A Democratic state senator says a bill introduced last fall to address student loan debt would also help create jobs. Last fall state senator Dave Hansen and two other Demoratic legislators introduced the Higher Ed, Lower Debt Act that would create a state Student Loan Refinancing Authority allowing student loan borrowers to refinance loans at much lower interest rates just as homeowners do with mortgages. Hansen says crippling student loan debt is preventing young adults from buying cars and homes. He says a borrower with an interest rate of 6.8% and an average University of Wisconsin graduate’s debt of $27,000 who could get a state-refinanced lower interest rate of 4% could save more than $40 a month — close to $500 over the course of a year. Hansen says the proposed authority would not use tax dollars to refinance the loans, but rather sell bonds to accomplish the refinancing in a “pay-as-you-go” fashion.
