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It is absolutely this. When an 18-year old can take on tens of thousands in loans with mostly no strings attached (well, no bankruptcy) so that they can attend

It is absolutely this. When an 18-year old can take on tens of thousands in loans with mostly no strings attached (well, no bankruptcy) so that they can attend a big college which is little more than a summer camp with some classes thrown in, you've got a problem. I'm a phd student at a state school. As a graduate student I am allowed to take on up to 240k(!). I love learning and I enjoy school, but anyone who has been in academia for any length of time at all and doesn't realize it's largely a scam with good intentions which is designed to pass money around baffles me. Any education reform that doesn't cut back on loans and rethink how we do it is broken. The amount of money that gets poured into my school combined with the incompetence I've seen at so many levels is astounding. The education system in America is largely broken. Many high schools are worthless because it's expected everyone's going to go to college and take remedial classes in order to get a piece of paper which they probably won't use for their job and they'll spend the rest of their 20s and 30s paying off.

joesmo 10y ago
"no strings attached (well, no bankruptcy)" Yeah, because it's worse than bankruptcy. You can't even get rid of the student loan debt if you go bankrupt. I'd say that's a bigger string attached than any other type of loan available. This is the ultimate string of death and why we're in this crisis right now!
- jandrese 10y ago
  The no bankruptcy thing still boggles my mind. Schooling is far from a sure return, so cutting out the final safety net seems just plain insane. I mean these are people who largely aren't qualified for the debt otherwise having either no job or a low paying job and little credit history and are given the money on the promise that their degree will get them a career when they graduate, even thought that's far from a guarantee. It's the kind of outrageous overreach some fat cat banker would put in the contract to reduce his liabilities but then the person in the government who's job is protecting the general public was asleep at the wheel and failed to have it struck from the contract. Did the clause pass because the kids don't put up any collateral? The college loan business is so screwed up.
  - joesmo 10y ago
    The problem is that the fat cat banker is the federal government in this case. They write the rules, they make the profits. And they do not give a shit about students, the economy, or anyone else because the government is a separate entity. By the people, for the people is just a nice saying but not one that exists in reality.

joesmo 10y ago

"no strings attached (well, no bankruptcy)" Yeah, because it's worse than bankruptcy. You can't even get rid of the student loan debt if you go bankrupt. I'd say that's a bigger string attached than any other type of loan available. This is the ultimate string of death and why we're in this crisis right now!

jandrese 10y ago
The no bankruptcy thing still boggles my mind. Schooling is far from a sure return, so cutting out the final safety net seems just plain insane. I mean these are people who largely aren't qualified for the debt otherwise having either no job or a low paying job and little credit history and are given the money on the promise that their degree will get them a career when they graduate, even thought that's far from a guarantee. It's the kind of outrageous overreach some fat cat banker would put in the contract to reduce his liabilities but then the person in the government who's job is protecting the general public was asleep at the wheel and failed to have it struck from the contract. Did the clause pass because the kids don't put up any collateral? The college loan business is so screwed up.
- joesmo 10y ago
  The problem is that the fat cat banker is the federal government in this case. They write the rules, they make the profits. And they do not give a shit about students, the economy, or anyone else because the government is a separate entity. By the people, for the people is just a nice saying but not one that exists in reality.