To Hell With Student Loans -- It's Time for College to be Free

[marmar]

via AlterNet:





The Loop 21 / By Dr. C. Alonzo Peters

To Hell With Student Loans -- It's Time for College to be Free
Tough problems often demand radical solutions. We should give serious consideration to providing free college and trade school education to all.


November 18, 2010 | Perhaps we should be more like the Europeans. When something outrageous or irrational happens within their government the people are ready to hit the streets in protest. In France they'll shut down whole cities to get their point across to elected officials.

In the United States we just grin and bear it. And so we've suffered under a system where a college education -- the key to a better life, rapidly skyrockets causing more of us to assume unmanageable debt. For the first time in history, we Americans owe more on our student loans than we do on our credit cards. The average college graduate today now finds herself with $24,000 of education related debt.

Those of us hounded mercilessly by Sallie Mae understand what it's like to work as peasants on Queen Sallie's fiefdom handing over our hard earned money harvest to service her majesty. Student loans muscle out entertainment, transportation and even food and rent for limited budget space.

But those of us with a college degree may be the lucky ones. With grant aid drying up, budget problems forcing states to increase tuition costs, and a Great Recession college has simply become unattainable for many. In a bankrate.com survey nearly 47 percent of parents feel they can no longer afford to send their children to college. Many will resort to raiding their retirement accounts to pay college costs. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/economy/148918/to_hell_with_student_loans_--_it%27s_time_for_college_to_be_free/

[stray cat]

1. And merit based - the best and brightest like in India

[marmar]

2. Yeah, leave those who aren't the so-called 'best and brightest' on a pile to rot....

:wtf:

[October]

3. Really.

Who is to judge such a thing?

[bluedave]

5. it seems to be

traditional in this country

[patrice]

7. No! There should be many more educational tracks in this country, including trade guilds

and other professional associations each closely allied to its own standards' maintenance and support organization.

Training/education should be available for free or for a very reduced rate, 8a-8p/365, for anyone who wants to do the work, regardless of age.

[donco6]

4. Uh, . . . no.

We could just create a caste system a lot cheaper.

[swilton]

6. It would improve our health care

If the costs for medical schools were lower and we had more doctors - more doctors = lower medical costs = more patients receive treatment

:think: :think: :think: :think: :think: :think: :think: :think: :think: :think: :think: :think: :think:

[patrice]

8. The Chair of Family Practice at the University of Kansas Medical School bloggs stuff like that.

Dr. Joshua Freeman. I met him during local activism for the "health" "care" debate. Amongst many other things, he's a member of http://www.pnhp.org/

[Quantess]

9. Oh yeah, that'll happen. For sure.

[Lindsey]

10. Every person in this country who really wants to go to college and

graduate with a degree should be able to do so regardless of "brightness", their background, their race, or any other reason at all. A lot of folks aren't into school and that's great-people should do what makes them happy. I'm just saying that if someone really, really wants that degree (like I did when I got mine) nothing should stop them. Fortunately, I went when it was pretty inexpensive and my monthly payments are very low. It sucks that our kids have to go through what they do to become educated. That's just sad........

[awoke_in_2003]

11. won't happen here...

the elites have been trying for years to destroy public education, and have been driving up the cost of secondary. They do not want an educated population capable of thought- they want well trained task performers.