There is essentially a war against the middle class in this country, and one of the fronts is the absurdly high cost of a college education. Needless costs, as detailed in many places, and many of the colleges raise their prices to match that of their competitiors, out of cowardly fear that they wouldn't get enough business if they were a few thousand less.
Shamefully, a middle class family must pay the price of another house for each child for a (what may well be substandard) four-year degree. By straining the middle class in this fashion, we're headed toward being a Third World country.
With that in mind, there is a great organization, called Kiva.org, which brokers micro-loans around the world. You can search for viable candidates, make a small loan, and chart the progress of the loan and loanee. This is a wonderful way to help those in need, and can be done in small amounts that make a real difference.
So- my modest proposal is to have a similar organization for student loans in this country!
Students in need would post a short profile, including area of study, and people could make loans toward the total. And know their money was making a difference.
And we can take it a step further. They could exchange some parts of the loan for approved community service. A student could earn their degree, spend a little time helping others, and excuse a portion of the loan.
What a difference this could make. Kids wouldn't graduate with six-figure debts, and wouldn't be in economic servitude for years. And they'd get a real education by working it off helping others.
All in favor? How can we get this going?
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