Student loans: Will Congress's remedy favor middle class over poor?

Moreover, economists often call education spending an investment that pays dividends back to the nation by boosting the quality of the work force, generating economic growth, and raising individual incomes. In turn, all that helps to make the US more competitive in the global economy and means higher tax revenue for the government over time.

Obama has echoed those themes in recent speeches.

"In America, higher education cannot be a luxury. It’s an economic imperative that every family must be able to afford," he said in his weekly address to the nation from the White House Saturday.

In North Carolina on Tuesday, the president stuck up for Pell grants. 

"Congress needs to safeguard aid for low-income students, like Pell grants, so that today’s freshmen and sophomores know that they’ll be able to count on it," Obama said. He also called on lawmakers to double the number of work-study jobs, so students can earn more of their way through school.

But the president made his hardest sell on the student-loan front, urging that the low interest rates set by Congress in legislation five years ago be extended. He has also called for extending his American Opportunity tax credit, which eases college costs primarily for middle-class families. 

Some Republicans, including presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney, have embraced the cause of extending the interest rate on federal student loans. 

A sticking point between the two parties, as Congress considers student-loan legislation, could be the question of how to pay the $6 billion price tag.

In his effort to turn up heat on Congress and to solidify his support among young voters, Obama is blasting Republicans as out of touch on the debt issue.

"The Republicans who run Congress right now have not yet said whether or not they’ll stop your rates from doubling.... Some have hinted that they’d only do it if we cut things like aid for low-income students instead."

For their part, Republicans say Obama's economic policies are to blame for today's weak job market – a key reason many recent graduates are having trouble paying back their loans.

Economists generally say the payoff is high from investing in education, but that not every young person should aim to get a four-year degree.

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