This would save young Americans from going into crippling debt, but it would also make a university degree completely unaffordable for most. However, in the age of the Internet, that doesn’t mean they couldn’t get an education.

Consider the long term impact of this. There are a lot of different ways such a situation could go, for better and for worse.

  • Cyclohexane@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    18
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    9 months ago

    I hate capitalist economics, but the ease of obtaining student loans is one of the reasons for the high price of college tuition.

    If student loans didn’t exist, then most people would not be paying outrageous tuitions. Colleges will be forced to accomodate.

    • Kelsenellenelvial@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      9 months ago

      Canada recently stopped charging interest on their student loans, that goes a long way to affordability. The other thing though is just plain cost of education. It can be cheaper to get a 4-year degree from a Canadian University than take one year of a comparable program in the US.

      • VieuxQueb@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        9 months ago

        And yet as a Canadian I know a lot of people who did not persue higher education because it’s too expensive to do so. Only the rich can afford a “good” education.

    • Terevos@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      9 months ago

      The ease of student loans would not exist without government backing. In a pure capitalism, this wouldn’t be a problem.

        • Terevos@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          9 months ago

          Yeah. Anarchy doesn’t work. No argument there. But the blame for exorbitant college tuition lies with the state, not with capitalism.

          • Cyclohexane@lemmy.ml
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            9 months ago

            I can agree that it lies with the state, but that doesn’t absolve capitalism. It’s the capitalist state, and we shouldn’t separate the two.

            • Terevos@lemm.ee
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              9 months ago

              Most of the activities of the state happen to be anti-capitalist though.

              So… Yes. We can separate the two because if the state ceased it’s anti-capitalist activities, this wouldn’t be a problem.