The real problem with student debt

I have to comment on the story in the Daily Herald business section on March 8 by Liz Weston. Her whole story was how to excuse student debt and make it easier to do so. Are you kidding?

The current debt load, mostly on the federal government, is to the tune of $1.5 trillion. Just to make that personal, that is $4,500 debt for every man, woman and child in America. They are all on the hook for this debt, like it, or not. Making the debt easier to walk away from is just plain Bernie Sanders socialism.

The problem isn't making the debt easier to excuse; it's making it more difficult to obtain the loan to begin with.

First and foremost, a more rigorous application process is needed especially upon the applicant. What is the student's past, including high school grade average? What is the student's intended field of degree? How do salaries in that field align with paying back debt?

A degree in basket weaving is not going to get you enough pay to return $100K to $250K in student debt. Absolute limits need to be set upon the amount of student debt that can be allowed per year, based upon the person's field of endeavor. If these loans were being made or applied for in a business, a strict ROI would be applied, so that the lender had a fair chance to recover the investment.

Every American has the same opportunity, but it is more than unfair to expect that someone else has the responsibility to take care of the government's and another individual's irresponsibility.

Richard Francke

Bartlett