The image above shows a University of Chicago advertisement on display in Daley Plaza along Dearborn Street.  It features their Harris Public Policy unit.

The line at the top of the advertisement reads: “Universal basic income is a handout.”  The phrase “a handout” at the end is crossed out and replaced with “an equalizer.”

Should an institution of higher education be telling people universal income is a good thing?  No.  Colleges should objectively be informing students of actual historical timelines and encouraging them to draw their own conclusions.

The idea of higher education is to help people learn how to think.  This advertisement makes it seem more like the University of Chicago is trying to program students with political ideology.

Harris Public Policy charges $10,618 per quarter for an assortment of graduate programs.  Assuming no summer quarter attendance it comes to $32,487 per year, or $64,974 to complete a two-year program.

Is it worth that much money to be told how to think by the University of Chicago?  Not likely.

That is is especially true when you consider many, if not most, college graduates today spend extended portions of their lives paying off huge student loan balances.

© 2020 practicalchicago.com

References:

https://financialaid.uchicago.edu/graduate/costs/cost-attendance

https://harris.uchicago.edu/academics/programs-degrees

https://harris.uchicago.edu/academics/programs-degrees/degrees/master-public-policy-mpp