In higher education, the question of tuition isn’t about how much an education is worth, but of how much students can pay. A recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that when the federal government increased the amount students could borrow to pay for college, the cost of college increased. “We find that institutions more exposed to changes in the subsidized federal loan program increased their tuition disproportionately around these policy changes,” the study’s abstract summarized, “with a sizable pass-through effect on tuition of about 65 percent.” The Wall Street Journal likens the situation to the years leading up to the 2008 housing bubble, when government policies required banks to enter into risky loans. College students making their first major financial decision borrow tens of thousands of dollars and the government does not vet credit scores or even question if a college student studying music performance has the ability to pay off a six-figure loan. Monthly payments come due. Interest piles up. Some graduates mull the idea of defaulting and others plan on holding out, making minimum payments until the loans are forgiven. College was supposed to be an investment but government has given college students two choices: Pay an arm and a leg to the college up front, or pay two arms and a leg to the government during the beginning of that student’s career, the prime time the graduate could have been saving and investing for the future. Both decisions have uncomfortable implications for the growth of the nation’s economy.