We are talking past each other. I’m asking you, from one human being to another, to think beyond merely “people should pay their debts”.

No one disagrees with that statement. I don’t disagree with that statement.

The **REAL **question I’m asking: Is it fair to saddle future generations with these amounts of debt?

Most countries in the developed part of the world have decided that upper education provides a net benefit to society, so they strengthen it. Germany, UK, France, etc all agree that people that receive specialization and can conduct research provide a net benefit to everyone else in that society, even the ones that DON’T participate directly.

The US on the other hand seems to be tying higher education to remuneration. I strongly believe we still need teachers, nurses, historians, social workers -even though those jobs don’t always pay well. I want America to have a cutting edge on research and development because I think it’s a great nation, and I don’t want higher education to be reserved exclusively for the wealthy, because it would limit our resource pool. I’d prefer if someone from a lower income didn’t have to debate whether college was right for them because we could be missing out on the next breakthrough in cancer, space research or whatever you think doesn’t impact you directly. I’m not saying EVERYONE should go to college, but we should not be putting up barriers either. Please, from one human to another: pause and consider the ramifications beyond “people should pay their debts”.

You’re right, some of these innovations could still happen without the support we could offer to upper education, but I believe we can do better. We don’t have to limit ourselves. We’re a great nation and I think everyone should have a fair shot at developing the next cancer breakthrough, or flying car or whatever.