But then this logic applies to everything then. Got a car loan you can't afford? Bad parents. Bought a house that's too big? Bad parents. Though not necessarily wrong, at some point shouldn't we instead focus on the core lack of education /guidance issue? Rather than forgive the loans of, not just the people who made poor choices, but every single person with student debt? If it is being talked about better college guidance and prep, I have not heard much about that.
Fancy new car that you can't afford -> REPO Man
Can't make the payments on the house -> Foreclosure
Got a worthless expensive education -> ???
My point is that an education can't be taken back once given. That's why the federal government is the guarantor for most loans. If the fed did not guarantee the loans, banks would dish them out at even higher interest rates AND get parental co-signers to compensate for risk. Ultimately, the end result is a lot less capable kids would be able to go to college.
In regards to "bad parents", I wouldn't say most parents are bad, they are just misinformed and/or financially unsophisticated (aka; suckers to be squeezed by the education industrial complex)
+1
Also, because the first counterargument to the bolded line is going to be "then, those kids should seek alternatives to the standard higher education track", my preemptive response/addendum to your comment is that before anyone just assumes that those kids should seek alternative paths, the reality is that so many jobs today use a 4-yr degree as the
minimum requirement. The qualifications and experience come second, and many HR automated screening systems will automatically reject applicants without the relevant degree regardless of what the degree is.
The solution is not to create a self-selecting feedback look that only rewards those who can afford to go to school. Systemic biases against undereducated, lower income, and minority populations are real and forcing the issue to the market is not the solution. But in the context of the thread, neither is SLF in any capacity.