I think both sides have merit.
I'd love to see Universal Healthcare in the US, and affordable higher education, just like we have in Australia. It's not perfect, but better than the alternative.
There may be waiting lists for non-emergency issues if you don't have private health insurance (oh, did I forget to add that there's still such a thing as private health insurance and private hospitals in Australia?), and that'd freak out many in the US when talking about universal care. But that's the worst case scenario; the worst case scenario in the US is NO health coverage; how is that better than possibley mediocre/bad coverage? Bankruptcy due to medical debt is very common in the US, not so much where you have universal healthcare.
Education. Costs in the US are astronomical. And if you end up with huge student loan debts that aren't justified by the salary you command thanks to the degree...tough crap. In Australia, it's heavily subsidized as long as you're moving up. I.e. if you have a bachelor's degree, it won't subsidize another bachelor's degree, but would a master's (even then, only certain degrees are subsidized...wife's postgraduate in midwifery was subsidized, but not a master's...so if there's not enough actual need for the degree, it won't be subsidized). And citizens get a version of a student loan, it's paid back on your taxes past a certain income level. Never make above a (high to me) income, never pay back the loan. So...you don't have huge portions of the population being crushed by medical and student debt.
The US could learn something from a country like Australia, it's silly to say otherwise.
On the other hand, individuals have to be responsible for their personal finances. If university costs too much, DON'T GO! Get in a trade, get an associate's degree at a cheaper 2yr community college, but don't go to university just because everyone else is. Think about exactly what you want out of life, and put real thought into how to achieve that. Don't just throw lots of money at it, hoping it'll magically work out. And come 2014, there's little/no reason to not have medical coverage. Yeah, it's an imperfect solution...but you need to make the best of the current situation while advocating for changes in the system. Just screaming for someone else to fix your problems while not even TRYING to make things better yourself, is just a tad irresponsible.