Alas Smith And Loans.

it is said that one of the primary functions of government is to take its citizens/constituents hard-earned in the form of taxes

In many countries, the governments channel variable fractions of these taxes to make education free (notwithstanding the cost of uniforms, books, equipment, etc.).

Imagine, then, if you will, aforesaid government charging its youngest and brightest for (what is now) the privilege of gaining qualifications to earn more money to pay more tax.

Then imagine further these young hopefuls having to loan this course money off their government and, in addition, having to pay market interest rates - compound interest rates!

Absurd? Ludicrous? Not so, friends. Welcome to post-compulsory education, New Zealand-style! This Student Loans scheme has been in operation for well over a decade. The monster-/masterwork of the-then Tory Minister of Education, Lockwood Smith (whose previous claim to fifteen minutes of fame was as a children's quiz show compere), it was part and parcel of a national pandemic of the virulent free market insanities launched by, among others, the monetarist economist, Milton Friedman and his apostles at the Chicago School of Business.

Upon graduation,the youthful would-be careerist is and will be lumbered with the need to repay (via the tax system) the principal amount and the interest (both compounding) once his or her gross income reaches a set floor - currently in the region of NZ$13, 000 p.a.

There has been precious little national benefit in evidence from this programme. An enormous amount of harm, however, has long been acutely and painfully obvious.

Perhaps chief among them is an unending skill- and brain-drain. Recent medical and nursing graduates, in particular, are exiting the country in droves.

These folks, and those who remain, now owe in excess of seven billion dollars.