Socialism and Student Loans

Of late some financially shaky colleges have been
receiving help from Washington with their student
loan default troubles. While it is sadly true that some
of the students struggling to pay off their loans have
found themselves in tough straits despite their efforts
to be responsible and timely with their payments, some
others have treated their loans as giveaways, veritable
entitlements from Uncle Sam. Moreover, it looks
like the federal government and the taxpayers have
been, and still are being taken for a ride.

The eager willingness of Washington to institute and
implement socialistic programs, along with their inept-
itude in managing them make it a fantasy that the
federal folks would ever, could ever one day manage
these programs efficiently and inexpensively. And
some colleges greatly encourage students to take out
student loans as an open-ended revenue source with
little or no downside. After all, the government will
always step in to guarantee that the colleges will always
get their money, won't it? So these schools have no
real incentive nor discipline to refrain from raising
tuition costs for their students. And now the two leading
Democrat presidential candidates are calling for free
college educations, at least two years' worth, for
newly-graduated high school students? Guess who's
going to be stuck with the tab for that? On top of what
all they've been stuck with for the costs of the many
defaulted loans that have been accumulating over the
years? Socialism comes with a big price tag!

Your frustrated Peasant says that the colleges should
be made to assume at least some of the risks and the
resultant pain from the student loans that they toss at
their incoming students. And the students have to be
made to realize that their student loans are not unlike
any other types of loans, i.e. auto, home equity, and
such in that while less difficult payment terms can
be negotiated and arranged, the loans are still loans,
and therefore are financial obligations which must be
met. In short, they must be paid, interests and all.
And Washington officials have to be made to realize
that we are not their piggy banks!


MEM