By Ada Fisher

No matter what they think, Democratic candidates for president will find the education debt issue a no-win proposition with the ideas they are proposing.

Though estimates place the nation’s student debt at $1.75 trillion, those over 60 account for $80 billion for their children and grandchildren. It’s tragic that many are still struggling to repay these debts and fast approaching 60 years of age while stuck in jobs where their educational promise didn’t pan out. This nation has sold education as an end while neglecting the value of wealth-producing jobs such as technicians, plumbers, HVAC, electricians and carpenters.

As more people refuse to direct their efforts at careers that pay a decent wage, an unfortunate fall-back position has evolved — asking that fast-food jobs and those designed to be temporary pay disproportionate wages to what the markets reflect.

One of the hidden lies of Obamacare was an add-on tax from loans before students completed their education with an additional tax when they sought jobs. Students were not meant to be exempt from carrying the burden of the sick. Additionally, they were hoped to be the salvation for the program. New, younger workers would buy into this insurance. And the government added to the problem by forcing students to pay higher rates such as 5% to 7.5% for government student loans while banks and other financial institutions could borrow at 0.7%.

Education institutions have been allowed to milk the system by raising their tuition each time the federal amount that can be borrowed is raised. In addition, the cost of education for students has also risen beyond that which can be borrowed.

Unfortunately, this is coupled with the fact that 68% of students take six years to complete a degree instead of the expected four years. The junior college and community college systems have been developed and, like many higher education programs, have shown to be a boondoggle for educators without having to show financial returns for students.

There is no correlation of later income levels with debt; however, $42 billion of the debt is possessed by those making less than $50,000 a year. Those who are likely to earn the most, such as doctors, are also most likely to carry the most debt. Therefore, truly revitalizing debt forgiveness through service in areas of need might be desirable.

It is simplistic to say “forgive the student debts” and place the burden on government to finance education degrees — another move on the socialism ladder. That may prove unproductive in a changing economy.

The national education debt total exceeds that for Medicare, Medicaid and other social programs designed for the needy. In draining indebted students for repayment, is another class of poverty being created?

Innovative ideas include:

• Drop the rate on the loans to that given to mortgage and financial institutions.

• Freeze tuition to the level at entry for four years of study, as is done at a few institutions. (This might encourage some to finish in four years.)

• Offer some sort of oversight to institutions that raise their tuition according to the amount of government loans.

• Deny federal student assistance to those institutions having endowments of over $1 billion and require that a percentage of that money be directed to students in need of government loans.

• For those in debt who graduate with a 3.0 or 4.0 GPA, forgive the debt. This should encourage scholarship.

• Consider service, whether in the military, teaching, health care in communities of need and nursing homes, as grounds for loan forgiveness. There would be one year of forgiveness, $5,000, for each year of service.

• Allow the IRS to collect on loans automatically proportional to debt at a rate of no more than 10% of income.

• Limit the total amount of debt that can be carried with government guarantees. Unfortunately, this would penalize those in the professions, allowing the rich to continue in their domination of the playing fields.

Salisbury’s Ada Fisher is the N.C. Republican national committeewoman, a licensed teacher, retired corporate physician and former school board member.