I talk Pigford, Wisconsin, and student loans with Daniel Foster of National Review:
One point that I wish I had made in our discussion of whether or not government should be in the student loan industry is that left alone, credit markets available to minorities and the least well off in the U.S. have a consistent history of being exploitative. Whatever fully private student loan industry emerged in the absence of federal loans would probably resemble the same high-interest predatory credit markets in cars and housing that are already available to people of modest means. Private companies don't want to bet on the success of someone who doesn't have a lot of money or resources to begin with, and they'll exact a high price for doing so. The government can afford to take a risk without punishing people for not having been born into a wealthy family.
