The biggest thing that would help rein in costs would be the elimination of all the "free money," i.e. loans, that students can get to pay those costs. If stud

The biggest thing that would help rein in costs would be the elimination of all the "free money," i.e. loans, that students can get to pay those costs. If students can't pay those costs, they won't. Universities will either then reduce their costs, or go bankrupt and be replaced by institutions that will. This could be accomplished with a couple of changes to current policy. First, remove the restriction that makes student loans nondischargeable in bankruptcy. Second, get the Federal government out of the business of providing student loans. With these changes, private institutions will only lend money for education if they have a reasonable expectation that the money will be paid back. That'll dry up the "free money" spigots. Back in the 1960's, it was possible for a student to pay for his education by flipping pizzas at night and over the summer, without having to take out loans. That's the standard we should be shooting for.