http://online.wsj.com/article/AP6a31668e08f74b55abe1563993bcb907.html

This is all nice and good feeling, but when the tuition costs 75,000 USD and the 25 yr repayment from the kid's future earnings only nets $18,000 as the example given for $600,000 Adj Gross Income, who is going to pick up the tab for the difference of $57,000??

The state will and the state will go bankrupt just like California

stupid idea unless they limit which schools and which degrees

there are alot of bogus colleges in oregon with bogus degrees.

How much do you think a major in dance, western lit, history, art history, etc will make

they should only offer this in the top 5 colleges in oregon and only in degrees with a greater than 80% chance of finding a job in that field after graduation and they make at the least $80,000/year  after 5 years of work.

Anybody besides me with a 4 year degree that has never been used?  Looking back, I would have come out ahead focusing on a career and skipping college.  It was good for drinking and sex, though.
College is a waste of money for the majority of graduates.......An OPINION.

He's an elitist.  $80k a year is still poverty level to him when he pretends on the internet.  

His only valid point was limiting this service to certain fields.  Arts majors are pretty much worthless.  

No such thing as a "free lunch" for anyone. Free just means that someone else is paying for it.

How bout offering interest free student loans? The state won't go backrupt, schools still get their absurd tuition, and students may actually be able to pay back their loans without defaulting.

Its called not getting it if you can't afford it. Government isn't forcing anyone to attend. It is people that have this fantasy notion of what college will do. An increase in rates will hopefully prevent people from getting in debt who shouldn't be in the first place.

The rail road for one. Energy companies for two. There are many good jobs available that don't require a degree. They just require hard work and dedication something that many people are not willing to give. A college degree is not a ticket to success.

If a kid wants nothing more than to attend college they can work their ass of in high school and get almost all of their college paid for with merit scholarships.



For the last statement it is neither my job or the governments job to lookout for the welfare of anyone.  

I'm not going to get into my life story, but suffice to say I didn't grow up rich and the only way I got to where I am is through hard work, dedication, sacrifice and luck.

There are places in which hard work will suffice, but they are few and far between.  A degree increases your options by quite a bit.

I don't disagree, but it is not required and no way in heck should the public be required to fund it and that is exactly what will happen here.

I think what you will find in the big nasty world is that people who make a good living for themselves bust their ass from day one regardless of if they went to college or not.  It's a mindset and drive more than anything.

And as far as sacrificing college education, I think that is BS.  Not everybody needs, wants, or should to go to college.  I know a fair amount of people that make good-to stupid-good money without a college education.  Again the common theme is they bust, or have busted their ass along the way.  I really can't think of anybody I know that makes good money solely because they have a degree.  It doesn't work like that.

Im not saying they should.

How about get the government out of the student loan business? Let banks, credit unions, non-profits, etc go and compete for the loan business.

Tell that to a Stanford grad.

6.8% is nothing when you compare it to most other types of loans considering there is no collateral and no credit check done.

A home loan is cheaper because there is collateral that they can take away from you if you stop paying. Unsecured loans are more expensive because there is nothing tangible they can take away from you and sell to get their money back if you decide to stop paying.

I am not pro-government. I am pro- taking responsibility for the fact you took out an unsecured loan and what it means to do that. Honestly, I think it is pro-government for people to think the US Government should give out free or low interest, unsecured loans of any type.

And by the way, I have paid interest rates alot higher than 6.8% on an unsecured loan, so don't try to lecture me on that aspect.

ETA - Yes, I know if you make the minimum payment on a 6.8% loan you will likely pay a bit in interest, but that is part of the deal when you take out a loan and make only the minimum payment.

And those who choose to have a higher education via loans should think long and hard about if it is likely to pay off or not.  It shouldn't be anybody else's problem.  If somebody is so sure it will be a means to be NBA rich or whatever, then no problem....sign here.  If somebody thinks they want to get an English, history, liberal studies, poly-sci degree, etc. because they love it so much and maybe they can be President of the United States someday they should probably hedge their bet.  An example of hedging might be by, oh say, getting a job and working during college.  It can be done.  I graduated after the 5 year plan with not a single penny owed to anybody.  Yes it sucked sometimes.  Trying to balance school, work, friends, girlfriend, partying, going to football games, and all that made for some late nights to say the least.  Maybe I'm just a cold-hearted asshole.  YMMV.

Colleges themselves should be underwriting tuition and keep the govt [and ultimately, the taxpayer] out of it. It could possibly foster a little competitiveness to lower both interest and tuition costs.

Oh no.  We can't have that.  It would be way too similar to the private sector  Everybody must go to college so they say.....because after all that's what they're selling.

IMO, one reason tuition is so  high is because of easy to get loans that are independent of major or grades or any other measure of potential ROI.  The universities are cashing in on this because they know that with easy to get loans they will always have naive students who will fork over hundreds per credit hour for a degree with little practical application.  

This is why the .gov needs to get out of the loans business.

PS for some degrees a 6.8% rate should be considered a bargain, given how useless they are.

In before someone with a degree in french lit tells me I shouldn't judge a degree only by its tangible (pay potential and employment) value.

I have to say as a person that works at a college, far more "students" abuse the system than are using it to get a degree.  I admit I work for a Community college, and Universities may hold a slightly different clientele.  Thing is I see far more students using college as a form of unemployment.  I have talked to people that have been on FASA for near to ten years, and only have a food services associates degree to show for it.  I know that people won't believe me or say that it's not the norm, but attendance actually drops by about 20% after the first FASA payout.  The lines for the ATM's on those days actually stretch around the building.  The ATM's have to be restocked nightly.  Even sadder is the lines at Walmart later that day.  I thought it was a joke until I ran into students buying a new TV with their FASA.  

I remember going to college, I also remember going overseas and having a job to pay for it.  I also remember dropping out of college, because it cost to much & the degree I was working on would make $20K less than I make now.  I hear students tell me all about how they are owed an education, and cheaper tuition, and more affordable rates, and how they just got a new tattoo, or car, or motorcycle, or are going on a ski trip for winter break.  I also remember turning a wrench more days than not, to keep my car running, not going on ski trips, and three guys pooling their cash for a good used TV.  College wasn't cheap back then either.

What baffles me is it's no secret about the earning potential of the career they are going for, so why elect for more debt than the job could ever support?  I kills me to hearing these kids serving me drinks complaining of the $40K they owe for some degree that they have to explain how it could possibly be used, and how they're are no job openings in that field in this area...  The final nail for me is always the graduation rates, UO is heralded as having a great rate at 40ish %.  Less than half is a great success rate? Hell most colleges are lucky to claim 20%.  

College isn't cheap, its no secret.  What you can do with your degree is no secret.  The average wage of your chosen career path is no secret.  

I quit...  I can't keep making this argument, I've done it daily for years, and for some reason, people still think they are owed a degree, a great job, and a wonderful life.