If someone believes that such a person will get a decent salary after graduating, they should put their money where their mouth is.
They were set up for failure in many ways. The loan assumed they'd have a job. The school assumed they needed a leg up, and would adapt to the work load.
Is this oppression? Or is this death by assistance? Hansel and Gretel were fattened up before they were eaten, as well. Is this toxic assistance, where people drown in the programs meant for their benefit?
Then indeed expensive useless degrees will (like a gap-year in first-class hotels) be available only to the rich. But useful job training will not be.
I think nepotism is less bad than slavery. I had debt with no degree, nothing to show for it. I had to work and not get to keep the money. I felt like a slave. I don't want other people to be in debt slavery.
Nepotism only would affect me via envy. Debt affected me daily, mentally, harshly. There were days when I could think of nothing else, miserable at my situation. Nepotism is nothing compared to being in debt slavery. Who cares what other people are doing. Am I free?
Nepotism is a step backwards from this goal. It is only a solution to a symptom of the current means, without achieving the same ends.
The unlimited student loan situation has directly caused the bloat of university administration, salaries, and spending. It doesn't cost $40,000 a year to educate someone.
Student loans are a funny kind of loan. They're unsecured debt given to students with--on average--no assets or income.
We certainly went extreme with the "no discharge under any circumstances" threshold. There is no reason to over-correct to the other extreme of "everything is dischargeable at any time." A new chapter of bankruptcy would probably be needed to effectively deal with student debt defaults.
Bankruptcy is a court-mediated process.
> Have a X number of year waiting period?
This would be a necessary first piece. One needs a few years of income data to establish how much someone can pay. After that, I'd argue for % of discretionary income payments (up to a dollar cap) for N years, after which the unpaid balance (both principal and interest) are written off.
I have now spent the last 10 years studying all kinds of things that I'm interested in, such as philosophy and physics, history, theology (both from a position of belief and disbelief as I've transitioned), and many more. I am now utterly convinced that if our goal is "that this populace still becomes educated" the correct answer is to make information more accessible, lower cost, and more entertaining. I still think there's a place for a traditional college degree, but that place is generally not as training for a career IMHO.
I’m really glad that a lot of movies and literature doesnt dumb down a lot of the science tropes as much as it used to.
You don't need a college degree for most jobs really. You can learn almost anything on the job. And as someone also with two bachelors pursuing a PhD I agree that most people are not that educated.
In my opinion more focus should be put on early childhood education and public school. I felt like I learned nothing in hs, and now feel I could easily have gotten a whole undergrad during that time, had I known better how to teach myself