American students pledge future salary to avoid debt

Jonorth - Yes, it's payed by taxes, but I think you know exactly what I meant. Someone always says this, but it's so obvious it feels kinda pointless mentioning it.

If someone "always says this", doesn't that indicates that someone is always correcting you? Education is not free. Since I have no way of knowing what you meant to say, it doesn't seem "pointless" to join those who correct you.

@arrestpaul

Yes, it's payed by taxes, but I think you know exactly what I meant. Someone always says this, but it's so obvious it feels kinda pointless mentioning it.

College/university educations in the U.S. are way over-priced. Government regulation has allowed students to take on way to much debt. Just who benefits from all this debt? The universities, of course, and the highly paid professors, plus the lending institutions. Students are granted the opportunity to be burdened with massive debt for decades to come.

I wonder if the cost of higher education would be as high as it currently is if it weren't for the easy availability of unsecured loans?

Jonorth - I'm glad there are more options now, but the expenses for going to uni absolutely boggles the mind, especially coming from a country where education is completely free and you even get a monthly stipend.

"Education is completely free"? Which country is this? Nothing is completely free. Someone is paying for this allegedly completely free education. Unless the staff, professors, aides, maintenance people, security personal, grounds keepers are donating their time, and effort, in order to educate the students. Are these completely free educations being paid entirely by donations? Or are they paid by taxes. Money that has been taken from wage, and income, earners?

This is another sign of the decline of the USA. Todays economy is a brain economy, and unless you can train every brain to work in it, you are going to decline.

While yanks have some of the best schools, tons are mediocre at best, the costs seem even more insane then where I am from.

This idea is interesting BUT as soon as I heard Wall Street was interested then I KNEW this has got too bad, I would urge yank students top be VERY careful how they structure their debt as they will have to pay one way for another!!!

So basically, approximately 150 years after the Civil War, and 240 years after the Revolution, Americans are now going back into indentured servitude, AKA debt slavery.

Well, it was a good experiment while it lasted.

You would think some entrepreneur would be able to start up a university that didn't have expensive sports teams, didn't have more bureaucrats than lecturers, didn't spend millions on fancy new buildings and did have reasonable tuition fees. It seems that competition isn't working in the US academic sector.

All education at every level should be covered by taxes already being paid to governments.

I trust you have a credible budget that shows where the savings are to come from (eg what spending on who is to be cut), and the projected costs, also taking into account the increased cost that would be expected as a result of reducing the cost to zero.

Personally I intend to have the means to be able to pay for the education of my kids, and I’d be happy to do so. Having spending on the needy cut, to facilitate “free” education for my kids, for example, would be a perverse thing to do.

I think we already spend too much tax on the rich, as it is.

"...I owe my soul to the Company Store"

Education and living allowance is "FREE" in Europe for documented registered Europeans . The American Dream is a Nightmare of payback.

I'm glad there are more options now, but the expenses for going to uni absolutely boggles the mind, especially coming from a country where education is completely free and you even get a monthly stipend. Something has gone completely wrong.

Education for the students needs to be free. Without educated people society crumbles. 

It all depends on your definition of education. I'd support full taxpayer funding of STEM degrees for the brightest 25% of students, but not for the mass communications, political science, and gender theory graduates who just barely made it through highschool and wouldn't have been accepted at any university just 20-30 years ago. Much of modern higher education has become a useless credential racket.

All education at every level should be covered by taxes already being paid to governments. Education for the students needs to be free. Without educated people society crumbles. It is in everyone's best interests for everyone to get the best possible education to make sure people can contribute better and have better understanding of issues effecting them, while also having an equal opportunity in life.

Look at countries with little or no education for the people an you see poverty and no way to improve their nation or their lives.

Income Backed Securities (IBS) in the making, gives new meaning to the term 'sub-prime' when young people are themselves the product. If not done well, could give some fund managers IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).

US tuition for higher education is overinflated. Can’t think of any business that has raised the price on its products higher. The Income Share Agreement in the article is for eligible US students. Foreign students have fewer financial aid resources if at all.

If your child is thinking of studying in the States, have him go with his Japanese university instead of going independently by himself. In doing so he would pay the yearly tuition in Japan about $10,000 instead of $35,000-$50,000 if he were to go alone. This of course does not include room and board and the fat textbooks which can cost $250 new and $125 used.

The limited spots are quite competitive but you can study at William and Mary or Notre Dame and so on for about ¥1,200,000 instead of ¥4,800,000.