Student Loans
The student debt problem is getting more and more press . . . and more attention in Congress. The whole debate infuriates me. The federal government created this mess by throwing a ton of money at the higher education establishment, which caused tuition rates to rise astronomically over the past 25 years, so now students have to go deep in debt in order to afford it. Congress now wrings its hands and points accusing fingers at the private lenders and college admissions officers, even though the federal government put in the systemic conditions that created the situation.
You want to eliminate the student loan problem? Stop the federal government from guaranteeing the loans, stop the federal government from providing Pell grants and other forms of tuition assistance, stop the federal government from otherwise funding higher education. The price of tuition would drop through the floor, putting it in reach of everybody except the poor and near-poor.
I know, I know: That's not fair to the poor. Well, tough. It is fair. It's neutral, which makes it fair. And besides, there'd still be need-based private scholarships and part-time college course work while a person works a full-time job. So 20% of the population would have to struggle to get their family out of that lower 20%. That's fine. It'd greatly lessen the burden on the middle 70%.
The more I think and read about it, incidentally, the more frustrated I get. The middle 70% are doofi. We repeatedly back politicians who cater to the top 10% and the lower 20% at the same time, all at our expense. We are the "forgotten man" that William Graham Sumner wrote about. Sumner's analysis should be taught in every high school in the land.
But of course, such a thing would hardly further the ruling class' agenda, so I don't expect it to occur anytime soon.
