The newer plan 5 loans have lower interest rates... But are only forgiven after 40 years, not 30. On average new graduates will pay more over their lifetimes.

The newer plan 5 loans have lower interest rates... But are only forgiven after 40 years, not 30. On average new graduates will pay more over their lifetimes. The blame for this system, if one is inclined to blame, can be laid at the feet of Tony Blair's neoliberal New Labour. The decision to begin charging tuition fees was made because of a belief in market economics and privatisation, but also because of that government's stated ambition to get 50% of young adults into universities. Without both factors, I don't believe the system would have mutated into the expensive beast it is today.