Can you imagine how much of that debt was used to party? Forgiving that would be such a break for those young folks.
I have a friend that had a full ride athletic scholarship for football. He racked up 100k in student debt from partying, traveling, and living the life of luxury while in college. He's in his early 40s and still hasn't paid it off. I'm not okay with forgiving THAT debt.
"Why Sticking Everyone’s College Debt To Future Taxpayers Is Stupid And Immoral." an excerpt: Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has proposed a college debt payoff that she claims out-socialists Bernie Sanders. She may be right. Her proposal calls for not only universal “free” college, but also totally wiping out the college debt of 95 percent of borrowers, with some benefits available for people up with incomes reaching all the way up to $250,000. The plan is being sold as a boon to cash-strapped millennials and Gen-Zers, but the real recipients of largess will be the institutions that offer those magical degrees: the universities. The biggest losers will be middle-class Americans. Americans’ collective $1.5 trillion in student loan debt, mostly in government-backed loans, is likely to be the next looming financial crisis. Instead of underwriting loans that hand out money to “subprime” borrowers who couldn’t afford their mansions, the government now loans money to 17-year-olds to major in basket weaving, and taxpayers depend on debt-staggered students to pay it back despite unrealized income promises. The only happy partners in this equation are the universities, which continue to turn ever-higher tuition, millions in direct federal grants, and tax-free endowments into sprawling diversity departments staffed by administrators with six-figure salaries. more at the link: https://thefederalist.com/2019/04/2...college-debt-future-taxpayers-stupid-immoral/
The government would also lose so much interest. The way these loans are structured even with low interest rates but for 30 years generates crazy interest. I am glad I never took a loan. My wife at age 35 finally can see the light at the end of the tunnel on her's.
No offense Os, but here's a more reasoned critical take on Warren's plan (one that doesn't mention basket-weaving as a degree plan) https://www.insidehighered.com/news...-moves-goalposts-college-affordability-debate
thanks for this. but there's still a basic fairness issue at the root of any type of loan forgiveness program, particularly in light of the following: "The cost of the plan would be offset by a proposed tax on the ultrarich that would hit the 75,000 wealthiest families in the U.S. and raise $2.75 trillion over a decade." but a good article.
I'm OK with the idea of providing student loans at 0% interest. I'm not OK with forgiving student loans. This is not a nanny state. All decisions have consequences and it's not the tax payers' responsibility to forgive those who decided to go to Arizona State for a communications degree. Not everyone needs a 4 year degree to make a good living and young adults need to understand that some degrees wont ever provide a better ROI. Maybe I'm biased. I have student loans, but my AGI puts me out of her proposed forgiveness range.
Sounds like yes, you are totally biased. Why do they benefit but not me? I was fortunate enough to not have to worry about student loans, but my wife does have a good size balance left she is paying on. I have friends from school that had over $200K in debt after graduating (undergrad + grad). Pretty daunting number, and that's before we go adult and buy a house with a mortgage. I don't think I would be in favor of completely forgiving student loan debt, but I applaud the plans to combat rising education costs. Something has to be done there. Hate on this proposal all you want, but at least bring with you a solution to curbing these rising education costs. I like the idea of 0-1% interest loans as well.
I agree. I graduated after 2 years, paid off my loans way early by living a life of a broke person while my friends took 5 plus years and traveled and blew money on stuff they didn't need. They made their choices to borrow that money. I expect them to pay for them.
My issue is mainly with the rising cost of education it is obscene at the moment as is actually a bad investment IMO.
Congrats on finishing your degree in two years. Some people work their asses off and it still takes 4-5 years to complete. Student loans don't pay for living expenses. Some people have to balance a near full time work load while trying to find an additional 40-50 hrs a week for school work. Personally I don't think the limiting factor for receiving higher education should be money but rather academic merit, let alone cost anywhere near it does today. I don't buy the "it isn't fair" argument. Did that mean we shouldn't have enacted the GI Bill because it wouldn't have been fair to older veterans who had to pay for college? Is it fair to decriminalize weed when people served decade long sentences for possession of weed? That line of argument can apply to almost any type of reform.
If we're going to be taxing wealth with the intent of education, I'd rather see that spent on primary and secondary education. But yes, something does need to be done with rising college costs, I just don't believe in forgiving the consequences of decisions.
Yep. Paying mine off now. Min payment is roughly $500/mo and I'm paying about $1,200. This whole platform seems like an attempt to pay for votes.
Not nearly enough to not need a part time job at least if you are fully independent. I personally don't have much experience with student loans because of the GI Bill. Besides I know plenty who rely on student loans and they still need to work at least part time. They probably aren't willing to request a loan amount for living expenses anyways and would just take out loans for the actual tuition because they don't want to be in any more debt.
You're acting as if they took out loans for luxury sports cars. They made a decision to improve their lives and their impact on society. We should encourage that. Again, like I said before, the barrier for higher education shouldn't be money but rather academic merit.
