Catch 22: Getting the education to get ahead and better yourself may only be affordable for those already ahead

Lansing State Journal editorial July 7, 2006
As a father currently putting his four children through various Michigan colleges and universities, Mike McGonegal, like many of you, is worried about how to do that. One of Mike’s priorities is education, and he is dedicated to working with the governor and the Republican legislatures to find a solution to get more of our talent in college, to graduate from college and stay in Michigan. Mike believes a diverse, expanding economy of non-exportable high skilled, high wage jobs is the solution to the majority of what ails our state.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm's goal of doubling the number of Michigan's college graduates just got tougher.
The challenge now for Granholm and the Michigan Legislature is to decide just how committed they are to higher education - and make the financial decisions to back it up.
College students could face higher interest costs for college loans, due to congressional action last winter. Loans through federal programs after July 1 carry a fixed 6.8 percent interest rate.
Prior practice was for a variable rate, which could carry interest above 6.8 percent or below it. In fact, in recent years, students, like homeowners, had benefitted from lower rates.
Under the new rules, new loans are fixed and old loans can rise up to an 8.25 percent rate. With general interest rates headed up, the clear trend is for bigger debt bills for college students.
A recent Democratic report found Michigan was below the national average in the percentage of students taking loans and in the amount owed. That's the good news.
The bad news is 56 percent of state students are borrowing money, and the average debt load is $17,941. Adding to those totals is going to make college less attainable, not more.
Meanwhile, Michigan Future, Inc., says the state must aggressively seek out more human talent and suggests big changes in how the state funds higher education, such as turning state appropriations to schools into a voucher program to students.
Though the money would be loans, students who agreed to work in Michigan for a set time could get those loans forgiven, suggests the group.
Such a fundamental shift won't happen anytime soon.
But Granholm and lawmakers need to be thinking in broader terms to boost assistance and incentives for students to graduate and stay in Michigan, if Granholm's goal is to have a chance at reality.