Originally Posted by Bostonian
Much higher education in the U.S. is a waste of time and money at the aggregate level, but at the *individual* level, the BA credential still has considerable value, because employers use it as a filter. It's an educational arms race that one is almost compelled to participate in.

It's not a waste of money.

It's a great source of tax revenue because they pay it back with interest!

"Business has been good for the federal government when it comes to student loans.

Over the past five years, student loans have generated profits of $120 billion for the Department of Education.

And the latest projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) put the take from student loans for the 2013 fiscal year at $48.6 billion - helped along by a change in 2010 that eliminated the middleman and made the Education Department the direct lender for all government-backed loans.

It means the government will reap more in profits from student loans this year than any of the nation's largest corporations. Last year, for example, the most profitable company was ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), which reported income of $44.9 billion.

The money is rolling in partly because the Education Department has stepped up efforts to collect on delinquent loans, but mostly because the U.S. government can borrow money far more cheaply than the students to whom it is giving the loans.

The government's student loans now carry an interest rate of 3.4%, which has proved plenty lucrative.

But unless Congress acts soon, the interest rate on government student loans will double to 6.8% as of July 1. (The temporary 3.4% rate was supposed to expire last July, but last year Congress extended it for one year.)"

http://moneymorning.com/2013/05/16/how-student-loans-became-a-120-billion-government-bonanza/