Occupy colleges? How to shut down student debt

[struggle4progress]

By John Wasik
Fri Oct 14, 2011 4:16pm EDT

... There’s been a sharp uptick in student loan defaults — the highest rate in a decade — as more students come out of college an average $24,000 in debt, yet can’t find jobs.

Part of the psychology embedded in a college education is that the diploma should enable you to get a living-wage job, pay off debts and live a prosperous life. That was the big selling point of a high-cost diploma. That isn’t happening now for most graduates ...

If we can bail out the banks, we can certainly find long-term solutions to student debt ...

No discussion of tax reform should exclude college financing. Higher education financial aid should get as big a tax break as energy producers, agriculture or hedge-fund managers now reap ...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/14/idUS139496254520111014

[dkf]

1. Why is college so expensive anyway?

[Sirveri]

6. funding has not kept pace with demand. So tuition increased to cover it.

At least in CA. Can't keep funding the same while you need to hire more teachers and give them all cost of living wage adjustments. Combine that with a decimated tax base and the state slashing funding... Less classes, and they're now more expensive.

Then the idiot employers who refuse to pay their taxes complain about a lack of 'qualified' workers, so they hire H1B workers to fills the slots (they also work cheaper, but lets pretend the employers are not completely full of shit).

[TheMightyFavog]

2. Actually this ties in to an idea I have to stimulate the economy...

Have the Federal Government forgive up to say, $15-$20K of student loan debt. This would free up hundreds of dollars per month for many younger Americans. They would use this extra money to create demand for consumer products (cars, appliances, furniture, etc) which would in turn create jobs.

[grasswire]

3. there's a movement for that and they have a web site

You might want to find it.

[eppur_se_muova]

4. Occupy Sallie Mae -- OSLMA !!

Wilkes-Barre is gonna get kinda cold thought ... :(

[midnight]

5. K&R