Replace the Federal Student Loan System with an Income Share Agreement Program. Sketching a New Conservative Education Agenda

The higher education narrative has been dominated by the student loan crisis as of late. While the magnitude of this problem is often oversold, borrowers do sometimes need help. However, debt forgiveness plans, such as those proposed by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), deliver the biggest benefits to those who need it least. The author suggests that a better solution would be a government-sponsored income share agreement, in which the amount due each month depends only on how much the borrower is earning, and a simplified IRS-managed income withholding repayment system. Together, these would help borrowers who find themselves struggling to make ends meet after college not be on the hook for payments they cannot afford.