Commentary
Handout culture is rampant in society today. People are seen as victims, and government handouts have become the natural response to any form of misfortune—great, small, or imagined.
It, therefore, came as no surprise that the response to recently announced increases in indexation to student debt was a call for another government handout. In an open letter, a crossbench collection of Greens and Independents said urgent intervention was needed to address the spiralling costs.
While they did correctly identify a problem, their solution leaves much to be desired.
Yes, student debt is about to rise rapidly, thanks to rampant inflation. HECS-HELP loans will increase by 7.1 percent next year, compared to the historical indexation rate of around two percent….