I agree with Karl, the only way to clear the student debt that the general public would not revolt over would be to have the debt dischargeable in bankruptcy...I see it as the only semi-fair solution. I hadn't thought about the taking the degree back...doubt it would go down that way.

Unfortunately, I don't think this is how it will play out. My prediction is is that within the next 2 yrs the government will forgive up to $50k of student loan debt...and they will get away with it by using two arguments:

1. Racism and white privilege arguments - they will argue that having students declare bankruptcy would unduly disadvantage minorities since "they had to take out the most student loans due to their oppressed upbringing and can't pay the off due to lower wages from systemic racism" or some such bullshit argument.

2. They will time it to coincide with the coming real estate collapse. The housing bubble will pop and they will wrap the $50k in student loan forgiveness in the same legislation they will try to pass to forgive up to $50k in mortgage debt for people who bought in the bubble and are now underwater. They will get more buy-in from the general public this way.

You guys watch....it's coming....people who paid their loans off or didn't take them, and people that made responsible decisions in real estate will get screwed.