But now, tens of thousands (or more?) of people with the product are unemployed or discovering that their B.A. is, well, underwater. They watch their loans balloon because they can't even pay all the monthly interest on them.
The Bennett Hypothesis states the increased government financial aid causes college costs to rise
http://centerforcollegeaffordability.org/research/studies/bennett-hypothesis-2 . Reducing government financial aid would cause college tuition to fall or rise more slowly, but it would also discourage middle and low income students who do not earn academic scholarships from going to college. A four-year residential college would become a place for very smart kids and kids whose parents could afford to pay the full cost. Some would describe this restriction of college attendance as elitist, but I think it is preferable to having the government subsidize through Pell grants and subsidized loans college attendance for people who do not have the scholastic aptitude for college.
