* debt incurs interest at rates way above what someone could get a personal loan for
* it still affects people's ability to borrow when it comes to house buying etc
* if your parents are rich enough to pay your fees then you don't pay the tax
* if you earn enough to pay of the debt quickly they you'll pay less than someone with a middling income who earns enough to pay a lot but not clear the debt
Just make a proper graduate tax instead is my view
100% agree on just making it a tax at this point. We're basically at a point where it is a tax, except:
1. The very rich can stop paying it, and
2. People who end up wanting to change degrees too late down the line end up falling through the cracks and aren't given the option to try another degree (again, unless they're very rich)
Exactly. It is still a scam. Even worse if you're doing a degree that has little to no job prospects. For example, 'Why you should not do a PhD in History.' [0]
I do not blame the students of this year to dispute about paying for the university fees when they are going to either retake because their exams were cancelled (due to COVID) or the quality of the course was not good enough and is not worth it.
COVID just made it even glaringly obvious and worse.
* debt incurs interest at rates way above what someone could get a personal loan for
* it still affects people's ability to borrow when it comes to house buying etc
* if your parents are rich enough to pay your fees then you don't pay the tax
* if you earn enough to pay of the debt quickly they you'll pay less than someone with a middling income who earns enough to pay a lot but not clear the debt
Just make a proper graduate tax instead is my view