For students: more help, higher hurdles - David Sarasohn, The Oregonian

"College education will be harder to get, and for those who get it, it will be harder to pay for," observes Jon Shure, deputy director of the state fiscal project at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C. "We used to have a compact in this country: Since higher education benefits the students and benefits the taxpayers, we'll pay x, and the student will pay y." Now, Shure notes, especially in an economic meltdown, we've broken that compact and shipped more and more of the bill to the students --although getting the economy back on track is going to take a lot of skilled and educated people. They'll be the ones with the debt.