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> But then this would lead us back to only wealthy kids being able to afford "the arts". To the extent that we want to fund talented but not wealthy kids in th

by iguy 7y ago

> But then this would lead us back to only wealthy kids being able to afford "the arts". To the extent that we want to fund talented but not wealthy kids in the Arts, let's spend the money on explicit scholarships for them. Then at least it's transparent what we are paying for. Much better than funding them by having them take impossible loans funded from some slightly disguised arm of the government, which we will hound them about paying for decades, and eventually write the money off. "Percentage of future income" sounds like a great model to me, too. IIRC this is what the Australians did? Only I would prefer for the percentage taken to be something negotiated (within limits) by a private lender, because the offers made would provide valuable information to those signing up.

xythian 7y ago
You're thinking of "Income Share Agreements" which have made their way into the USA. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/03/why-one-university-is-sharing-the-risk-on-student-debt/519570/ https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/03/why-on... "ISAs provide students money to cover college costs, and in exchange, students agree to pay back a percentage of their future income for a set period of time—interest-free and capped. At Purdue, for example, a senior majoring in economics who took out $13,000 in a “Back a Boiler” ISA would pay 4.39 percent of her income over 100 months, up to a maximum of $32,500." "If a student struggles to secure a job after graduation or earns less than $20,000 per year, the college would collect no money. If a student is extraordinarily successful financially, Purdue could be paid back up to 250 percent of the amount originally awarded."
- iguy 7y ago
  That sounds good, thanks. Although it seems like the terms are fixed, and it's only smallish amounts for already-attending students, but still a great start.
  - xythian 7y ago
    I imagine there are a lot of university foundations watching the Purdue experiment while planning their own version of ISAs. Taking loan interest away from banks and injecting it back into university endowments has to be a very appealing idea.

by iguy 7y ago

xythian 7y ago

You're thinking of "Income Share Agreements" which have made their way into the USA. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/03/why-one-university-is-sharing-the-risk-on-student-debt/519570/ https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/03/why-on... "ISAs provide students money to cover college costs, and in exchange, students agree to pay back a percentage of their future income for a set period of time—interest-free and capped. At Purdue, for example, a senior majoring in economics who took out $13,000 in a “Back a Boiler” ISA would pay 4.39 percent of her income over 100 months, up to a maximum of $32,500." "If a student struggles to secure a job after graduation or earns less than $20,000 per year, the college would collect no money. If a student is extraordinarily successful financially, Purdue could be paid back up to 250 percent of the amount originally awarded."

iguy 7y ago
That sounds good, thanks. Although it seems like the terms are fixed, and it's only smallish amounts for already-attending students, but still a great start.
- xythian 7y ago
  I imagine there are a lot of university foundations watching the Purdue experiment while planning their own version of ISAs. Taking loan interest away from banks and injecting it back into university endowments has to be a very appealing idea.