This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

- Student loans: Interest-rate cut should be extended - Salt Lake Tribune Editorial

It's an indicator of the crazy economic times we're living in when the interest rate on student loans could nearly double the lowest available rate on home mortgages.Interest rates on subsidized bank loans to help college students pay tuition traditionally have been among the lowest on any sort of loan as a way to help more Americans get degrees. A well-educated workforce is an economic boon to the nation and worthy of such government help.Using that reasoning, the Obama administration cut the interest rate on subsidized Stafford loans from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent for low-income students. But on July 1, the interest is set to revert to the higher rate unless Congress votes to extend the cut.Congress should do just that.To make that point, a group including the student body presidents of Utah's colleges and universities wrote to federal lawmakers and called the Beehive State's congressional delegation. They urged Congress to extend the reduced interest rate for another year. [Read the rest ...]

- Student loans need reform - Ogden Standard Examiner Editorial

... Artificially reducing the interest rate by half is costing the federal government billions of dollars and such fiscal malfeasance should neither be tolerated or enabled by our leaders. Nevertheless, we suspect that given the proclivity of pols in Washington D.C. to grovel to highly charged interest groups, a deal will be hatched to preserve the low rate.That's the wrong solution. A better idea is to explore other reform ideas. ...

- For a promising future - Miami Herald Editorial

... In this current economy, the next generation is poised to be less educated than the one before it. That cannot happen if the United States is to retain its competitive edge. ...

- Student loans fail students - Jay Ambrose, via The Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News

Education Secretary Arne Duncan says student loans don't push up tuition, but of course, they do, much like housing prices were pushed up by banks giving loans to people who could not afford the mortgages. Does anyone in Washington remember how that turned out? ...

- College Loan Racket Helps Neither Taxpayers Nor Students - Phyllis Schlafly, via Investors Business Daily

One of the ways to cut the big-spending binge engaged in by the federal government is to terminate the racket of college loans. It's counterproductive, discriminatory and a bad investment for both taxpayers and students. ...