European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 8, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Pugo 10 columns the stars and stripes thursday january 8,1987 James Kilpatrick much to be said for pay As you earn plan forgive me o Brief autobiographical note because it All lie in with a proposal that went to Congress this week. The topic paying Tor Cue s College education. T had barely gotten started at the University of Missouri when my father s Busi Ness failed. My Mother and father subsequently were divorced and quite suddenly my comfortable Middle class world fell part. I moved from o fraternity House to a boarding House Learned to survive on a meal and a half a Day and began working my Way through College. In the full 1 raked leaves in the Spring 1 Cut grass. I got on the list or extra waiters at the Tiger hotel. Mostly i tutored american history for dunking football players. Then i borrowed Money o buy a Speed graphic camera Learned How to use that beloved old Box and won a Job what a Job Ai staff photographer at Stephens College. I went to classes in the morning and worked afternoons and weekends and finished in March 1941 with enough savings to buy a new suit and a railway ticket 10 Rich mond a. End of Story. I recall the experience in order 10 say that it was in no Way unique in the 1930s hundreds of thousands of College students did exactly the same thing. There weren t any guaranteed Federal Loans there weren t any Federal Grants. If your parents could t fool the Bill you worked your Way through. You paid your own Way. Now comes 1 proposal from Edu cation Secretary William j. Bennett that would revive some of the old spirit of self Reliance. He wants to expand the present experimental program of in come contingent Loans known As ills in a Way that makes great Good sense. This is How it would work Congress would create a loan fund of $600 million in the 1988 fiscal year this would be allocated to perhaps 1,500 participating colleges and universities on a Matching basis nine Federal dollars for one col lege Dollar. Needy students would apply for Loans from this fund. The fund would lend up to $4,000 for each of a student s first two years 15,000 for each addition Al year and up to si0,000 a year for graduate studies. James Reston six months after leaving school a Bor rower would begin repayment to the school. The proposed schedule would re quire payment of $30 per month per $10,000 of debt but deferrals could be granted in hardship cases. Repayment would be limited to not More than 15 percent of the Borrower s adjusted in come. Interest would accrue at the 91 Day Treasury Bill Rale plus 3 percent. The repayment period could extend to 30 years or until the amount borrowed was repaid in full. For the. Time being Bennett is seeking no change in the existing programs of guaranteed student Loans. These pro Grams would continue. But the problem with  is that repayment schedules Are the same for everyone there is no flexibility in them. Bennett believes that the ills by contrast would have much Appeal repayment schedules would be geared to income. In recent years student borrow ers have defaulted in appalling numbers and in appalling amounts. Thanks in part to Bennett s no Nons Csc leadership the government last year collected about �200 million from the Ca deals. In fairness to them it must be said that Many graduates wound up in leaching social work or journalism careers that pay pitifully Idle to beginners. These borrowers could not afford to meet rigid repayment schedules and simultaneously keep a roof Over their Heads and food on like table. The easier terms of an ice Bennett believes will significantly re Duce the Rale of default. Complaint is heard that the budding lawyer doctor Engineer or architect could go into the workaday world carrying a Bur Den of up to s50,000 in debt. But Over hit or her lifetime the average College graduate will earn an estimated $640,000 More than the average High school graduate. The Bur Den would not be intolerable certainly no More intolerable than payment on a loan to buy it  suggestion has been made that re payments on an ice be deducted from paychecks just As the withholding us it deducted. The deducted amount then would be returned to the College to replenish the revolving fund. Another suggestion is that repayments include a feet cover life insurance in the face amount of the loan. Other refinement May be  concept is sound. In my generation students went by the Rule of pay As you go. There s nothing wrong and a great Deal that is right in pay As you Tam. Club jiul Prill Bynch Titi the president is not sorry. He s fit to fight starting out on the last Lap of his Long political journey president Reagan was the reluctant recipient of two contradictory suggestions from some of his col leagues i rely on your brakes and not on your Horn and 2 Damn the tormentors full Speed ahead judging by the first trillion Dollar budget Ever sent to Congress he s stepping on the Gas. Fortunately he has come out of his surgery fighting fit for this budget assures a fight with the democratic leaders of Congress from now until the presidential election of 1988. He had several options at the turn of the year that might have deflected some political flak. Without Dis missing Donald Regan his chief of staff he could have brought new people into the Cabinet or shuffled inc old. He could have reverted to a stronger Cabinet form of government or come Forward with a new legislative program or at least changed his order of priorities. Nobody in Washington was surprised. The president has never been enthusiastic for changing things or Tak ing blame and has always been More comfortable with confrontation than with Compromise but since the iranian scandals and inc election defeats it was thought that he might mate some adjustment to the new political and Public realities. Not so or at least not so far the psychology of his budget is in some ways More significant than the mathematics. The president is not sorry but sore. The mood of the while House Over the elections and the scandals one of resentment and recrimination. For example when the Republican controlled sen ate select committee on intelligence refused to release its findings on iranian arms deals on the not unreason Able ground that they lacked testimony from key wit Nesses Larry Speakes the presidential spokesman is sued a statement saying we Are outraged and  meanwhile proving that colonel North is not the Only free Wheeling polemical rightist in the while House Pat Buchanan the president s communications director was out in Lafayette Park demonstrating How to make the administration s relations with Congress and the press even worse than they now Are. Addressing some 200 Reagan supporters Buchanan said some members of Congress were not interested in the truth about the recent scandals or in resolving the crisis but were Bent on destroying Reagan. We Are saying to the Liberal plaque on Capitol Hill Buchanan told his ideological buddies you will not bring this president Down. The left is not after the truth. The left is after Ronald  he also took a swipe at the press for sensational headlines and scavenger Hunts. Nobody in Congress imagines that this sort of will Ful blindness or revolting stupidity is planned by Buchanan s superiors but members have to wonder How such personal provocations help the president at the beginning of the 100th Congress. The budget however is no such Accident. It is the carefully constructed definition of the administration s philosophy its Road map for the remainder of he Jour Ney and it goes Over much the same bumpy terrain As before. Though it concedes that the budget deficits of the last six years Are a major threat to the econ omy it Slicks to the president s past priorities of lower personal Tan Rales a modified Rise in the defense Bud get but including $5.2 billion for the controversial ski or Star wars program and 11 of million for the contras opposing the leftist government of Nicaragua. It docs Promise to meet the is of billion deficit tar get set by the Gramm Rudman Hollings balanced Bud get Law but does so mainly by Reintam during old pro Grams rejected by past congresses. One third of the administration s Jib billion in cuts would come out of programs such As food Stamps College Loans and Aid to the elderly. These Are Only a few of he big ticket items that will keep inc executive and legislative branches in Contro Versy throughout he year. The new Leaden in the House and Senate have offered to consult with the while House in Advance to minimize the uproar but it promises to go on anyway along with the iranian investigations. The president s strategy ii remarkable a little1 like Gen. Ferdinand Foch s report at the second Battle of the Marne my Center is giving Way my right Retreat situation excellent i am  a a Orttman own strict