[jointpdf]

I haven’t seen this mentioned in this thread yet, but there are income-based repayment plans for US loans. There are different plans, but it works much the same way as above, roughly: if you earn above a income threshold (~$20k), then you pay 10% of your income until a) the loan is repaid or b) 20 years have passed (remaining balance is discharged. But, you have to apply for these programs, and many people don’t know they exist and loan servicers have incentives to keep people on traditional repayment plans.

It’s not a cure-all: you can still default, and there are cases where you can end up repaying more than a traditional loan. Nevertheless, it should be the [/puts on sunglasses]...default option.

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/understand/plans/in...

[ummonk]

The problem is that the federal government (with taxpayer money) is acting as a middle man here. So universities don't have an incentive to make their students employable.

If universities were getting paid directly based on income, that would create the right incentives.