In the specific example being discussed of government funded "free" college education it most certainly is not being given away with "no strings attached".
There's a very real stipulation that regardless of whether an individual actually attends a university or not they will be having the monetary products of their labor forcibly taken and used to pay the professors, construct the facilities, and heat the buildings.
It just happens by means of taxes instead. Right now, banks get a pretty hefty profit off those that can't afford it upfront, it's a tax on the poor (and often middle class) more than the rich.
There's a very real stipulation that regardless of whether an individual actually attends a university or not they will be having the monetary products of their labor forcibly taken and used to pay the professors, construct the facilities, and heat the buildings.