Speaking as someone who's still working at paying off a student loan debt, hell no! How about we stop telling kids they need to spend an ass load of money to go to a school that will cause them to be haunted for repayment for more than half of the rest of their lives. Maybe we should start telling more people something akin to "it's okay to be mediocre"! I'm only paying off a loan for a 13 month course. I've been paying it for twelve years already. The worst part about it comes in the realization that it did nothing to get me where I am, yet my income is just shy of the average U.S. household income. I know this doesn't fix the student debt issue we are currently dealing with, but I'd bet a decent amount of money that most of those people use at least two Apple products and stop at Starbucks on average of once per day.
TL;DR The problem is much bigger than existing student debt.
Indeed. The main problem stems from the belief that higher education is vital for success; it isn't. A lot of successful businessmen, including Bill Gates, forwent completing a college degree.
It's not for everyone. While one-legged, one-eyed, blue-hair, Hispanic gender fluid single-parent studies can be fulfilling for some, its job prospects are... limited, to say the least. Why are intellectuals denigrating jobs like welder, plumber or other jobs that only need a technical degree? Not only won't people be indebted but there is a high demand for these jobs since people are artificially encouraged towards higher education
Exactly! A good number of these blue-collar jobs don't even need a degree. I'm still paying my technical school loan, but the degree hasn't done anything to help me get where I am. Also, what has happened to apprenticeships and on-the-job training? Too many people seem to believe these jobs are "beneath" them.
I was thinking about apprenticeship; I'm still getting used to the US education system. In Quebec (Canada), apprenticeship is done through "technical" high school or college and usually gives a job directly - like nursing, police or architect. There is little need for loans since both are either "free" or very low-cost.