the phone. that can lead to very quick interactions or being transferred, and you might get the shortcut answer rather than the answer that is ultimately bore the borrower and maybe even the economy more broadly if it avoids default. addressing those incentives as a major concern. i enjoyed your testimony and i will share with you a story you can use next time. and a former life, i was a talkshow host and i interviewed a financial aid officer of one of our colleges in maine and we talked about college tuitions and he said for the past 40 years, the cost of a good private college has been the same of it -- the same as a new ford. in the 40's, it was a thousand dollars and it went up in the 66

$3000 but something happened because a new ford today is about $20,000 in the cost of a private college education is approaching 60. i think we need to explore why that happens. have colleges come and tell us why what they sell has increased two or three times the rate of inflation and what it is they are buying that costs so much because we are talking about the financing cost but the underlying problem is the cost of the product. tuition has out, if risen at the rate of inflation since 2007, we would not be having this hearing. we've got to be focusing on that but i'm concerned in part of it is accountability. we apply be sure standards such as gainful employment and graduation rates that we do not penalize those institutions taking higher risks

with lower income and not college experience students. could you comment on that? we are not exploring that specific regulation. i can say that aligning the incentives between the schools, ,etween whatever loan programs students are important and we want to examine how it can increase accountability so outcomes are approved regardless of where they come from. >> i think they all want to increase accountability. sure we don'te inadvertently penalize the students we want to get into the system by placing requirements --t would this incentivize

that would punish schools taking the risk to get the students and education. thank you very much. >> senator wyden. >> thank you for your years of passion and commitment to this effort. i think we understand our students are just getting smothered with these costs and these bills. they are up to their eyeballs in debt and this is having a huge havet on their ability to the productive life they would want. it takes a toll in aim. a way of ways, recently, i was making a tour of college campuses and talking about legislation i will describe in a minute. a young woman came up to me and said ioc $2000. but i want to do more than anything else as i want to have a family and i'm not convinced

someone who will marry me when i'm carrying around those kinds of debts. we talked about various kinds of options but i think that's representative of what's going on out there. ,his is taking an enormous toll putting students and young people in shackles. it seems like there are two pieces to the puzzle. the first is we've got to help students who are underwater. i appreciate what you and other students have had to say, whether it's refinancing or income-based repayment, i'm open to a variety of different approaches. the second is a different kind of issue, and that's making sure that not only do we get students in the door, but they get more value for their education. senator rubio, senator warner and i have introduced the student right to know before you go.

for the first time, it would be possible for students to get this information in one place and heaven forbid, when students and families find out about a school doing a good job in terms of graduation rates, a lack of needed remedial education, if the school is doing a good job and another school is not doing a good job, the other school better clean up its act or heaven forbid, market forces would kick in and that would advance the schools doing a good job. my understanding, and i want to understand with you. to get the kind of data you need to really do this right, it is going to take a piece of legislation, whether it's the bill senator warner, senator rubio and i have or something close. bills fortors have purposes of government work, it is close enough.

are we going to be able to get the eta we need to really set up this kind of seamless opportunity for students to get more value for their education along the lines of what i cap slice here this morning? say i'm of all, let me very pleased you have introduced this legislation. i have written publicly on several occasions that it's ironic the universities that are in the knowledge business are sometimes very reticent about providing knowledge about their own students, what they are learning, with their earning after they graduate. the irs could provide infamously useful information on the earnings of graduates by majors, by institutions and so forth

without violating privacy or anything. why don't we do it? we can collect all of this data. the social security administration has the capacity to provide a lot of information. if part of the problem is student financial burden, student -- should and the students know what is the probability they're going to earn a certain amount of money when they graduate? i think information builds are important, they are low-cost, they are consumer friendly, and markets work under when there's more information by all parties. the efforts of you, senator rubio and others are making is one of the few positive developments right now. >> i want to let senator murray have a chance to summarize because we're going to have a vote in a minute. i am something of a privacy hot around here. tried very hard to have

