Ethan Pollack

Higher ed finance, workforce development, labor markets, and econ policy. Senior Director at Jobs for the Future. Alum of Aspen, Pew, EPI, and OMB. Views mine.

[Karen L. Anderson @Karen_Anderson2]

Excited about this conversation on outcomes-based repayment models in workforce training with @HolzerHarry @david_socolow @Rachel_Lipson @ethanpollack & @jason_tyszko discussing a new paper: https://t.co/TiDG4RjSf4

[Michael B. Horn @michaelbhorn]

Through income share agreements (ISA), students pay for their education as a percentage of their post-grad income rather than a flat up-front charge or a conventional loan where they are on the hook for a fixed monthly payment regardless of what they’re earning.

I sat down with @KJMumford of @LifeAtPurdue and @ethanpollack of @jfftweets to learn more about what they’ve learned from studying Purdue’s “Back a Boiler” ISA program—and what those lessons might mean for making ISAs a bigger part of the way students pay for college.

[Ethan Pollack @ethanpollack]

@nickducoff I mean, I get why consumer protection folks like her had their worries. Their concerns were valid! But they approached the situation with a clenched fist rather than an open hand. Industry was willing to work with them, but they had no interest in collaboration.

[Ethan Pollack @ethanpollack]

🚨New Research🚨

Purdue's ambitious & controversial ISA program appears to have succeeded in providing an affordable, accessible, and nondiscriminatory alternative to Parent PLUS.

Super relevant now that Parent PLUS is capped and Grad PLUS is gone!

[Ethan Pollack @ethanpollack]

Context:
➡OBBBA will blow a >10% hole in the student loan market.
➡ Students will face financing gaps: some will drop out, forgo education entirely, or rely on risky private loans w/ no low-wage protections.
➡Institutions will need to step up to address student financing gaps.

[Preston Cooper @PrestonCooper93]

"Roughly two-thirds (58% – 74%) of [Purdue's] Back a Boiler students have paid less in the ISA than they would have paid in a comparable Parent PLUS loan." @ethanpollack https://t.co/34y2ers6jw

[Ethan Pollack @ethanpollack]

https://t.co/OiArJxT3bu

[Ethan Pollack @ethanpollack]

It's too early to definitively say if Purdue's ISA program was a success or not -- the vast majority of contracts are still in repayment. But this research should be encouraging to any institution looking to help its students address their financing gaps.

[Ethan Pollack @ethanpollack]

@PrestonCooper93 You chose wisely my friend

[Ethan Pollack @ethanpollack]

@hardtimesmaker @delislealleges I think the idea is that when borrowers have high income (i.e. when the IDR plan would require higher payments than the standard plan), they shouldn't be able to switch back to the standard plan to lower their monthly payments and thus push back the date of full repayment.

[Ethan Pollack @ethanpollack]

@clearSNR @PrestonCooper93 Yeah this is real. A more elegant approach would have been to just piggyback off of the tax system by adding a percentage point surcharge on existing marginal tax rates. But despite the cliff effects, I do like the progressive structure for distributional reasons.

[Ethan Pollack @ethanpollack]

@PrestonCooper93 @ernietedeschi This has two impacts:
1. Low-income borrowers (i.e. those who would otherwise fall under the earnings thresholds) would have to make monthly payments.
2. Monthly payments are calculated as % of AGI rather than % of discretionary income (i.e. income above threshold).

[Ethan Pollack @ethanpollack]

@PrestonCooper93 @ernietedeschi While similar to the Australian plan, there are also some big differences! Eliminating the earnings threshold is a big one. https://t.co/knlHZ2EvEJ

[Ethan Pollack @ethanpollack]

The new House GOP student loan plan looks similar to the Australian model: payment % is graduated (1%-10% depending on income) and no forgiveness. Main differences:

1. No earnings threshold
2. No interest capitalization
3. Principal balances guaranteed to fall by at least $50/m

[Ethan Pollack @ethanpollack]

Read more about the Australian model here: https://t.co/yNJsV66Nyc

[Ethan Pollack @ethanpollack]

The new House GOP student loan plan looks similar to the Australian model: payment % is graduated (1%-10% depending on income) and no forgiveness. Main differences:

1. No earnings threshold
2. No interest capitalization
3. Principal balances guaranteed to fall by at least $50/m

[Preston Cooper @PrestonCooper93]

House Republicans have proposed a new student loan repayment plan that would - for borrowers who keep up with their payments - prevent balances from rising over time.

Here's how it works:

[Ethan Mollick @emollick]

Large scale job displacements due to AI are likely to occur more slowly than a lot of people talking about AI and work might suspect.

Translators were paid more and in more demand a year after GPT-4 than they were the year it launched.

[Ethan Pollack @ethanpollack]

Making government more efficient is tough.

@TracyPalandjian proposes a common-sense (and bipartisan!) approach: what if government programs paid for outcomes rather than inputs?

Taxpayer dollars get higher ROI, and states & private sector get freedom to innovate new approaches.

[Social Finance @SocialFinanceUS]

In @TIME, @TracyPalandjian outlines principles beyond cost-cutting to achieve true #government efficiency: evaluating programs for effectiveness, funding those that work, and using financial mechanisms to maximize #taxpayer dollars.

Read the piece here: https://t.co/tlBusil6Wu

[Ethan Pollack @ethanpollack]

The federal workforce development system is so ignored in DC that when its reauthorization (first time in a decade!) dies, it doesn’t even get an obituary.

[Sam Stein @samstein]

Items in 1st bill that didn't make it to 3rd

* Act to ensure providers rural internet weren't ripping folks off

* Anti deepfake porn bill 

* $ for research on premature labor 

* $ for treatment of sickle cell

* $ for breast and cervical cancer early detection 

* program for down syndrome research

* Hotel Fees Transparency Act

[Julia Pollak @juliaonjobs]

How can you get ahead without a degree? There are 73 “launchpad” jobs where workers tend to earn more over time and have more job security than the median college grad, according to great research by ⁦⁦@TheBGInstitute⁩ https://t.co/4kQVuonUlx