> The universities were complicit, in that they charged exorbitant amounts of money... Get rid of bullshit colleges that offer no promise of a bright future.
That's a great idea, but student loan forgiveness doesn't do that! It does nothing to hold the universities accountable. On the contrary, it enables universities to keep doing what they're currently doing!
My view is that _someone_ needs to hold universities accountable:
- Under the current system, students are theoretically holding universities accountable. When students choose a university, they (in theory) consider how valuable the education is to them personally, and balance that against how much they would have to pay. This is a decision that each student makes personally, and they personally pay the costs and personally receive the benefits.
- But if we don't think students are able to make that decision, then someone else (e.g. the government) needs to hold universities accountable instead. For example, the government might put a cap on how much money universities can charge students, or put restrictions on universities offering degrees in fields that society considers less valuable.
The problem with the student loan forgiveness plan is that _nobody_ is holding the universities accountable. Students have no incentive to consider the cost of tuition, if the taxpayer will ultimately foot the bill; but taxpayers won't get any say in whether the degree is worth it or not.
> As a society we should agree that paying for education is absurd
Right now, a lot of the benefits of education go to the student, in the form of higher salaries and higher social status. As long as that continues to be the case, I think it's only fair that students should be expected to pay for it.