“Top Dollar”

Cameron et al. quote Tony Blair saying that the reason why US universities are the best in the world is because people are prepared to pay “top dollar” for them.

Wrong. This was a Reaganite plan to strike despair into the hearts of the many.

The reason why American universities rock is because they, unlike Britain, took the Enlightenment seriously. That means that in order to have capitalism, you need good education. Which means you need a culture of second chances.

Non-Americans can sneer at comebacks on Oprah all they like. But my wife dropped out, redid her high school, went to community college, then on to university. Now she's about to start as a CPA at Ernst and Young.

Nothing of the sort is promised to young Brits. The shame of it. America is the land of the second chance. Listen and learn Europeans.