Yglesias does one of his Yglesias things where he pretends to take a bold stand against the online Left, when really he's just throwing out conventional wisdom.
I do think the "End Student Debt" crowd are overplaying their hand, and I agree with Yglesias that there is not a need for the macroeconomic stimulus that debt forgiveness would bring.
Where I differ is that we have a rolling problem in the country stemming from a lack of qualified governmental employees. This extends down to school teachers and cops, both professions that have come under a lot of strain in the past years.
Student debt forgiveness should be conditional on taking public sector jobs, including federal government jobs. It should be a permanent reform, along the lines of Pell Grants, but instead of the individual student's level of need, it should be society's level of need. We need more health care professionals, especially general practitioners. No one wants to be a GP, because it doesn't pay as well as being a plastic surgeon, but it's critical for a well-functioning health care system. Fine, forgive their loans.
We need scientists to work at NOAA and DOD and Interior. Forgive their loans.
Of course, we won't get Yglesias's fabled bipartisanship, because the GOP hates the idea of people doing good work in government for the benefit of everyone.
But it's worth a shot.
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