>Free higher education works well in the European countries that offer it

It depends what you're looking at. I think it hurts local communities by exporting all the young talent and gets people plugged into the white collar, global economy.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy what I do, but I think a lot of the time in college could have been better spent learning how to build houses, make furniture, grow food, etc.

If the government is going to pay for it I would like it to be a better resource for enriching the nation, not just a tool for generating more wealth.