Student Loan Fight on Capitol Hill: Should Government Control Student Loans?

Now that is....incredibly irresponsible!

We have people spending pell grant money on wheels and tires, NOT school. As soon as that check for the "surplus" comes-a car, wheels, tires, custom paint and a stereo. paint is the most expensive.

But some just buy clothes-to look good at school, and some probably actually use it to pay for school stuff.

all government money going to schools is a waste and a burden on the productive economy / its all just a scam to support demonrats threw KICK-BACKS ....

And a LOT of that money pays for expensive tenures and sabaticals for their radical professor friends. '


Over paid, over benefitted, over rewarded commie puke teachers.

The government should regulate, but, since they basically have botched all that they control, should never be in control

Private banks could offer more student loans if they wanted to, but they have chosen not to.

like its YOUR money they should waste on those loans - banks don't need any more of your help libtard!

No, the banks need more help from you conservatives so they can wreck the economy again.

Free markets are the only way to set prices and service rules.

No, "political pundits" aren't speculating that President Obama may forgive some student loans, and if he does, it would not be any "desperate election year ploy". Why would the President be "desperate" when he is already ahead of Romney in most of the key states and Romney continues to shoot himself in the foot daily.

It is pretty clear that it is the Republicans who are desperate, in that once again they want to increase costs for the middle class but know they they will pay for it if they do it 6 months before an election.

How come nobody gripes about the costs of tuition? How come nobody holds schools accountable for exorbitant fees/costs?

Everyone pisses and moans about the "predatory" banks giving out loans. Well last time I checked... nobody forced you to sign on the dotted line. I have plenty of debt from my student loans and I don't expect anyone to bail me out but myself.

Actually education should be provide by the goverment as a tax funded investment in our future

What's a free education worth?

A lot to someone who otherwise would be unable to afford it, also a lot to society to have the next generation educated since education is one of the big factors in reducing crime as well as creating productive citizens

Almost every elected official is college educated, what have they done? Are you happy with them? The true movers and shakers are individualists who want nothing from the government except to be left alone. These are the people who realize "You get what you pay for!" I would rather they have free education than free healthcare though.

Agreed. It is absurd that those people we expect to be the leaders of the next generation start out their careers with crushing debt, thus putting them at a decided disadvantage to graduates in other nations who can concentrate on establishing a career.

Unfortunately, like everything else when free, people abuse it, don't appreciate it, and do a half butt job because they're not paying for it. We don't need people half committed to college taking up space & using tax payers dollars, just because it's free and no skin off their teeth if they fail. I agree, cost should be more affordable, especially with some of these jerks of tenured professors who send their post grads to teach their classes yet still get paid- like when Obama lectured- with no ph.d., and a ridiculous view of the Supreme Court- yet still called a "Constitutional Scholar"...What about all those students who paid for courses and get cheated out of the PROFESSOR who is being paid with the kid's $? These professors are over paid, over protected, and they are a HUGE reason why rates have increased. Michelle Obama released her thesis- you'd think Obama since he taught- would be proud of his thesis and share his great work with the people. But, for some strange reason, it's yet another document this "different" and "transparent" president, is afraid to release. Anyhow, he's a prime example of how students get the shaft.

we already WASTE 2.2 TRILLION DOLLARS A YEAR FUNDING THE LIBERAL MONEY PUMP you call "education" its indoctrination and YOU KNOW IT !

agreed..... first 2 years, your choice of classes free.

Student loans should be made by the banks using free market principles. In situations where the government has to bail out the banks, the government should have some voice in determining how the loans are enforced and collected.

It wasn't really a freemarket before since the govt. guaranteed the student loans that the banks made a profit on. And the only ones talking about the president possibly forgiving some student loans are from the far right conservative media and they're not exactly credible to say the least, its yet another scare tactic without a shred of evidence to support such claims.

Government should get out of the student loan business. It is the very program that has driven the cost of an education (college) through the roof, just as public school education has driven the cost of a HS education through the roof. Government has no place in education and we should privatize the entire system!

How does providing students with the ability to finance their educations at below market rates drive the cost of an education up? By enabling more students to be able to afford college that should drive up competition and drive tuition down if anything.

Market rates are driven up when government decides that "everyone" has the right to a college education and therefore indiscriminately doles out money to each and every American as if they are all college material! It is called the law of supply and demand and when everyione can aquire the funding for "education", then the price just naturally goes up because there are limited spaces for all those "students"! Many of them should go to trade schools and they should ALL do it on their own dime. If the government wasn't flooding the maerket with tons of cash, the coleges and universities would have to actually earn the students! And we get real education instead of indoctrination!

why waste facts on that guy , he is about as bright as a 3 year old and just can't understand/ will not accept the fact that government underwriting drives the price of everything they touch UP - healthcare UP , housing UP , education UP , etc etc

Once in a great while I have to fedex a letter. It usually cost $7.00. I can send a letter through the USPS for 45 cents. How is the USPS more expensive then Fedex?

I stand by my observation that privatization always means higher prices and poorer service.

We started public financing of high school about 1900. The price has not gone up much faster then inflation. On the other hand that was a significant reason for why we won WWII. It allowed the US to become a world manufacturing and innovation leader.

Free College education was a major benefit in California that kept it a business leader until Reagan stopped it. California has not done as well since.

The US has got away with short changing education by importing foreign nationals to do high skill jobs, for years. That is both bad for Americans and something that can't last. How much longer do you think Indian doctors will want to come to the US? Is it really beneficial to bring in Chinese tech experts or does that just promote job exporting? I suggest this is the real immigration problem and it can only be solved by training Americans.

Finally Post secondary eduction doesn't just mean college, it also means trade schools. The world has become more complex. It is time to add both these to public education.

The problem I see with this is that students don't pay their loans you and I do because they pass the cost of those loans on to us. Private education is always profit motivated. That means it usually isn't as good as public education and costs more. Name me a private school that charges less then the state schools that are in the same state.

We see how well the Government handled the housing market and just like with housing it cause the costs to soar from manipulating the market.

they ran that one into the ground so now its on to healthcare and education ! LOL

The Government should have nothing to do with Student Loans. This is just another attempt by both parties to buy the Youth vote.

liberals pump tax payers money into schools and schools kick it back into liberals pockets ....only the tax payers and the students get hurt so whats wrong with that LOL

The problem is that it's not just the Liberals. Both parties care nothing about what's right or wrong, only what will get them elected.

What a wonderful system we have.

When the government gets involved it won't work. The loans become political bargaining chips. Not loans to benefit students. Besides 6 billion is nothing compared to the money wasted on foreign aid or UN givaways.

Day by day the government gets deeper and deeper into our lives and I'm personally getting fed up with that

Obama says the private sector is doing fine ...its government that is suffering LOL

Obama appreantly doesn't know shiz from shinola when it comes to financial matters

The government has it's sticky fingers in way too much as it is.

If we pump more subsidized low-interest student loans out there for all takers - even those who'd do better learning a trade - tuition will continue to skyrocket as artificially inflated demand outstrips supply, and competition for loan rates is eliminated. Too bad Obama took the Community Organizing and Alinsky 101 electives in lieu of Economics 101.