Jeff Stahler for April 25, 2012

Yep. This is what happens when you privatize a government function (like low-interest loans for education), allowing banks to screw over individuals least able to fight it.In the past, students sometimes had to declare bankruptcy to get out of high debt. #1 degree for those doing so? Law. They knew how!I was fortunate; I graduated in the mid-80s when Pell Grants were still around and went to an Ivy League school that kept my debt relatively low, but it still took me over ten years to pay it off two degrees’ debt, mostly because I had a well-paid job.

Yes, but they are only given to those who are not straight A students and are not American citizens.

So, that’s what Social Security is really meant to accomplish? Pay off your College Loan Debt(s)? Well planned, well planned!

stupid. never “buy” anything you can’t pay for. when i went through college i used 10 years of childhood savings, and worked 2 jobs. when i ran out of money to pay for the “product”, i went and earned some more. it takes longer, but you end up debt free. whining about something you could have prevented, and chose to abuse anyway is pitiful.

California had free higher education once upon a time. What country in it’s right mind denies it’s citizens a chance to improve themselves to the benefit of everyone? Do they want us to be a country of uneducated boneheads while China , India, Japan exceed? It seems to be the plot. The higher the cost of college the more people will be denied. Simple.

Take a look at the industries that government “invests” in: healthcare, education, housing. These three (prior to the housing crash) experienced double digit inflation for years. Any econ student out there want to hazard a guess why that is? Hint: what effect would government money pouring in have on demand? And when demand increases nd supply stays more or less the same what happens to the equilibrium price?

POTUS was on Jimmy Fallon slow jammin’ the news on the subject of student loans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vAFQIciWsF4

I graduated in California 40 years ago, it wasn’t “free”, but tuition today is almost as much a unit, as my tuition was A YEAR! Even back then, with G.I. Bill, I still had to work to pay my tuition and costs, but didn’t take out loans. The reduction in tax rates, thanks to Reagan and ballot measures passed to benefit the wealthy, increased tuition, and still reduced education budgets compared to “inflation”.

“Privatization”, and contracting, has increased the cost of “government”, and education, more than any other factors. Simply put, when “government” does things, no profit is required. When “privatized” and contracted, anywhere from one to seven additional steps take place to provide someone a profit. That includes “private” student loans.