[solardev]

Maybe as a society we shouldn't expect 18 year olds, fresh out of their parents' homes, to already know what the hell they want to do for the next twenty years of their lives. And then also to understand the market opportunities (or lack thereof) of their choice.

Many college degrees have a negative ROI or are oversaturated in the workforce or are completely unnecessary to their given career track. Our primary school system is pretty bad and we're not equipping 18 year olds, who are still emotionally and mentally immature, to make those kinds of decisions and take out a 5-figure loan, sight unseen, on dreams and naivete alone. It benefits only the lenders at the students' expense.

There are so many tweaks we could make. Encouraging real-world experience before starting college would be helpful. Putting trade schools up as an alternative would help many who struggle in the detached ivory towers of universities. Funding secondary ed, as many other countries do, would make sense as a continuation of primary school (especially in America, whose primary school systems are so quantitatively and qualitatively poor compared to the rest of the developed world). Revamping Common Core to meet more modern needs, and including extensive career & life planning for students of different backgrounds so they can see their options in the future instead of just learning from their parents and pop culture. Whatever, the possibilities abound, and many other countries do things better or worse in some way -- there are plenty of lessons to learn from.

Looking at the finances in a black box is missing the forest for the trees. It's not just about who pays. The whole system is antiquated and failing our children; in America you're basically born elite or you're doomed. There is no social mobility anymore, and that's not something that allowing student loan bankruptcies alone will solve.