re: John Oliver Goes Hard on Student Loans Forgiveness: LSU and LA College Funding Addressed

I listened to the whole thing. Not as bad as I thought it would be.

1. These kids not understanding how loans work and being given a pass for it is bunk. Get educated on how it works. The only way paying more than the loan balance over 10 years happens is you're not paying the full amortized amount and the remaining interest is capitalized to the principal.
2. Capitalized interest needs to stop and those who have been getting hit with it need to have it taken into account. I'm more than happy to cut a break to someone who has more than paid their balance back in capitalized interest.
3. I thought it was interesting that early student loans targeted STEM and expanded from there into other occupations deemed necessary for the growth of the nation. We are a long way from where it started where we now give loans for anything under the sun. Need to dial it back and cut out the garbage.
4. Occupations that don't really need degrees need to get back to more on-the-job training.
5. Any talk of fully tax payer funded higher education needs to come with discussion about assessing aptitude out of high school as well as rate of return on a chosen major. No, we aren't just better off as a country with more "educated" people. We need to be educated in what is most economically beneficial. Go to Youtube, the internet, or the library for the other stuff.
6. Speaking of rate of return, they brought up 18 year olds can get $100k in loans to go to college; education loans need to be underwritten just like any other major loan like houses and cars. Bad credit risks get bad terms and shorter leashes than good credit risks. Good credit risk would mean high GPA (highschool and maintaining in college) and majors in high demand with solid earning potential. The bad credit risks need to prove themselves after 1 semester and get yanked if they don't cut it.
7. These kids with $25k or less need to get a grip. That's more than manageable if they are willing to do what is necessary in the short term. Lean up your life; live as cheaply as possible and they'd be out of debt in just a few years.
8. Fix the problem at the university level. All this band aid stuff is just buying votes. We have too many students enrolled in too many things. Colleges will likely fight tooth and nail to keep the loans flowing and enrollment up, but that's the problem. A lot of fat out there that can be trimmed.