A great number of students in the United States take on debt when they attend university. This upsets many, and so ideas about how to eliminate student debt altogether have proliferated. Here I summarize the main ones, argue in favor of a universal income-based repayment scheme, and raise some objections to equity financing schemes. 1.… Continue reading A survey of student debt elimination ideas
Results for "college wage premium"
The nearly invisible 44 percent of students
In the popular imagination, college students are people who attend public or non-profit four year institutions. That is how the press depicts students, and those students are the primary constituency of student groups and movements. While it is true that these kinds of students are the majority, there are around 9 million students in other… Continue reading The nearly invisible 44 percent of students
New student debt data from Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve released a new Survey of Consumer Finances that details consumer financial changes from 2007 to 2010. The big story of the report is the extremely painful impact of the Great Recession. From 2007 to 2010, real median family income fell 7.7 percent, and real mean family income fell 11.1 percent. During the… Continue reading New student debt data from Federal Reserve
Balance sheet accounting for student debt
As I wrote previously, student debt is generally an overblown issue. Students, as a class, are a relatively affluent bunch and are set to make, at the median, an extra $1 million over the course of their lifetimes. Like most groups, students would like society to give them more money, but to present that desire… Continue reading Balance sheet accounting for student debt