I was listening to President Obama propose things other than a takeover of the health care industry today. If I heard him correctly, he was proposing student loan debt forgiveness for some college graduates who choose to work in public service.
The first thing to realize is that nobody in their right mind would lend money under these circumstances. So, if it hasn't happened already, the student loan business will be taken over by the government. Or, to put it another way, taxpayers will be forced to provide forgiveable loans, or grants, to the art history majors who can't cut it in the real world.
I am also bothered by the bias in favor of public service employees, by which I suppose he means government employees. Does President Obama think that government employees are the only ones that serve the public?
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Denis, sorry to inform you but what you suggest has already happened. All the Financial Aid administrators from around the country were rounded up in Nashville in the beginning of December to hear Education Czar Arne Duncan explain the government takeover of student loan financing. The following is my post from Facebook when this was going on.
Did you know (of course you didn't since no one's reporting it) that
last week more than 7,000 Student Financial Aid Administrators met
in
Nashville to hear Education Czar Arne Duncan outline the
Obama Administration's complete takeover of the Federal Student Aid
system. Previously, private banks financed loans, the feds subsidized
the interest. No longer my friends! Scheduled to begin July, 2010,
the federal government (yeah, we the taxpayers) will be financing the
whole kit and caboodle.
Administrators were told the new program will save billions. From what
I’ve heard, when the logistical “how” of that fact was questioned by
administrators, answers from government reps were “a little unclear.”
Watch for the
Department of Education to balloon its bureaucracy, and our costs, as
the collection function also previously handled by the private sector
will now be managed by the DOE (think IRS)!
I kind of thought that was the deal Calunp, I just didn't realize how far along it had gotten. Obviously nobody would voluntarily loan under these circumstances. The idea that this will somehow save money is laughable. Encouraging more people to pursue college degrees by waiving the loan obligation - yah, that will save money.
I think what you mention is only the tip of the iceberg. I wish people would realize how far reaching this could be. With Obama at the helm, government will now control not only the funding, but could use that financial power to sway what the indebted college student studies in school; what he/she ultimately chooses for their profession; what fields of study will qualify for assistance; who (according to the govt) qualifies for assistance; and as you mention, which professions will qualify for a completely free college education. This is NOT a good thing and I think we're seeing only the beginning!
government financial aid has existed as an option for decades. This isn't new.
Just more of "the sky is falling" scare tactics from the right.
anon - not the way it will in the future. The government will now finance the loans completely - what part of my previous posts didn't you understand.
so we pay to help people better themselves to contribute to society and help our country compete with other countries, big deal.
You'd rather pay $100k a year to lock someone up with virtually zero ROI, , than put that same investment into helping our country be more competitive by increasing the amount of knowledge workers?
Well thank you anon, you've admitted it! But let me understand, are you suggesting that everyone who doesn't get a college education will become a criminal and that those who do never will?
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