An interesting story here about yet another one of the President's attempts to remake the relationship between the government and the governed. The federal student loan program, for years administered through a combination of direct federal grants and federally subsidized loans, will become yet another taxpayer funded entitlement if the President gets his way.
The system is awash in money to fund higher education, one of the reasons that higher education continues to rise in price at a rate much higher than the rate of inflation (too much money chasing to few opportunities). For some reason, the President believes that taking on debt to finance a college education is anathema, even though statistics continue to show lifetime earnings advantages accruing to college grads.
Additionally, many students these days look at money borrowed for education like oh so many mortgage seekers did in the recent past....once the debt is accrued and the person's ability to pay it is in jeopardy, they look to the government to provide a safety net. Never mind the countless public and in-state options ignored, never mind the inconsistency of a Columbia degree and entry-level scut work at CNN....these personal decisions are NOT to be held against our poor, gallant seekers of knowledge and truth!
I am trying to figure out what I am going to purchase with the money I put into my kid's college plans. Let Uncle Obama pay for my daughter's theatre education degree and I'll use my dough to buy some kind of adult toy or a vacation home.
ReplyDeleteI'm liking this new entitlement society!
"For some reason, the President believes that taking on debt to finance a college education is anathema..."
ReplyDeleteNot if the debt is the country's...he appears quite warm to that idea.