All this talk about "free college" also meaning free for millionaires has gotten me thinking about a debate I've been having for several years, about the scholarship process in the Jewish community in Nebraska. There are endowed funds to send kids to Jewish camps and day school.

The scholarships exist because the cost of "doing Jewish" is high, especially compared against the alternative. Jewish day school is inordinately expensive compared to public school. People with means wanted to make it available, especially to those who really can't afford it.

But, to apply for these scholarships, families have to fill out an application. It's a really long application, it's very invasive, and it's required annually. It asks for families to report their monthly income and bills for absolutely everything, and to provide documentation.

I once asked why families need to submit a monthly phone bill and water bill and so on. And, no kidding, I was told that it was because some people might try to cheat; in other words, some wealthy people might try to get scholarship dollars when they don't actually need it.

My response to this, honestly, is that we should be just fine with the one rich family that might cheat us. Because the cost of trying to prevent that rich family from taking what they don't need is actually being borne by the families who *do* need the scholarships.

They are being embarrassed. That's the cost. They're essentially being asked to beg for money that has been specifically set aside to assist them and to document exactly how much they need it. Rather than believing them when they say it would help them, we ask for receipts.

This practice, which arises out of our fear that someone will try to get some assistance they don't need, ends up preventing families who could really use the assistance from applying at all. They don't want to be humiliated so they simpy don't choose to "do Jewish."

This ends up hurting the (incredibly small) Nebraska Jewish community because it means fewer kids who grow up with a strong Jewish identity (that's what Jewish summer camp and Jewish day school specialize in). Which means fewer self-identifying, practicing Jews going forward.

I'll admit there's something that feels icky about giving scholarships to people who drive Bentleys. But I got over it. If someone takes advantage of me (whatever that means) in order to benefit their kid, I can deal with it. It's good for the kid. And good for the community.

And, ultimately, if we simplify the process so that everyone can get the funds they need to enable them to make a choice that benefits their kids, we're making the process easier/better/kinder for the families who really need the money to make the choice they want to make.

All of this, of course, is predicated on the notion that we have the money. Guess what? We do. Both in Nebraska's Jewish community and also in the United States, we've got the money to make sure that everyone can get what they need. So far we haven't prioritized people's needs.