I'm sure the countries mentioned have income tax too, without the safety nets and social stability benefits you're paying for as a high-income member of society

I'm sure the countries mentioned have income tax too, without the safety nets and social stability benefits you're paying for as a high-income member of society. But that's an entirely different discussion. In Australia, our student loans sound similar to the article's. You take out a loan, which you're forced to pay back in future at some small percentage of your income, but only once your income is greater than some minimum threshold. It's indexed for inflation, but is not otherwise interest-bearing. If you move overseas, or just never earn enough, you won't have to pay it back. What's interesting in the article is the time-limited nature of the loans. I think if you're doing this on the open market, having a cut-off date would give you more confidence in borrowing against your future income.