Stephan: This is very good news for students in Oregon making it clear that, in Oregon at least, the government recognizes that it is in the interests of state social wellness to have an educated populace. It isn't a perfect solution because it still involves students assuming debt, and does not address the cost increases, but it is a far more equitable system than the current one.
I also see it as yet another example of the growing Blue value Red value schism that is occurring in the U.S. While Oregon is encouraging students Red value states are making it ever more difficult for children to get a decent education. The result is going to be an increasing disparity in the social wellness of these two blocs of states.
This week the Oregon Senate passed a bill that would create a fund allowing it to bypass traditional student lenders by giving free tuition to students who then pay it back with a deduction from their paychecks after they graduate, according to the Associated Press.
H.B. 3472, which has already passed Oregon’s House, creates a pilot program called ‘Pay It Forward, Pay It Back,
