May 30th, 2008
Do You Trust Big Brother?
So, the government wants to start providing the majority of student loans. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Well, that depends on what camp you’re in.
If you’re a fan of FHA mortgage loans and universal health care, you’ll probably be a big fan of government-funded student loans, too. After all, it’s hard to turn down a fixed-rate mortgage for 6% these days. If the Department of Education gets their wish, the U.S. government will move from providing about 20% of student loans to more than half.
Overall, it seems like a good thing, since the government usually wants the economy to do well – meaning they’ll do what they can to keep people spending money (hence, the $600 check that was just deposited into your bank account). So, one could easily argue that having the government control your interest rate is a good thing. After all, they already determine your eligibility for free money through federal grants for higher ed.
But there are those of us that are a little less trusting of big brother. Good grief – you just have to look at the soaring price of Texas tea you pour into your car each week.
Then again, you can’t really trust privatized companies that much either. Look at the kickbacks that student loan companies gave to college financial aid officers if they recommended their loans. Or how the greed of Wall Street got us into the mortgage crisis by buying loans that had absolutely no business being given to unqualified lendees.
Maybe we should all just go live in a commune off the grid with our own garden and avoid paying taxes while making our own biodiesel. Then we might as well stuff any tuition savings under the mattress and avoid loans altogether…
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