Why do we pay for foreigners education?

[goofball]

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TA's, RA's, research assistants, graduate assistantships, all of those are paid for with federal tax money. Why then, do Americans pay for so many foreigners education? If you see a foreigner in a graduate program, odds are we are paying for their education. It doesn't make sense to me at all.

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It's called educating intelligent people so they can, you know, cure cancer and stuff.

Besides, they do work, usually they teach unintellgible quiz sections.

[Cyrus]

In disparaging the state of things in the matter of "educating foreigners", you are ignoring a number of factors :

1. The people who come to America to study are not your average "dumb student". They are usually above average -- and I'd speculate above average in both their countries and the USA. This, ostensibly, raises the brain power in the US educational system.

2. A significant number of those foreigners get to stay and work in the United States, adding to the brain power of the country. Some of them stay on to work as teachers. (I guess you are too young to remember the alarm calls in 1950s Europe about the famous "brain drain"!)

3. Those that do return back home to work and lead their lives have been in touch with the "American way of life", a term that includes American economic thinking, American culture (excuse my French) and, importantly, the American point of view in world politics. In essence, America enjoys the benefits of having a loose but powerful corps of "American alumni" around the globe. (Notice how American media, when giving a short CV of a foreign politico, will always underline the fact that he or she was "educated in America".)

4. Some of the people who return to their country and get into business will probably be more immediately familiar with the American way of doing business than anyone else's way, so they would be more comfortable and inclined to doing business with American businesses, if such an opportunity exists. (American multinational companies operating abroad also enjoy the benefit of having "local talent" that has already been properly groomed available to fill managerial positions in the multinational's local subsidiary.)

[Bubbagump]

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The sad thing is we are a lot more creative and industrious. We wouldn't even have to work hard to beat them in the marketplace. Just do a minimum level of basic work that people seem incapable of doing.

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Convincing to population to strive for mediocrity is not the answer. It's attitudes like this that have brought this country to where it is today.

[lehighguy]

I think your misinterpreting my post. Or perhaps you just don't have the background of previous discussions with me on this subject. In either event that isn't what I'm arguing for at all.