My whole education at my University cost me roughly 6'000 dollars. That is BA, MA; PhD.

It's possible. Then again, the University I attended (in Europe) didn't conceive of itself as a for profit corporation, but rather as a public service. I suspect that is the relevant difference here.

...enterprise. While (generally) the European countries and their educations systems are a natural extension of public service.

loans to servicers with ridiculous terms that would be illegal or rejected in most other markets.

It's just another case of the lenders (the rich) leeching off of the federal tax dollar lode.

It became a for-profit enterprise. We quit having those who made the most off of the infrastructure they made their money from have to pass it on, in the form of taxes.

My son went for a graduate program in Europe, because his costs were 5 times less than he would have to pay for an American school. And, as he has double citizenship, he even got a grant because of his low income and ends up having to pay for nothing without loans, vs a $30,000 loan a year here in the US.

It had a graphic of a cancer cell & the words, "What if the cure to cancer is inside the head of someone who can't afford an education?"

The everything-for-profit model has got to stop.

and in her field, the top school in her field so she got the best education as well.

for wrecking our economy. The least we can do is forgive student loans and make future education reasonable. Capitalism (unregulated) has totally destroyed our country, all for the sake of a few hundred elites.

Wall Street has bought and paid for the Congress and Senate and so all laws that pass will benefit them and screw the un-represented students with outstanding loans.

Keep saying this, until the entire nation is saying it together. There are more of us than there are of them.

disincentive to ever stop ripping us off. Eric "weak sauce" Holder comes from Wall Street so you know he won't do anything. BP gets off Scott free b/c they paid off the administration. We are the only ones that laws apply to.

The whole disinvestment in our future has been widespread. Reagan at the federal level, state anti-tax initiatives like the one pioneered in California by Howard Jarvis, other state legislatures cutting investment in public universities. Horribly short-sighted. If you don't invest in the future just so you can treat yourself to a couple of extra toys right now, you will pay a much higher cost down the road. We have also seen this in deferred maintenance for vital infrastructure as well. Everything has been sacrificed on the altar of "lower taxes - it is my money".

make it virtually impossible for people to attend schools (including private schools) without incurring high loans. Frankly, the cost of American Universities is way too high, including for lower tier ones.

Sports , some professors earning over $200,000 a year

Coaches making salaries that rival pro teams coaches

When I went to college in the 80s my dorm room had cinder block walls and one bathroom for the whole floor.

They made colleges like resorts now. Kids don't need the kind of luxury accommodations colleges are providing now. They need educations.

business, environmental studies.

country.

Call me radical but I would like to see a take over of all higher learning intuitions.

universities has been on the decline for years. Parasitic corporations get to lend the difference or front phony online universities with public money. States can divert educational funds as tax "incentives" to business. It's a win-win for states, banks and corporations desiring to turn the university into for profit training centers, and they will not stop sucking until they are burned off.

It is all tied together. If you look at trends in state spending throughout the country over the last couple decades, the money that used to go to state public universities was diverted to pay for increased medicaid/medical assistance expenses of the states. We need cost control of both colleges and health care in order to make the system work.

that to be true in states unwilling to collect enough revenue to fund their public sectors. They need worry less about cost and more about revenue. California comes to mind. A good place to start would be a Constitutional amendment forbidding states to pass any laws that restrict their power to levy taxes.

I'm glad they took student loans away from the banks so now we can see that these bubbles happen without accusing others of fraud.

Are students going to be demanding jubilees from the evil, greedy and corrupt government now?

I believe the University of North Carolina was the first, but several other large public universities, like University of Oregon, have programs that guarantee that all tuition and fees for low-income in-state students will be covered without loans. I am most familiar with the Oregon one - the Financial Aid office reviews all in-state applicants and their FAFSAs (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). If a student meets the criteria, he or she is offered a package that covers 4 years worth of tuition and fees guarantees, as long as the student remains in academic good standing (at least 12 credits per quarter with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.00). They count up the Pell Grant, any other scholarships or grants the student may have earned and if there is still a gap, it is covered by the program. It does not cover room and board or other expenses so the student or his or her family is still likely to have to borrow. The rationale is that the student would have to eat and have a place to stay whether he or she was in college or not.

First I went to Junior college to save money and got an AA degree. It was less expensive
to get your general course requirements at JC than a 4-year college (room and board).

Then I went to California State University and got my degree in Computer Science. I paid
$100 per semester, plus books, and room and board. I paid my own way (worked and saved money).

This was when California used tax money to pay for the CA State University system.

The payback? I graduated and worked for employers in CA and then elsewhere, contributing to
Social Security and federal taxes and was a productive member of society - just like millions
of other graduates over the years. And, as a bonus, I started a small and profitable business.

My point: education is the foundation for our democracy and economic progress. It is an investment
in our country. Once again, America should provide 'free' education k thru BA/BS, even masters and doctorates.