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Comment by loeg | Hacker News Reader

> The government should simply stop protecting student loan debt from being discharged in bankruptcy. Then lenders will have to take responsibility for their lending actions, universities will have to lower tuition due to less "free" money, and students will have to be more careful with what field they choose.

This would mostly mean the end of student loans entirely. I don't disagree with the approach, but we should be aware of the tradeoff.

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No, it would be the end of student loans for shit degrees that don’t end up giving the student a career. Doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc.. will still be able to easily get degrees. And the universities will have to lower tuition for those other non-marketable degrees, as they should.

But the data shows even 'shit' degrees still have lower unemployment rate and better prospects overall compared to no degree.

It’s almost like those people should have stopped at the Associate Degree level to better themselves. That’s one of the benefits of higher education beyond High School.

People don’t go for a college degree to “better themselves” in an educational sense. they go because any job that pays a worthwhile salary requires minimum a bachelors.

Hell most job posting for our field requires a bachelors even though you can completely learn it online

Another effect: universities would be recentered on learning, instead of being four year resorts kids go to because it's what you're supposed to do and they don't know what else to do.

Students don't need fancy rock climbing walls and tuition funded orientation parties, and they certainly don't need armies of administrators and deans. They can learn a semester's worth of knowledge for $100 in supplies (if that!), a living wage for professors and TAs, and room and board.

I hear what you are saying on the amenities. But the kids need something to do while there.

“Before 1976 student loans were dischargeable in bankruptcy like other unsecured loans.” - Wikipedia

And there was a lot less dollars loaned, at much higher interest rates, because an unsecured loan to a young adult with no assets is a lot more likely to default than most other debt.

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