The Left’s cheerleading for the student loan overhaul is really really loud. So loud that you might think, based solely on the volume, that the overhaul is 100 percent bad. But really it’s only 90 percent bad:
The legislation substitutes an expanded direct-lending program by the government for the bank-based program, directing $36 billion over 10 years to Pell grants, for students from low-income families.
The bill includes some landmark changes, like automatic increases, tied to inflation, in the maximum Pell grant award. But for individual students, the increase in the maximum Pell grant — to $5,900 in 2019-20 from $5,550 for the 2010-11 school year — is minuscule, compared with the steep, inexorable rise in tuition for public and private colleges alike.
So, we’re still inflating the cost of higher education with subsidies (and make no mistake–that is exactly why the cost of education is outpacing currency inflation), but we’re no longer paying private lenders exorbitant amounts to do it.
I know I’m inspired.