Student Loan Debt - Success Has A Price

Ae you considering attending graduate school?  Have you realized the extreme costs of graduate education, especially from a top-notch univeristy?  Then, have you considered the extreme interest rates that will be paid on these loans, usually ranging 7-9%?

If you are a young professional in this time with a desire to succeed, then it is hard to avoid getting into extreme ($100k+) levels of student loan debt to do so.  However, especially in today's job market, there is no guarantee that your earning potential will increase to a level that would make this investment feasible.

Could anyone please answer the question as to why the costs for graduate-level education is so high and why the interest rates on student loans are so ridiculous?  The Federal Government sets these loan rates and refuses to subsidize tuition for middle-class citizens, only to benefit the financial institutions and universities and not to benefit the students who actually have a desire to achieve and add value to society.

Why are there heavy costs for trying to succeed in this country when the Federal Government actually promotes doing less?  Think about it -- graduated tax system, social security disability, unemployment benefits...the list goes on and on!  It already makes more sense to sit on your @ss and do nothing than it does to break your back.

I think that it is time that the Federal Government considers cancelling student loan debt to stimulate the economy.  Let's give back to those that actually add value to this economy, while reducing this overwhelming debt and creating a surge in spending to get this economy back on 2 feet.

Let's face it -- student loan debt now exceeds credit card debt in the United States ($850 billion versus $828 billion).  Just imagine what would happen if everyone quit paying their student loans and some (or all) started collecting unemployment and/or social security disability...it would make our recently past finincial crisis look like a small drop in the water compared to the dark and saddening economic times that would follow.