Student Loan Forgiveness

MSN just posted an article about a Facebook group trying to push for a bill that will cancel out all student loan debt. Wow...

I don't know if I agree with that. On one hand, the Type A side of me is think "Great!!! One less thing for us to worry about!" But, on the other hand I feel like I have the education, I will (hopefully) reap the financial gains from said education, so shouldn't I pay the for the education? I borrow the max amount I am allowed. Some people think this is stupid, but to me it allows me to not work if I choose not to, and allows me to focus completely on school. My grades are great because of this and I feel that it is debt well incurred (ask me again in 10 years, lol.) Now, this doesn't mean I don't agree with the forgiveness programs for lawyers, nurses and other fields. I hope to take advantage of those programs myself and benefit from both the forgiveness of some percentage of my debt, and help some people out in the process. My sister-in-law works in a hospital as a Med Tech and instead of forgiveness, she receives X amount every month on her check to pay toward her student loans. That is great. But to totally wipe out all student debt? I don't know, you can walk into Target, blow $3000 bucks on a plasma and then want the price forgiven. You are enjoying the TV, you need to pay for the TV.

However, the article does bring up bill coming through this year. One that caps payments at 15% of your income and then forgives any portion left over after 25 years, if there is any(I also think they are lowering interest rates too, I could be mistaken). Now this is a great idea. It allows people to make payments that does not conflict with their income, especially in these times, and it forgives a portion if you still have some left. This combined with different payment options, to me, gives people a little more leeway to pay their debts. It also teaches responsible borrowing.

What do you think?