William G. Gale and Benjamin H. Harris of Brookings ask the question below.

The libertarian in me says no.

Should Taxpayers Rescue Debt-stressed College Grads?

This week, President Obama announced a plan to extend financial relief to households carrying student loan debt. The executive order would allow an additional 5 million existing borrowers with high monthly payments, relative to their income, to spread their payments out over a longer period of time.

The President’s actions may well be in response to growing concern over student loans. One commonly cited statistic notes that student loan debt, totaling $1.2 trillion, has now eclipsed all other forms of consumer loans except mortgages. Others, including former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, have argued that student loans are holding back economic growth by discouraging spending and restricting homeownership by young families.

A recent review of ours at the Brookings Institution adds to this chorus of concern, noting that student loan debt can discourage graduate education, influence career choice, delay the timing of marriage and childbirth, and even lead to lower credit worthiness.

But before outstanding student loans are cast as a “crisis,” it is important to note that it’s not all doom and gloom. First, one of the strongest documented facts is that attending and graduating from college has a strong impact on an individual’s future economic prospects. This means both that attending college is a good investment and that a significant portion of the ultimate costs can and should be borne by the student or his/her family.