When other major stories are not crowding it out, the media occasionally gets around to a story or two on student loan debt. The college graduates of the last ten years or more are drowning in student loan debts. There is a radical solution to this problem.
What is it?
Abolish the student loan program.
Liberals will immediately scream that I am anti-education. I want to see the great masses of Americans stuck with 6th grade educations, forced to work the fields and flip burgers or hit the highlight of their career by being able to say, “Welcome to Wal-Mart.”
Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. I do object to state funded colleges and universities being used to indoctrinate students in liberalism and I do object to stupid programs like gay studies. But I believe the state university and college secondary education system is one of the best things that state government does. I believe the state college secondary education system should do what it was designed to do, namely provide a reasonably affordable college education to the tax paying residents of a state.
The unwashed liberals, in the case of Occupy Wall Street, that is literally true, just want student loans forgiven. There is irony in Bill Clinton endorsing the Occupy Wall Street anarchy and their demands for complete forgiveness of student loans. He was the President who signed the law making student loans non-dischargeable in bankruptcy.
In wanting student loans forgiven, the left is focusing on the symptoms and not the cause of the problem. Student loans are the problem. The easy access to student loans distorts and destroys the free market. Students to not realize the cost of what they are getting. They don’t write the check. They just fill out the paperwork. Sometimes instead of writing a check, they get a check back. The money they receive back is then spent on, hopefully living expenses. Back in the day when I was a college student, pizza and beer were considered living expenses. Somehow I doubt that has changed.
For colleges, the student loans take the sting out of the market place. Who cares if they have to raise tuition by twenty percent? Instead of students talking about alternatives to State U., they just ask for more student loans.
The student loan program is probably one of the worst programs for encouraging bad behavior. Since the federal government guarantees loans, it is a no lose proposition for banks. They can make the loans and make a profit when people pay them back and if they fail to pay them back, the government covers the loss.
What if banks made those loans without the government guarantee? For one thing, there would be many fewer loans. That is not a bad thing, as the banks would be asking some important questions.
For example, if someone wanted to borrow $100,000 to get a nice Ivy League degree, the bank might ask, what are you going to major in and what are you going to do after college and how much will you make? If the student said, well I am going to major in social work, become a social worker and probably make about $30,000 a year, the bank is going to turn that student down. With guarantees, the bank doesn’t care whether the risk is good or not. After all, the taxpayer will pay the bank back if the loan defaults.
The state college systems have a lot of affordable options. Maybe a student wants to go to State U., but does not have the money. Every state has affordable regional junior colleges where someone can start. Students can work and help pay for their college. There are many options if we abolish this really bad program.
One of the other benefits of abolishing Guaranteed Student loans is, it will deflate the education bubble and tuition will come down. Market factors will start to play a role in the cost of education again.
The Guaranteed Student Loan program is the classic case of a well intentioned government program that has destroyed the market, cost the tax payers a lot of money and is now hurting the very people it was intended to help.
Ronald Reagan was right when he said the most feared words in the English language are, “I’m from the Government. I’m here to help.”
Tags: bankruptcy, bill, clinton, congress, democrats, loans, occupy, street, student, wall
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Permalink Reply by Paul Klaus on The US government has grossly extended its' boundries into all aspects of our lives. The US government has no business granting student loans. The further the government extends into society, the more intrusive it becomes and the more problems it creates. Ultimately the tax payer pays the bill for every silly idea and every population controlling policy our elected officials come up with. While I do believe that study of the humanities is good for rounding out an education, I do not think everyone needs to go broke studying liberal philsophy. I'd rather see us go back to a time when a high school turned out literate students and having a high school diploma actually meant something. Those of us who are academically inclined and willing or able to take out a loan from a bank or credit union above and beyond any scholarships we may receive will always be free to do so. Let the individual be accountable for their own decisions; not their fellow tax payers.
Permalink Reply by wayne thomas inman on Talking about gay studies, What would anyone do with a masters degree in queer.
Permalink Reply by Darlene Black on Permalink Reply by james krog on Permalink Reply by Christi Haning on Permalink Reply by Robert L. Voelsing Sr. on Bill Clinton wants to endorse the OWS so they will vote for Hillary if she,,1) runs as BHO's r/mate in 2012,,,2) Runs against BHO in the Dem Primaries to defeat BHO & be the Nominee for the Dems in 2012. Who is he trying to kid?? Duh?
BHO put 'student loans' in the H/C bill,,,so the Fed (BHO) could 'Control' the loans & some bureaucraP could determine if some POOR,,STUPID,,INNER-CITY MINORITY NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING kid will go to college ,,,as opposed to a White Middle-class kid from the suburbs & farms.. Why else was it in the "We got to vote for it ,,to see what's in it" bill that BHO RAMMED down our throats,,,,just like he is attempting to do with his 'Jobs 'bill.
What I and Many others want to see is MORE Tech schools at the HS & College levels. Did you ever watch "How did they do that" ,,or "How it's made ",,,on the Science channel??? Who made or built all of those machines used to make the stuff we buy,,,China??? Maybe,,but I'll bet it was the Germans & some small co. in the USA,,,so we need more schools Here to teach all of those who do NOT want Academic degrees to learn a TRADE. Where are ALL of the future Auto mech's Carpenters,,plumbers,,& Electricians coming from???? Let's Build TRADE COLLEGES,,,OK??
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