Getting loans and grants was the normal thing that everyone did to further their education.

When did that become normal. Yes, we would try and get whatever grants and scholarships we could but loans were to be avoided or minimized. One of my stepdaughters started college a year ago and she asked me if she would have to pay back a student loan. I am glad she asked me, it did make me wonder what kind of counseling she was getting from her high school and college advisers and admitting officers. Certainly today the awareness of the risks of large student loans has increased. My Father would not co-sign a student loan for me until I was a senior and sure to graduate.

Since there is almost a trillion and a half dollars in student debt, the government paying off that debt in one big chunk is almost out of the question. The 2009 fiscal stimulus package to help the country out of the great recession was only about half that big.

Paying off people’s student loans for them creates winners and losers and a moral hazard and fairness issues. Just talking about doing it could be creating problems. If you though the next president was going to pay off your loans for you, why would you continue to make the payments?

What about the people who paid off their student loans or have been sacrificing to pay down their balances. Do we give back money to people who paid their student loans. If you do that how far back in time do you go? You think we should pay me back for my student loan. I think I might want to talk to my stepdaughter about is she borrowing more because she thinks she won’t have to pay it back.

I think we might need to do something but it won’t be fair and I don’t think anyone should get their debt totally eliminated.

TEK