Editorial #4

Better Student Loans

In this editorial, from the Washington Post, it was advocated that Congress should pass a bill that would reform the student higher education loan program. Under this reform, the US government would start providing loans directly to students, rather than subsidizing private banks in doing so. In a link to this editorial, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that this reform would save the government $80 billion over ten years.

I agree with what the author of this editorial is saying. The only reason why the banks are making these loans is because the federal government is paying them to do so by subsidizing much of the interest that is payed on them. The government might as well keep this money and use it to provide more financial aid to students. The government has already showed that it can manage these programs efficiently because it does so for other educational grants. This also is not a take-over of private industry because the banks wouldn't make these loans in the first place without government help.