STUDENT LOAN DEFAULT DILEMMA FOR GOP

Why would the Republicans or anyone for that matter want to double the cost of student loans? It does not make sense. When students borrow money for school, the government backs up the loan; in essences, guarantees that the lending institution will be paid back the money with interest, which is a liberal program. In keeping with Republican philosophy, they have figured out how to turn social the program into profit making ventures. The Bloomberg Report cited students default on education loans to be 13.4 % last year. We are not talking about a trivial matter; we are talking about trillions of dollars.

It is a bubble. Colleges are jacking up costs, especially the “for profit” institutions.  It should surprise no one to learn that the default rate is greatest for students from these institutions. In addition, it should not surprise anyone to learn that administrators (Provosts and Presidents) salaries and bonuses are sky rocketing right along with tuition. Average parents stand in horror of increasing tuition rates; $50,000 per year in institution earning huge sums from billions with invested endowments—a  simple internet search reveled 64 institutions have over one billion dollars in endowment: Harvard has 20 billion. Are you naïve enough to think that these profits are lowering tuition, as they should?

Universities have turned from an education mission to a “for profit” big business. The Republican effort to double the interest rate collected on student tuition then seems an enigma. The more money the lending institutions put in student’s hands, the higher their profits, which should be a win for Republicans.  However, the less valuable the education, the more students that drop out etc, meaning the less benefit for them in earning power in respect to the amount of money borrowed, the higher their default rate. Also, the higher the interest rate the higher the default rate. The higher the student default rate, the more it cost taxpayers; therefore, the more it looks like a “welfare program”. If you are a “welfare hating” Republican you have a problem. You have turned your greed on yourself like a snake trying to swallow itself; you have created a Gordian knot. You want private loan companies to make more money with increased interest rates, you want the government out of your lives but want government guarantees to insure your profits but do not want to pay taxes, you want the parents and students to love you and you want the taxpayer to vote for you. My hope for Republicans parents is that they will drop the TV remote and stop watching baseball, football, basketball, golf and tennis and start watching you. Drop the sports page and pick up the Congressional Quarterly. 

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