significantly stronger privacy protections than you have today on a variety of these programs and my last request -- ms. jones, i followed your good work , we really hit this right and lock-in me privacy your generation deserves. we deal with the refinancing more repayment or whatever is councily and we get the you students who are getting smothered and really facing these problems because there has been so much foot dragging here, i think now is the time and for all of your leadership, i look forward to working with you. >> i want to thank our witnesses for being here today. i want to thank all of our numbers for participating. i think because this is an issue impacting so many economic

possibilities, it's one we've thank you tos senator johnson for filling in today. i gave him an a is a former teacher. thank you for all of our witnesses. this is a topic we will continue to have much discussion around. >> we heard a lot during this hearing about student loans. we will take your calls now on the question -- is student loan debt bad for the economy. people buying a house, starting a business -- over the last 10 years, education debt tripling. now more than $1 trillion. the phone numbers are up on your screen. let us know what you think. student loan debt, bad for the

economy? we're going to take a look here about president obama expected to take executive action tomorrow on student loans. the new york times reporting it could potentially affect millions of americans. he's going to announce the action that the white house, expected to coincide with democrats plans for addressing student loans ahead of the midterm elections. we are taking your calls and we want to see what you think about student loan debt and its effects on the economy. kim is joining us from harrisburg pennsylvania on the republican line. you're on the air. lex i would like to comment on the fact that student loans are the income the timelines are taking which causes the loans to be subsidized or unsubsidized. lost my government job. my son graduated, but he was expected to pay back an amount

that was totally out of his income level. we applied for a one-year deferment but then found out because his loan was unsubsidized, which was again based on my income, his interest rate was not deferred. that bottom line is it increased the principal amount of the loan and paying back loans, you can only pay back the principal and interest at the rate they give you. you are not allowed to pay double for it to be applied to just principal alone. >> what do you think about what the president wants to announce and also some of the legislation elizabeth warren is working on to allow students to refinance student loans? >> we are allowed to refinance at the time. >> how has that affected your family?

so i'm noty job, able to help and hinder his ability to qualify for a loan to buy house because of the income to debt ratio. schoolot go back to based on trying to buy a house and get alone and he's had to put off an engagement because he cannot afford to finance an engagement ring. >> how old is your son? >> 26. >> let's go on to fort lauderdale, florida online for independence. go ahead. >> i'm concerned because my daughter is 18 and she is starting school. are, our income is used as a business, our credit is bad, and she got into a great school. the school is going to have to

borrow, but i'm concerned she is starting off already with loans. she's going to vote in next election and it's bad for the economy. not only that, but these kids in.going i think it's almost depressing. you have to go to college, but at what cost? what are your prospects westmark you are going in and if she wants to be a doctor, she's not even in medical school yet. thinkre the prospects? i the divide between the rich and the poor can get worse. >> senator elizabeth warren speaking to some of these issues, saying she wants to enable students to finance their student loans. we are going to take a look at her website here, this is her website -- number of

organizations backing her. massachusettshe mortgage bankers association, the teachers association, all saying this is a good idea. here's a clip on how she intends to pay for help being students refinance. -- fullys fully played paid for. limit the taxd to loopholes that let millionaires and billionaires pay a tax rates lower than their secretary. the cbo has just given us the score and we not only fully pay for it, this will is passed -- if passed as written would reduce the debt that by billions of dollars will stop this is an issue about our economy. we're here because of an economic emergency but it's also an issue about our values. who do we invest them? do we invest in the billionaires who have already made a big or

do we take that same money and invest in young people trying to start their economic lives? this bill andpass time to get started for young people who are out there really trying to make something. bill tointroduced a provide that. >> we expect to hear from senate democrats and president obama tomorrow on this idea of refinancing student loans and what the president can do in terms of executive action. is student loan debt bad for the economy? $1 trillion of student loan debt today. for democrats, denise, what do you think? bad for the economy? >> i do believe it is bad for the economy. has beenence everything that i do now