We don't want others not like us to get benefits, especially if it's paid out of a common tax pool. Even if it's not, if we're not eligible for the same benefits. The US population has had decades (almost centuries) of us vs them politics within the country.
What the US has is more like "I'm fine with being screwed as long as the others are too" kind of mentality. Look at healthcare. There would be people rejecting Obamacare just because it has "Obama" in its unofficial name, then not be able to pay for treatments.
There is an additional layer to this that some "blue collar" workers feel it is unfair to tax them for education benefits they don't utilize as a working class.
Hopefully we can reframe the debate to include technical skills training like this in addition to university to be inclusive of all of the modern skills people are going to need and that we as a nation need to invest in.
