A federal program that will soon forgive billions of dollars in student loans illustrates the ineptitude of government planning and foreshadows bigger problems down the road.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program erases the balance on student loans after the debtor makes 120 monthly payments while working full-time for a qualifying employer. The program was designed to incentivize graduates to go into relatively low-paying public service jobs such as public defender, social worker, and public health provider.
But as the Wall Street Journal reports, a loophole will allow thousands of high-paid workers to dump their student loan debt:
The program is encompassing far more workers than envisioned, many of them well-paid. Thousands of workers with pricey graduate degrees are on track to discharge five- and six-figure debts on their way to typically lucrative careers, according to enrollment figures and financial advisers. The biggest beneficiaries will be medical-school students, who owe on average $180,000 upon graduation and are increasingly working for nonprofit hospitals and gaining eligibility for the program. Financial advisers estimate that many will have 80% or more of their original balances forgiven under what some are calling a ‘doctors’ loophole’ in the program.’
Retired Columbia University finance professor Gailen Hite said the program won’t even help those who need it most, such as college dropouts owing smaller sums:
This post was published at Schiffgold on NOVEMBER 25, 2015.
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