I don’t think that’s such a bad idea in and of itself — provided you shift the cost onto the people who get the benefit (students), and off of people who don’t (taxpayers and parents). Of course, the proposal Sullum addresses does just the opposite.

To reiterate my two-step plan for solving the college money problem: (A) Stop giving money directly to colleges; give to scholarship programs instead, and (B) end or greatly reduce tuition, and replace it with either long-term loans for all students or a percentage of future income. Because of part (A), colleges have to appeal to students rather than the government and donors, and because of part (B), students have to decide whether college is really worth it, since they’ll be the ones paying for it, not their parents.

Better yet, in part (B), have private investors provide the loans — these folks would have the incentive to loan to students who would benefit from education and be able to pay the debt back with interest.