The estimated cost of free college would be $65 billion dollars per year. US defense spending... nearly 1 trillion dollars per year. Defense spending has created incredible technology and will continue to do so. But how about priorities? Russia spends $65 billion per year... China about $165 billion per year. The USA has no real enemies that are a direct military threat. But our politicians conjure enemies to fight to stay in a state of perpetual war. The logic being, ISIS has kitchen knives, so the defense budget has to be increased. The USA can afford trillion dollar wars, trillion dollar bank bailouts, billion dollar oil subsides and prison construction... but we cannot afford education, healthcare, roads, bridges, medical equipment and the things that make your life better. But we have money for bombs.

Investing in weapons makers does advance technology, but why not just invest in tech companies that use applied technology towards an end other than war.