Newsweek

‘Weak’ Students Should Pay Higher Loans

Student loan programs have vastly expanded the ranks of college graduates. That’s a problem.
Student loan programs have vastly expanded the ranks of college graduates. That's a problem.
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Total U.S. student debt now stands at $1.5 trillion. Without the support of the federal government, most of this debt would never have been possible. Even so-called unsubsidized student loans are, in fact, heavily subsidized, compared with, say, credit card debt. Yet, strangely, almost no one argues that America has gotten its money’s worth. Our student loan programs’ main payoff is complaints.

Parents, students and activists fret that this crushing debt has to be repaid. Student loan programs have saddled a generation of young people with onerous financial obligations—commitments that prevent them from starting a family or

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