Investors should step in and pay the kids off (since these lawsuits are either guaranteed losers or will take years to settle). Then in exchange take a % of their future earnings. Vary the % and timeline based on the degree they're seeking.
The only concern I have with this is tying monetary incentives to education. As a society, I think we benefit greatly from the diversity in learning paths that people choose to follow.
Once you attach a price tag - higher percentage of future earnings for majors like literature, philosophy - you are getting closer to turning the university system into a STEM robot factory.
A large part of the reason that some young people choose to go into esoteric fields of study is that their monetary outcome is not real to them at the point that they enter college.
To be fair, I bet there is a significant difference in the proportion of students from wealthy economic backgrounds who enter these esoteric fields compared to that of poorer students. And if it is the wealthy who are studying these kinds of subjects, then the approach you suggest will not seriously affect the diversity of subjects being explored.
(Though it is still a terrible solution)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_share_agreement
> An income share agreement (or ISA) is a financial structure in which an individual or organization provides something of value (often a fixed amount of money) to a recipient who, in exchange, agrees to pay back a percentage of their income for a fixed number of years.
...
> Common Concerns Indentured Servitude
> However, advocates of ISAs contend that since students have no legal obligation to work in a particular industry, and since it is illegal for investors to pressure them into a certain career, students are no more “indentured” than those with a student loan. In fact, someone with a traditional student loan has less choice than someone with an ISA, because the student with a loan needs to be in a career where they make at least enough income to cover their monthly payment, whereas someone with an ISA can choose to never make any money, and would never owe the investor a dime.
The relevant question is "what is it acceptable to own?", and if your answer includes "human capital" your answer includes "people" and that makes you pro-slavery.
In that case student debt is indenture and ISAs aren’t.
Indentured servitude involves work without pay for a period of time. Quit talking about things you don't understand.
https://studentloanhero.com/featured/coding-boot-camps-defer...