| This article doesn't really go into it, but the impetus from what I gather is to try to find a viable alternative to the current system that balances practical realities with various ideals or goals. Historically, college was an upper class pursuit because the upper classes could afford it. You introduce student loans and then instruments to make them more easily accessible to anyone, you end up with the current debacle. Part of the cause of the current debacle is the fact that it takes more than the right degree to establish a sufficient income to make traditional student loans make sense. You also need job hunting skills, availability of good paying jobs and a personal situation conducive to working full-time. This means no health crises, unexpected pregnancies or other family problems imposing on your time. What we've learned is that the bet involved in the current student loan process is a bet that still leaves a lot of lower class people in a situation where college is a bad bet that may just deepen their financial problems and de facto keep them trapped in poverty. I don't know if this solution is the right solution, but I do think the goals and ideas driving these experiments are healthy impetuses. We need to continue to try to find societal patterns and practices that help lower income people have the opportunity to rise. It's better for society overall. The tendency for the principle of "them that has, gets" to deepen class divides is one that needs constant push back. Otherwise, it foments bloody revolution. We already have memes like "Eat the rich" which point to deep resentment and bitterness of the "peasant" classes. You would have to be a fool to think that's not anything to be concerned about. |