First, let's terminate the federal student loan program

Submitted by Dave (United States), Mar 20, 2019 at 09:19

We taxpayers subsidize college loans to the tune of over 170 billion per year. These loans are given out too freely without taking into account the ultimate return from the investment. Thus, someone who majors in engineering gets the same amount as someone who majors in gender studies. The result is to greatly increase demand for higher education, increasing its price tag, while failing to reward relative value. It also rewards professors who can teach any kind of PC gibberish with impunity.

If only the private sector handles the loans, there would be greater accountability in what was being lent, providing better quality control. It would bring down educational costs by reducing demand at four year colleges by funneling more students into practical vocational programs with better prospects for jobs.

Given the current 1.5 trillion in total student loan defaults thanks to students failing to parlay their education into a career commensurate with their expectations, that would both help students as well as the taxpayer.

As for the intangible value of education in terms of enrichment, it should be obvious that today's colleges are often doing more harm than good, and that the curious individual eager to learn should look to the many alternate sources available today.

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