual student is the main benefactor of education. The benefits to society as a whole of having a more educated populace as a whole are not even considered. If they were, it would follow that society as a whole ought to help pay. Unfortunately, "as-a-whole" benefits are extremely difficult to measure, and are also too long-term to fit the current political climate (ie., the benefits will not be realized until after the next election). In addition, the current climate is to move from a focus on the whole to a focus on the individual, delegitimating the "benefit to society as a whole" argument before it has begun.