Obama's student loan program is $22 billion in the hole, and college ain't any cheaper

Investor's Business Daily ^ | 02/05/2015 | IBD Staff

[IBD editorial writer]

Debt: Having spent years chastising bankers for making risky loans, President Obama is now responsible for a $22 billion shortfall in the student loan program. Guess it´s not risky to gamble with other people´s money.

[jsanders2001]

The Anti King Midas in action...

[airborne]

Socialism is great until you run out of other people's money!

[rawcatslyentist]

IF you like your college loan you can keep your college loan.

Why is there an Indonesian in our White House?

[mothball]

I really didn’t think it was possible for someone to be this big of a frick up, when it comes to anything, but he takes the cake. Is there one thing that the dims. have put their hands on that hasn’t turned to complete excrement?

[SunkenCiv]

The solution? Why, it’ll be easy, just give away free community college education to all comers! We’ll pay off that entire deficit by increasing volume and reducing costs. /s

[SWAMPSNIPER]

And, we have college graduates with elementary level educations.

May as well pass out degrees at Chuck E. Cheese.

[upchuck]

Is there one thing that the dims. have put their hands on that hasn’t turned to complete excrement?

Just wait 'til they get done with the Internet.

[grania]

The way to stop this would be for not allowing those with student loans to get any more loans until they're paid off. A better way would be for students to see the light and if they lack resources for college, spend a year or so to take a program that creates a job skill....accounting, the trades, health services etc and use the income from those jobs to pay for college.

The last thing we need is free grades 13 and 14 when pre-K through 12 isn't doing the job.

[upchuck]

Thank you for posting this. From the article:

The average tuition — net of all the government grants and subsidies — was $3,000, up from $2,100 in 2010, according to the College Board. Net tuition at private colleges climbed over those years as well.

Should they add a zero to those numbers? Seem awfully low.

[Carry_Okie]

The way to stop this would be for not allowing those with student loans to get any more loans until they're paid off.

The way to stop this is not to give student loans to people who seek degrees in saturated markets. IOW, privatize it. In a sane world, one doesn't make bank loans to people lacking demonstrable ability to pay it back.

[grania]

That's why I say they shouldn't get any other loans until the student loans are paid off. Hold the students accountable.

Keep in mind that degrees that are useless for some people are paths to success for others. The result of loans only to people in fields more likely to be job-friendly is less really qualified people getting those majors.

I saw it in Math teaching. Those really good at teaching Math and having high Math aptitude didn't need special programs. The special programs brought in some skilled Math teachers, for sure, but also some who didn't really have "it".

That's personal observation, opinion, not verified fact.

[Carry_Okie]

That's why I say they shouldn't get any other loans until the student loans are paid off.

Disagree there. One set of loans may be for undergrad. Having proven an outstanding record and demonstrating good demand for a particular specialty, a second set might be for grad school with the first set still unpaid. There is nothing wrong with an incremental system.

Those really good at teaching Math and having high Math aptitude didn't need special programs.

Both my home-educated girls were doing college calculus by 12.

[grania]

I never saw it that way. Throughout my teaching career, I encountered many students who would go to the local state college or somewhere that would give them a scholarship and get through undergraduate debt free. They'd get loans for graduate degrees, if necessary.

It would be much better if the colleges and universities were the source for loans to graduate students, and work something out with work programs to pay for part of it.

[Carry_Okie]

I encountered many students who would go to the local state college or somewhere that would give them a scholarship and get through undergraduate debt free.

That's what my younger daughter did. She ended up as a valedictorian. The elder got a substantial scholarship to Stanford. Both daughters are making money going to graduate school in scientific work. Neither has any debt.

[grania]

both my home school girls were doing Calculus by age 12

Won't they be able to take AP courses that count for college credit? With that much math aptitude, they should be able to use SAT scores for major scholarships in programs that want more women in Math-related fields. The other thing for students with math aptitude is taking some Junior College or online accounting courses while still in high school. Those skills are a real nice path to job opportunity.

[Carry_Okie]

I encountered many students who would go to the local state college or somewhere that would give them a scholarship and get through undergraduate debt free.

I forgot to add that, on the other hand, I did require loans to complete my undergrad engineering degree. Had I gone to graduate school, making a loan to me would have been a fairly safe bet.

I simply resist the idea of blanket policies such as you offered. Getting the government out of the loan business offers the flexibility to assess individual capabilities.

[grania]

You know what? We’re agreeing. That’s exactly the kind of path my high-aptitude Math gals would follow.

[Carry_Okie]

Won't they be able to take AP courses that count for college credit?

They did, at home. Both of them self-taught AP courses.

The other thing for students with math aptitude is taking some Junior College or online accounting courses while still in high school.

We did that too. One of them started at a JC at the age of 15 and graduated with half an MBA in addition to her technical degree by barely 20.

[ThePatriotsFlag]

It is just another way to fund the liberal education at colleges. Of course the price of college didn’t come down...why should it? The government now pays the price...it’s just another color of welfare. Amazing how they can paint these things up and pass them forward. We have a truly gullible populace. The politicians must get a real belly laugh watching the voters swallow this stuff again and again,