Federal student loan forgiveness program a great idea

In response to your July 1 editorial on student loans: I have never read such a blazing display of short-sightedness. And we wonder why our education rating in Nevada is so low.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program brings a larger talent pool into the public sector in exchange for a reduction (after 10 years of service, mind you) in their federal student loans. Those induced by the offer choose jobs that pay less in the public sector in exchange for the offer to get this break on their loans. It is essentially the same offer we extend to our servicemen and women to fight our wars for us in exchange for their well-deserved benefits when they return home.

The argument that those in private-sector jobs should get the same deduction is specious, at best. The whole point of this loan forgiveness program is that is is designed to encourage graduates to enter public service, not private, for-profit entities. It has nothing to do with “providing similar service as public workers.”

Plus, there is no evidence that poorer students take out more debt because of this incentive or live more comfortably while in college or take more frivolous courses. Zip. Zero. They take out more loans simply because their families have less wealth. We should be commending them for trying to improve their minds, their lives and our community.

The “fiscal disaster” is not that some of these students get a portion of their loan waived or that some poor students may even default. No, the disaster comes from being so short-sighted and pecuniary when it comes to helping the less wealthy and the public sector, especially when so much of the profiteering from student loans is on the balance sheets of private, for-profit banks, loan companies and the colleges these students attended.