This is pretty much how it works in my country (Australia). Those earning under 55k are not required to make repayments, and those who never earn that salary do not repay a cent.
The government of course loses money on this scheme, but the people would tear down any government that tried to revoke it. It's an important and fair middle ground between national free ride and a USA-style 'sins of the father' system. Also note that the repayment amount is nowhere near the true cost of the degree, due to Conmonwealth-supported places.
If you have time to work your way through school at current US tuition, you are probably taking courses below your level.
But does the college ever get to hit it big in Australia? If one of your students goes on to earn millions do you get 3% of that? Or is it capped at some value?
The Australian system is like an interest-free loan that you don't have to make repayments on until you earn above a certain threshold. The government gets the same return from a student making $60k as one making $1m through the scheme.
(Currently the amount you owe is indexed with inflation. At the moment the federal government is trying to change it to accrue interest at the bond rate (3.8%-6% rather than 2%-3%) and reduce the income level before you have to start making repayments, but it's unlikely they will be able to get the votes to get this through the senate.)
The government of course loses money on this scheme, but the people would tear down any government that tried to revoke it. It's an important and fair middle ground between national free ride and a USA-style 'sins of the father' system. Also note that the repayment amount is nowhere near the true cost of the degree, due to Conmonwealth-supported places.
If you have time to work your way through school at current US tuition, you are probably taking courses below your level.