A political solution to the student debt crisis

Student loans are the new political football, with both parties attempting to reach younger voters by trying to do something, anything about the crisis.

However, one unique proposal may be the “Hail Mary” pass from Daniel Oliver, former general counsel to the Department of Education:

Republicans commit, as part of their 2016 platform, to (1) canceling all student loans owed to the federal government and paying off all loans owed to private institutions and (2) eliminating all federal aid, grants, support, etc. to postsecondary educational institutions. It’s a package deal: no elimination of aid, no cancellation of debts.

Under this proposal, the Treasury Department would be even in nine years—which means that with $1 trillion in student loans, nearly $109 billion is spent every year on federal funding for higher education.

While this wouldn’t help students who chose to take on private student loans, this could be a boon to young people trying to overcome student debt—and would change political reality for a generation.

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