I agree with these things in practice, but I feel they ignores the root of the problem: Cost. --- The joke of a school I went to now costs upward of $38k/yr

I agree with these things in practice, but I feel they ignores the root of the problem: Cost. --- The joke of a school I went to now costs upward of $38k/yr base (not sure what room/food on top of that is). Hell state schools are upwards of $20k a year even with financial aid... Maybe higher education shouldn't be this expensive across the board so people wouldn't be saddled with crippling high-risk debt while they're arguably still children. I can tell you whatever the %#%$ I got was NOT worth anywhere near that in tuition... gen-eds were effectively highschool 2.0, and I was learning more in-industry than I was in the classroom at the time for my main area of study. To think people are getting charged $38k+/yr for that just pisses me off. Even if it was an objectively good education + program - it's still too expensive. --- Also one more thing I want to address in your response: what about economically disenfranchised peoples? If we implement the ideals you lay out I can easily see that being a huge barrier. I personally believe these folks should have access to higher education too - which is why I strongly support things like financial aid, grants, scholarships, etc. If we make it into a more traditional loan I think it would potentially discriminate against students who come from less-than-ideal backgrounds.