'A threat to the government on students' £21,000 loan repayment' blog discussion

Politicians are having a field day scraping back every penny, the newest thing of course is scaremongering us with 'The Deficit' or 'That Which Shall Not Be Named if you are a Harry Potter fan.

What i don't understand is what they have done with all the money?

Before loans they were grants, that means for every penny a student pays back on loans the Government is in profit, they went from paying the whole bill to paying a fraction of it. Where's the difference gone?

NHS is now charging for peripherals that were previously free. Where is the money they have saved gone?

The 25+ student loan in college, last year it was a grant now suddenly it's a loan! All done on the sly.

The new stricter benefit sanctions that just happen to coincide with the rise of food banks.

This is nothing but a cynical, criminal cash grab by politicians, if we are in such financial straits how the hell can we afford this:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29098334

Makes me want throw up when people buy into this money grabbing spin. The politicians just want money to pad their nests.

1. Students who are able to pay back the full amount will take longer to pay back and thus incur greater interest charges.

As Martin has pointed out, and seems to have been ignored in this discussion, the interest rates being charged are considerably above inflation.

These students who, arguably, are the ones who have made the most of their University degree, would be better off paying back faster, sooner - so would be in a better place if the threshold was still set at £15,000. And they were allowed to 'overpay' which I understand is not allowed.

2. There are clearly too many students going to University who do not benefit from the experience ... either because the degree subjects are not of sufficient value (or could be covered in alternative vocational'qualifications) or because (possibly?) not everyone who goes to uni is actually real University 'material'?. And maybe not all today's universities are 'University Material'?

3. I suggest the fact that so many Graduates aren't able to command a (not massive) salary of £21,000 reinforces my argument that many of them should not have been there in the first place.

4 Obviously I am not having at go at graduates who have a valuable qualification and go on to do worthwhile, lower paying, jobs. And obviously I have every sympathy for well qualified students who are unable to get a job in the current climate. I just think the current 'everybody needs a degree' view is plain wrong ... ask my plumber!

5. Enough has also not been made of Martin's point that your background is irrelevant . If you came from a poor family and are now in a high-paying job you have as much an obligation to pay back the full amount as anyone else.

And don't get me started on grade inflation.