<p>Issues with student loan programs have been much in the news lately. Well, it turns out that the Clinton administration had a proposal to deal with concerns, but the Bush administration killed it:</p>
<p>"The Bush administration killed a proposal to clamp down on the student loan industry six years ago following allegations that companies sought to shower universities with financial favors to help generate business, according to documents and interviews with government officials.</p>
<p>The proposed policy, which Education Department officials drafted near the end of the Clinton presidency and circulated at the start of the Bush administration, represented an early, significant but ultimately abortive government response to a problem that this year has grown into a major controversy.’ <a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...l?hpid=topnews[/url]”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...l?hpid=topnews</a></p>
<p>Sigh… it is going to take decades to undo the damage wreaked by this administration…</p>
<p>yup, notice how its middle class which is hurt by this stuff…and so much fro family values</p>
<p>Yep a true lack of compassion…</p>
<p>Well, at least the current Administration is totally consistent. When there is a decision to be made, and one choice is good and the other evil, or when one choice is pro-consumer vs pro-business, or when one choice is pro-environment vs pro-polluters, or when one choice is common sense vs ideology or when one choice is the greater good vs good for the cronies, or when one choice is compromise vs stubbornness, you know EXACTLY when GWB will come down. No one should be surprised at all.</p>
<p>What exactly was the harm done? Are not all the loan terms and fees set by the government? In exchange for the business the firms often provided extra people and equipment so that students could get the loans efficiently. Harm done?</p>
<p>where to begin…
How about conflict of interest (no pun intended)?
How about nondisclosure during exit interviews that the interviews were run by banks that stood to make big $$ - and students had to sign stuff? Like pledges to repay consolidated loans at rates higher than the students could have gotten by shopping around?</p>
<p>Fortunately you don’t have to worry that anyone in the fime schools we all sent our kids to could have been bought. I mean they all have Honor Codes and high minded admissions and financial aid policies.</p>
<p>I did not check the rules under loan consolidation but that is typically done well after graduation and away from the school. The rates while on the first loan are the same as are the fees. Again harm done–besides the non-economic alleged conflict of interest? I think this is more political than economic as the dems want to go back to government loans (with their huge patronage staffs) and kill the private loans.</p>