Pay It Forward: Innovative Oregon Proposal Could Solve Problem of Student Loan Debt

[kpete]

Pay It Forward: Innovative Oregon Proposal Could Solve Problem of Student Loan Debt


By passing a law that covers tuition with a new social insurance program, Oregon politicians hope to create a system where students are able to graduate with no debt and no interest payments



As politicians in Washington continue to ignore the plight of students drowning in student loan debt, a new proposal developed by students in Oregon takes an innovative approach that could alleviate the need for student loans all together.

Under the proposal, referred to as Pay It Forward and lauded by Senator Mark Hass as an example of "out of the box thinking," local students would be able to attend public universities and community colleges in the state for free.

Instead of taking out costly loans, students would enter a social insurance program and pay about 3 percent of their adjusted gross income for graduates of four year programs, or 1.5 percent for two year programs, for a total of 24 years. Students would graduate with no debt, no interest and the percentage of their income they had to pay would never change.

“As a student who will graduate with over $40,000 in student loan debt, I think that we need creative solutions like Pay It Forward. It will eliminate the initial barrier to attend college, and students won’t be burdened with a crushing debt for the rest of their lives,” said Alexandra Flores-Quilty, a junior at University of Oregon.




- See more at: http://thecontributor.com/education/pay-it-forward-innovative-or-proposal-could-solve-problem-student-loan-debt#sthash.CfCiLCCx.SwgSj6El.dpuf

[Recursion]

1. Equity is a much better way to pay for education than debt

This is a great idea; unfortunately when this has been suggested in the past people start screaming "indentured servitude". However, it's the "right" answer from a macro standpoint.

[niyad]

2. makes a lot of sense