This thread invokes an ambivalent response in me. As a scholarship student, twice in two different majors, I had very good access to college and am now able to cash in with a good job. The US gov't in the form of federal loans and grants, plus the states in the form of scholarships paved my way in college. But I owe a lot of money on federal loans used for living expenses, which puts a damper on my life of luxury. It also forces the question of whether I can afford to fly for a living. I am responsible for paying back my loans for college. No new car and no airline job for me.

On the other hand, the government gets a fat monthly installment from me on my student loan each month, and it gleefully takes another 25% of my paycheck as taxes. Ouch, that's 43%. You can't live very well on what's left although it's more than I had in college. At present, my college education is hardly worth it from a financial perspective as I will live for years at a very lower middle class level for having invested a total of 8 years in education. This, on top of the same quantity of time lost from the workforce while going to school. It adds up to about 13 years of financial hardship. It does end eventually, and I will live.

I paid for my flight training by driving trucks mostly. Parents chipped a little, but it was mostly my effort. I really wanted the ratings and to eventually be able to fly for a living. I did not take any loans out to learn to fly. I therefore do not have a lot of sympathy for taking out huge loans knowing it doesn't pay very well and you are signing on for a financial disaster to do so.

The American government tries to be fair, and mostly is fair from my perspective. It sets up guidelines to sort the needy from the not so needy. It helps those who are weak and taxes those who are strong. It is here to stay, no getting around it. I feel a lot of gratitude for what the government has done for me, and I think our country has the greatest government on Earth. But life is hard, and it always will be. No government can change that. If you think government is here to make life easy it's not, it is not a realistic expectation. We all have to pay our taxes, loans, and debts. That's the long and short of it.