Student loans: Politics and solutions

Guests:  Pauline Abernathy and Janet Lorin

Stafford loans are among the most commonly-used and lowest-cost student loans available. Federal government subsidized Stafford loans (vs. unsubsidized ones) are based on financial need and are repayable at 3.4%. Over 7 million low-income and middle-income students qualify for them each year. The deal which sets the interest rate so low on these loans will expire on July 1, and unless Democrats, Republicans and the President come up with a compromise plan, the interest rate on all future subsidized Stafford loans will double in just a few weeks. The hike will have no impact on the current $1 trillion student debt facing today’s college graduates, but as tuition costs grow at public and private universities, any increase in the repayment rate may decrease opportunities for students with financial need. In this hour of Radio Times will talk about what, if anything, is being done in Washington to ease the student loan burden and how student loan debt is affecting the lives of young people. Our guests are PAULINE ABERNATHY of the Institute for College Access and Success and for Bloomberg News reporter JANET LORIN.