National tuition fund should be reconsidered
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RE “MODEST earners to get relief for student loans’’ (Page A5, June 29): Modifications to federal student loans, with easier terms and forgiveness for public service, are welcome but do not go far enough. Milton Friedman, John Silber, and Ted Kennedy all have argued for a national “tuition advance fund’’ from which students could borrow for higher education with repayment through the IRS depending on borrowers’ income and ability to repay over a working lifetime.
Once funded, the TAF, as it would be called, would be self-sustaining through repayments. A TAF would allow students to choose colleges on the basis of value, not price; foster better competition among colleges; and encourage student career choices based on personal interest, not debt.
Initial funding has been the barrier to creating such a program. It should be reconsidered as an excellent means of stimulating the economy and our society over the long haul.
Dennis Berkey
Worcester
The writer is president of Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
