You're vastly better off going to trade school than you are going and getting a Bachelor of the Arts in practically anything.
So true. About the only reasonable field in which I can think of a BA being on par with a B.S. is in Economics or any other field closely linked to Mathematics. Where the B.S. side is calculus heavy, while the B.A. side is statistics heavy (which is more important for Economics). That said, even between the two the line is ridiculously fine since the only real difference in the end is one path requires calculus 2 and the other advanced statistics/econometrics. Around here it's pretty common for people to call B.A.s, especially in Marketing, Music, Art, etc., "MRS. Degrees" meaning, people are only going to school to find someone to take care of them.
Anyway, more on the topic of loans; it's not so much the loans that are a big issue, in fact they are usually really good loans. The problem is more of a lifestyle or status issue. Some families can afford to send little Susie to Harvard for all 4 years, or John to Auburn for his 4 years, but it's never a good idea. The first two years of college can be done very cheap in most any community college, even the best of them. People don't even have to take classes strictly at the C.C., just their basics. This saves thousands, in my case about $10,000. Taking basic courses at a University is most often always a waste, College Algebra is College Algebra, the only difference is the bill being paid. Simply put, more people need to be spending less on their education. "You get what you pay for" should be thoroughly looked past in this area (basic courses).
Another big thing people need to pick up on doing is creating college funds for their children. There is no reason in the world to not do this, even if the parent/s are dirt poor. If a parent wants their kid to go to college, they need to set up some sort of financial plan for it, even if it's a crappy little savings account that likely wont grow to be much over $2-3K, every little bit helps. Personally, I'm in my late twenties, I'm finishing up school, and I do not want children. I've never thought having a child would be fun, ever. That said, I do enjoy having sex. So I've always thought the day might arise when either I have a child by mistake, or change my ways and decide I'd love to get married and start a family. I know for certain that if I do have a child, I want that child to be able to be successful, that means college, unless of course I give birth to a little Steve Jobs or Oprah. So at 20 I set up a financial plan for a child I may or may not have. That said, it isn't one of those Gerber College Fund type deals or anything like that, it's just a very simple minimal risk investment plan (if I do have a child I'll invest more heavily in it). If it turns out I never have kids and say I enter retirement, BAM, a little additive to my pension, win win.
Anyway, my point is this: There are ways to help the future of our human capital, and restructuring the student loans market and expunging current loans (which hurts the future) is not the answer. Much like job creation, this can't be done through "bills" and laws, it comes from the government working on their end to fix the parts they're responsible for and society fixing our parts. When those two things are working in tandem, correctly, making the right decisions, both will prosper. As for people with current student loans that are crushing them, nothing should be done. If you make a bad choice, you have to pay for it. I hate to say it, but they should have put more thought into their plans and possibly even been more realistic in their outlook of entering the job market. Just like Jose Mendez of $35,000 a year at Joe's Construction in 2005 gettin' his sub-prime on at WAMU for his $125,000 house, choices are made and consequences should follow.
