Student debt is soaring out of control as tuition costs rise and assistance continues to fall. The disturbing trend is forcing many students out of school and forcing others into a lifetime of debt repayment. Middle-income students are often the ones left out to dry in the process as the low-income students often receive Federal aid and high-income students don't need anything. A new plan in New York calls for middle-income students' families to contribute no more than 10% of their annual earnings to tuition costs. Right now, many families are paying far more than they can afford to put their children through school. Perhaps other states should consider similar plans before we start sending a whole new generator of debtors into the workforce.

From Zwire.com:
Believing that middle-income students too often get the shaft when it comes to financial aid, New York State Senator Ken LaValle (R-Selden) has unveiled an initiative that would throw a lifeline to families facing certain debt from college costs, but with the proviso that students who benefit remain in New York State for five years. Under the legislation, those families whose total net taxable income falls between $60,000 and $150,000 per year would not have to contribute more than 10% of their annual earnings to tuition costs and other related fees, LaValle said, but not before they have exhausted their possibilities for obtaining money from other state and federal aid programs, such as Federal Pell Grants and the NYS Tuition Assistance Program.