As many readers know, Kevin Carey directs the education policy program of the New America Foundation and is at times a brilliant analyst. Unfortunately, he likes socialistic “solutions.”

In his latest Upshot column in the New York Times he explains the “quiet revolution” that is “helping lift the burden of student debt”—Income-Based Repayment or “IBR.”

He praises the IBR program because it will cap payments and enable some graduates (those who enter “public service”) to pay much less than they owe on their loans.

Take, for example, someone who finishes a bachelor’s degree with the national average of $29,000 in debt, and borrows another $13,000 for a master’s degree in education. The new graduate goes to work as a schoolteacher at a starting salary of $35,000, which grows to $50,000 after 10 years. Under IBR, the monthly loan payment will start at $117 and never rise above $200. The teacher will pay only $18,360 in total on the loans, and $48,840 in principal and accumulated interest will be forgiven after 10 years. [My italics.]

Among other implications, would-be teachers and bureaucrats will throw caution to the winds in deciding how much to pay for college. That will encourage them to borrow as much as they want, and encourage schools to hike tuition. So the bubble gets bigger.

On the other hand, perhaps it will encourage governments and nonprofits to pay less, since many young people should be happy to work for less. Otherwise, their payments will go up.