By George Leef. Sometimes it makes sense to borrow to finance an investment; sometimes equity is a better choice. When it comes to college education, however, borrowing (especially through the government) is usually a mistake. If we could catalyze a system of equity financing for higher education, that would be a great improvement over the status quo.
In his 1955 paper “The Role of Government in Education,” Milton Friedman suggested the idea of equity contracts to finance college education. Friedman thought that loans were not the appropriate means of financing education and argued that the better way was to advance the needed funds for college to qualified students, who would repay a percentage of their earnings for an agreed-upon number of years. More...

By Rob Antle. N.L. projects half-billion in red ink while adding to social programs in 2014-15.
The Newfoundland and Labrador government is offering up new and enhanced benefits for families, seniors and students in this year's budget, while adding more than a half-billion dollars’ worth of red ink to the province's tab.
The big ticket items include full-day Kindergarten in 2016, the replacement of student loans with grants, an enhanced low-income seniors’ benefit, increased tax exemptions for low-income residents and families, and a five-per-cent jump in income support rates. More...

By Joel and Eric Best. Americans are beginning to realize that student loans pose a big problem. Total student-loan debt is now well over a trillion dollars (and is predicted to hit two trillion around 2020). About a third of young people who are supposed to be making payments on their loans are delinquent, and there is every reason to suspect that a large chunk of what is owed will not be repaid, with taxpayers picking up the tab. How did we get in this mess? More...

By Josh Freedman. Last week, the University of California got downgraded. Not in the U.S. News or other college rankings, where six of its campuses rank in the top 15 public colleges in the United States; nor in College Prowler’s list of schools with the most attractive men on campus (where flagship UC-Berkeley clocks in at a measly number 1185). Rather, the UC system has been downgraded in the credit markets: ratings agency Moody’s lowered the UC system’s general revenue bonds from Aa1 to Aa2. People like to talk about student debt – read, for example, my five part series on the topic. More...