Our student loans were around 1% interest while a man in another shiny tower would give 4% interest. So the logic here is to borrow from one to lend to another.

There's a trick with credit cards which might not work in all countries. You max out one credit card, get all the loyalty benefits and free flights, then pay it off with another credit card before any interest is charged. I guess nobody feels bad about ripping off the man in the shiny tower.