Debt-free college? House Democrats introduce higher education bill

[DonViejo]

Source: The Washington Post



By Susan Svrluga
July 24 at 12:01 AM

House Democrats this week are expected to unveil a sweeping plan to make college more affordable by reducing debt and simplifying financial aid. The Democrats’ plan would also endeavor to boost graduation rates.

The proposal counters a Republican bill that aims to overhaul the law that dictates the federal government’s role in higher education. The Higher Education Act, originally passed in 1965, is supposed to be renewed every five years but was last reauthorized a decade ago. The debate has been closely watched, with members of both parties agreeing that college costs impose an enormous burden on students and families. But with a polarized Congress, compromise has proved elusive.

Democrats are proposing to give students the chance to earn a degree without debt, in part by creating a state-federal partnership that calls on states to provide two years of community college tuition-free. In exchange for federal funding, states would have to promise to invest more in higher education — and maintain those investments.

But such a requirement would probably face pushback even in some states with liberal-leaning politicians, said Robert Kelchen, assistant professor of higher education at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. In many states, legislators shift money from higher education to other areas in which spending is mandated. “Taking away that flexibility would be a nonstarter in many states,” he said.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/debt-free-college-house-democrats-introduce-higher-education-bill/2018/07/23/4930eec4-8ecd-11e8-8322-b5482bf5e0f5_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.d4fde53bb25b

[Johnny2X2X]

1. Erase all college debt

The greatest thing Dems could do for this country if they got into power would be to forgive all student loans. The boost to the economy would be instant.

[Cold War Spook]

2. I agree.

It is the free college that some Dems want I don't agree with. I am for pardoning all student debt if they graduate. According to NCES, 59% of Freshman graduate within 6 years.

[MissB]

7. Some kids run out of money which can skew the graduation rate

Our state universities are about $25k/year (tuition, fees, books, room and board.) Freshmen can borrow $5,500 their first year. If their parents haven’t saved anything for college then the parents - not the kid- can take out a Parent Plus loan each term to pay the remaining nearly $20k.

It isn’t hard to qualify for the Parents Plus loan- at least the first time - you pretty much just have to have a job. But at some point, it’s possible- and it happens- that the parent can no longer qualify for a loan. Then the kid is stuck with his/her own debt (from taking out their own federal student loans) and no degree. The kid can’t borrow $ to close the gap so they drop out and start working so they can pay off their debt and perhaps save some $ to take a few classes to graduate on the slow track.

Those state universities are the cheap option (other than spending their first two years at community college.) So it isn’t unusual to have massive class sizes at state universities. Even then the university will cap class size which means that sometimes kids can’t get the classes they need to graduate on time.

Again, a kid’s option for borrowing for college costs is limited. $5500 first year, $6500 the second and $7500 for each of the last two for a max of about $27k of debt. That will pay for a bit more than one year of college in our state; less in other states.

Most parents don’t save $100k in a 529 plan for each kid. Heck, most parents don’t save $50k which would allow some kids to attend community college for the first 2 years using only their federal student loan amount and then switch to the state university system to use up the 529 balance.

My 2 are in college- we pay very little out of pocket because of merit. They’ll graduate on time and without debt and will get their 529 plans eventually to use or hold onto for their own kids. We are fortunate. I have friends that have taken parent plus loans- one guy is almost $500k in debt for his multiple kids. Another friend can’t get a divorce because she doesn’t want to sell her home and can’t get another mortgage because she’s taken so much in parent plus loans.

Free college would be great- at a very minimum l, providing the first two years at a community college for free would help, though the states would have to beef up their CCs.

[vi5]

3. Good. More of this....

..how many fucking bills did Republicans introduce despite knowing full well that none of them would actually pass and/or that the President would never sign them? The answer is a whole lot of them.

Yeah, it's for show and it's symbolic but that is the way that the game is played. Get this stuff out there, show what you WOULD do if you had control but damnit those evil Republicans keep getting in the way. Have something tangible to run on and not just "Well it's on the website that we would do this if we could but you know how it is."

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Education is a hierarchy just like everything else

Ivies with mega endowments, privates, public universities, state colleges, 2 year colleges, community colleges.

Forgiving debt? Government should not be in the business of teaching people to take on debt and then forgiving it. It's what bankrupt companies do. It's what personal bankruptcy is for. And those legal actions seize assets, seize equity, turn debt into equity, with all the risks that involves.

Removing incentive to live in a prudent financial manner because one is young and bright and educated ... assumes there will be economic growth and careers for everyone. There isn't. If you make it free you will get more of it. There are already too many degrees. That's one reason we struggle with inadequate manufacturing, why our jobs go overseas. Everyone can't manage in a white collar job, everyone can't be in entertainment and marketing. Someone has to actually produce goods and services that people consume. Necessities.

QE-1-2-3 created overcapacity in everything. Free college will do the same. It's a government distortion to the marketplace. And it's unsustainable.

IMO anyway. Surely won't be popular I'm sure.

[bucolic_frolic]

6. Not to mention

that the monies are going to education elites rather than to itinerant professors. Colleges figured out how to raise tuition and grow endowments and gentrify campuses all at the same time! Just sign your name on the dotted line. Where is the efficiency in all this? Students are laden with debt, the government is guaranteeing loans. Money goes to overhead and tenured faculty. Adjuncts are paupers. Lecture halls have 3-500 students.

Many freshman need remedial reading even at good schools.

[Sophia4]

9. Very true.

[Sophia4]

8. A lot of what we call "college" is actually vocational training.

Business degrees are an example.

So are degrees in engineering and in computer technology, in nursing, teaching, medicine, etc.

In fact, most college degrees are actually vocational training.

We need, however, to spend a lot more on vocational training in areas that have traditionally been considered "trades." The problem with this is that so much of the work that was traditionally considered to be a "trade" can now be done with computers, robots and artificial intelligence.

Personally, I think that education is never a waste because education makes people more flexible and better equipped to deal with the changes in the marketplace. That is why I think that every American who wants to go to college should be able to go.

I got an education degree as an undergraduate, but I never taught in a school other than a very short spate as a substitute.

Still, the fact that I went to college (and graduate school) prepared me to work in the jobs that were available. There is, in my opinion, no such thing as over-educated. Education equips us to deal with the reality we face.

We do not have too many educated people. We have too many uneducated people. Trump is the proof. It is said that a lot of educated people voted for Trump. I'd like to know where they were educated because they are not well educated. And I do not believe that educated people voted in large numbers for Trump. No way.

[zentrum]

5. This is more like it!

Go Dems!