Obama’s Plans for Student Loans
Posted on July 23, 2009
Filed Under Education |
I heard some interesting — and, to my mind, positive — news about student loans the other day: President Obama is trying to make all student loans federal, to cut down on banks taking advantage of students by charging them high interest rates and implementing misleading terms.
There hasn’t been much oversight over private student loans. For instance, they haven’t had to be clear with students which loans are offered by the government (usually at a lower rate) and which are offered by the bank itself. Furthermore, they haven’t had to report rates in a standardized way, so it can be extremely hard to compare student loans and find out whether you are getting the best possible rate.
Student loans might therefore qualify for what’s known as predatory lending practices. And that’s what President Obama is working to eliminate. People should be able to get their education without being preyed upon by greedy lenders, don’t you think? Some kid who wants to be a chef, but can’t afford the cost of most culinary arts degrees without assistance, shouldn’t have to give up his dream because he can’t afford the high interest rates on many student loans.
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It’s about time this whole issue was addressed. For too long the banks have being taking advantage of students, and other more vulnerable members of society. Students are the lifeblood of the economic cycle and rather than making it harder for them to succeed it should be made a lot easier and lower rate federal loans will certainly help.