Stacy Cowley

And that has really whiplashed people. I mean, most of the borrowers I talk to start the conversation and end the conversation by saying, I want to pay what I owe. I took the loan. I knew it was going to come due. I knew I'm going to have to pay it. But they are really frustrated by both having this hope put in front of them for a more affordable option and then having it snatched away.

And that has really whiplashed people. I mean, most of the borrowers I talk to start the conversation and end the conversation by saying, I want to pay what I owe. I took the loan. I knew it was going to come due. I knew I'm going to have to pay it. But they are really frustrated by both having this hope put in front of them for a more affordable option and then having it snatched away.

And they're also just really frustrated by the logistics right now of trying to figure out what am I supposed to be doing here?

And they're also just really frustrated by the logistics right now of trying to figure out what am I supposed to be doing here?

That's a question that gets asked frequently, and certainly the situation right now is bringing it to light again. And there are people in and around Trump, people in Trump's orbit, who are asking that question and who are raising the issue of, is it time for the government's role in this to change?

That's a question that gets asked frequently, and certainly the situation right now is bringing it to light again. And there are people in and around Trump, people in Trump's orbit, who are asking that question and who are raising the issue of, is it time for the government's role in this to change?

Should the government really play a profoundly different kind of role in this system than it does now?

Should the government really play a profoundly different kind of role in this system than it does now?

So, for that, we go back to the mid-'60s. Up until then, college education and certainly financing for it was something that was pretty limited. I mean, you really could only get that if you were, you know, a high performing student studying, you know, hard sciences and things like that. In 1965, Congress and the president passed the Higher Education Act.

So, for that, we go back to the mid-'60s. Up until then, college education and certainly financing for it was something that was pretty limited. I mean, you really could only get that if you were, you know, a high performing student studying, you know, hard sciences and things like that. In 1965, Congress and the president passed the Higher Education Act.

And that was a landmark bill that transformed the higher education system. And it was the first time that said, we're going to have a government-sponsored program where pretty much anyone can come get a loan and borrow to go to college. So private banks actually made the loans. But these are really risky loans. A lot of them aren't going to get paid back.

And that was a landmark bill that transformed the higher education system. And it was the first time that said, we're going to have a government-sponsored program where pretty much anyone can come get a loan and borrow to go to college. So private banks actually made the loans. But these are really risky loans. A lot of them aren't going to get paid back.

So the role the government played was it said to the private lenders, OK, we're if this loan goes bad, if it sours and the borrower doesn't pay, we will step in and pay you.

So the role the government played was it said to the private lenders, OK, we're if this loan goes bad, if it sours and the borrower doesn't pay, we will step in and pay you.

Yes, this was very much perceived as something that was good for the United States. Part of it came out of a direct counter to the Soviet Union, the concern that we would fall behind, that there would be an education gap. So the idea was that this was something that was in the taxpayers' interests to make sure that more people could pursue higher education.

Yes, this was very much perceived as something that was good for the United States. Part of it came out of a direct counter to the Soviet Union, the concern that we would fall behind, that there would be an education gap. So the idea was that this was something that was in the taxpayers' interests to make sure that more people could pursue higher education.

Rocky, the program went through a lot of changes over the years. The banks were making money doing this, and the government was taking on the administrative burden of running the programs and of backstopping them. So they would take on the losses when the loans soured.

Rocky, the program went through a lot of changes over the years. The banks were making money doing this, and the government was taking on the administrative burden of running the programs and of backstopping them. So they would take on the losses when the loans soured.

And there was certainly criticism that came up from time to time about, hey, why are we letting the banks make all the profit here while we're subsidizing all of the risk?

And there was certainly criticism that came up from time to time about, hey, why are we letting the banks make all the profit here while we're subsidizing all of the risk?