MM:
That wasn’t the point I was trying to make (to get out of kollel). I assume everyone in kollel who does not pay full tuition has asked their non nogaiyah Rav who then told THEM to stay & take tzedaka, so that is off the table.
I was saying that someone in kollel still has the responsibility to pay tuition, and should work a second/night job (as many in kollel do) to pay some/most tuition, instead of shrugging it off due to the cost being insurmountable. I know someone in kollel who every summer worked in (I believe) Bear Sterns so that he should not have to take tzedaka. Many Rabbaim work in camps, or for their family businesses during Bein Hazmanim. There is no reason why Kollel should equal Tzedaka, it should be a last resort.
The letter writer in the Yated (who I mentioned earlier) felt “bad” that she did not pay tuition, but was still unwilling to work more than part-time to pay it. That was my “point”, not “no one should be in Kollel”.
Lastly, better is a matter of degree to what they would have gotten otherwise, not as compared to a Maggid Shiur in the Mir. 🙂