"The troubled student-loan market is a hot topic among legislators, policy makers, and the public," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports. "Yet despite all the talk about loans, little has been proposed to help college students and their families with the ever-greater debts that probably lie ahead. A partial solution would be to create a federal program to provide tax benefits - or, in the case of nonprofit organizations, grant money - to employers that assist the college, proprietary-school, and advanced-degree graduates they hire with repaying their student loans. The employer would pay the monthly principal on the debt, reaping tax benefits depending upon the design and reporting of the benefit. The student would be responsible only for the monthly interest, paying it through a payroll deduction for as long as it takes to retire the debt. The employee would then be able to deduct that paid student-loan interest on his tax return, as is currently allowed under IRS rules."