If we want the government to pay for a kids education, have them earn it with a tour in the military. I did, got eight years of electronics experience, then got out and the gub'ment gave me enough for college to cover a bachelors and halfway through a masters before I had to worry about any out of pocket costs.
And I agree with Boozeman and others who talk about kids feeling entitled because of some generic degree. I was in charge of hiring at my last job and we'd frequently staff some positions that were low wage (10.50 an hour) admin gigs. We'd mostly fill these spots via temp agencies due to the high turnover. No exaggeration, every time I contacted the temp agency for candidates, 80% + of the resumes would be from college graduates. Yes, most with useless degrees. College is only truly beneficial if you're getting a worthwhile degree.
I'll throw this out there.... there is a large shortage of trained craft workers in the US. Most people don't realize you could go to a technical college and get a 2 year degree and make a respectable living for yourself. If we are wanting to make education free, then perhaps the government should consider starting with this. I work for a major utility where young twenty somethings with a two year degree in electronics bring home 80-90-100k plus.