Monday, November 29, 2010

Werner on student tuition fees - 2

With a third day of student protests on tuition fees planned for 30 Nov will the action be elevated from trashing police vehicles? Student leaders need to take the battle to a new intellectual level and start a discussion on Professor Werner's suggestions that debt-free grants should and could be made available.  Arising out of Saturday's post, here is some updating from Prof Richard Werner (Chair International Banking, Southampton University):

Richard Werner is an advocate of debt-free money creation by governments with the money created being allocated to ends that will bring productive non-inflationary and sustainable growth. The current way of the world is that banks create and allocate credit according to their own private commercial aims and these often are not helpful in producing sustainable economic conditions – as we have seen since 2007.

The  choices we have now are: Do we mend the old broken system with inevitable failure repeating ahead? Or make a new system which would build national economies in as sustainable way? One way to encourage this is to invest in freely available education funded so that it does not involve a life time burden of debt. Better to create state money to help students make their own productive way in life, than let banks create credit to blow away in speculation in volatile assets which is no help in promoting true national wealth.

 ‘Interest-free’ loans are a little like what we have now where special rates and terms apply to student loans. Werner is not in favour of these (although better than the current interest-bearing loans), as future governments could easily raise interest rates, leaving us with no lasting improvement. What is needed are debt-free grants not needing repayment. 


Any students out there who can bring some monetary reform ideas into the mix? 
PS. Tell a Lib-Dem MP near you about this. It could save Nick Clegg's skin.

posted by Charles Bazlinton author The Free Lunch - Fairness with Freedom. Brain challenges for students.

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