[Old North State]

Th other half of the story is that every time the government offers guaranteed student loan programs the colleges factor the availability of loan money into what they ‘expect’ students can afford and jack up their rates.

[AustinBill]

Th[e] other half of the story is that every time the government offers guaranteed student loan programs the colleges factor the availability of loan money into what they ‘expect’ students can afford and jack up their rates.

Exactly correct. College tuition inflation has run way ahead of general inflation precisely because of the "student loan" racket which cranks out class after class of new "indentured servants" each year. Dry up the loans and few will be able to afford the overpriced product, so supply and demand will force tuition prices down.