I increasingly feel like the best (though imperfect) solution that has a realistic chance of happening is just to make student loans dischargeable in bankruptcy. This would provide people with huge loans and no job prospects a way out while avoiding giving free money to well paid professionals who don’t really need it. It would also incentivize schools to invest tuition dollars in ways to actually help graduates find employment rather than flashy facilities to bring in freshmen.
Poor students would have a harder time finding loans to go to expensive schools but it seems increasingly like elite colleges aren’t much better than public colleges anyway.
"First fix the issue that impacts ME (loan forgiveness), then later fix the root cause that impacts literally everyone (high tuition). And shit on anyone who doesn't prioritize my loan forgiveness first! Because I signed a legally-binding contract, spent the money, but now don't feel like I should have to pay it back under the terms I agreed to! Fuck all the students who get loans after me, those who are paying them back as per their loan agreements, and those who chose not to go to college because they knew they couldn't afford the loans. Amirite? Me me me!"
-idiots pretending their selfish cries about getting their loans forgiven equates to liberalism
Loan forgiveness is an important step, but it's not the first or even the most important step. It's very telling where your priories are (and how fake your politics are) if you make forgiving your student loans the first and loudest piece of the actual problem.