This article from the Ohio State University's Origins gives an excellent analysis of the unintended consequences of student loans. While the federal government's guarantees on student loans has made access to college easier, they've done nothing to make such access affordable. In fact, the greater the availability of student loans, the larger the overall price burden becomes. Therefore, while someone who cannot otherwise afford to go to a school where tuition is $50,000 per year can do so by taking advantage of the availabilty of student loans, that same person will find him or herself in at least $200,000 worth of debt upon graduating into an anemic job market. Can the argument really still be made that someone in that position is better off for having gone to school?
