Thank you Xeno for inspiring a bit of a comparative thought experiment of sorts.
All student debt could have been forgiven for the cost of...
A single year of “Pork Barrell Spending.”
1/8th of the War on Terror.
TARP and ARRA combined.
The F-35 program.
Now I'm grumpy about other stuff, lol.
Let them eat crudité.
He/Him
"A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play, his labour and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation." -L.P. Jacks
Thank you Xeno for inspiring a bit of a comparative thought experiment of sorts.
All student debt could have been forgiven for the cost of...
A single year of “Pork Barrell Spending.”
1/8th of the War on Terror.
TARP and ARRA combined.
The F-35 program.
Now I'm grumpy about other stuff, lol.
Let them eat crudité.
I have 5 kids that will benefit from this school loan credit. I am not complaining. I see it as politics at its worst, and I will tell my kids to enjoy the credit.
And yes. We should have paid off more loans before we sent more money to the war machines.
And yes, college tuition prices are an absolute joke. I could solve this problem in a single move - make school loans forgivable in bankruptcy. Done. The end.
My perspective of events is that Biden ran on student debt forgiveness-> he was duly elected-> current in-party politics prevent him from executing on that promise via Congress -> he is exercising his powers of the office that have been drastically increased over the years to fulfill it instead.
Is it just the timing you take issue with. And is that timing problem because midterms are "soonish" or due to current inflationary issues? Or am I totally missing your problem all together?
He/Him
"A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play, his labour and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation." -L.P. Jacks
On a personal level most of the folks I talk to agree that current financial model for college is busted they just are a bit grumpy they didn't get to benefit. When pressed a little further they seem to begrudgingly agree that this was a good thing for those folks.
I exited school in 2009, at the height of the recession, and finished up paying off my loans about 6 years later after doubling and tripling payments as often as I could. I’m OK with this happening to current loan holders, but I’m betting that I’d be a bit grumpy that I had ‘just missed out’ if I had wrapped up my loan payments last month.
Still, there’d be no anger directed at the folks who were trying to help, or the folks that managed to receive that help. That wouldn’t make much sense.
And yes, college tuition prices are an absolute joke. I could solve this problem in a single move - make school loans forgivable in bankruptcy. Done. The end.
For someone unable to handle their student loans, filing for bankruptcy would cost some money in and of itself, as well as severely damage that person’s credit rating for many years. If they’re planning on starting a family or purchasing a starter home in the following decade, they’ll be in for a surprise when they review their offered rates.
My perspective of events is that Biden ran on student debt forgiveness-> he was duly elected-> current in-party politics prevent him from executing on that promise via Congress -> he is exercising his powers of the office that have been drastically increased over the years to fulfill it instead.
Is it just the timing you take issue with. And is that timing problem because midterms are "soonish" or due to current inflationary issues? Or am I totally missing your problem all together?
Reasonable questions and assumptions.
I have an issue with it, and it is a huge issue. I should explain it better.
The highest paid public employees in almost every state in the Union are men’s football and basketball coaches at state universities. These schools also have enormous budgets for athletics and administrations. And yet, the consumers (students) are getting saddled with more debt for less valuable degrees.
Forgiving the loans does NOTHING to fix the problems. It only appeases some people for votes. Politics at its worst. The problem is clear - because school loans are unforgivable in bankruptcy the schools and banks will lend more money for crappy degrees because ALL the risk and burden is on the borrower. They are always senior to every other creditor. Even the IRS will negotiate credit, but not school loans.
The system is being mismanaged to benefit the banks, administrators, athletic departments and endowments while crushing the students and giving out useless degrees.
I have an issue with it, and it is a huge issue. I should explain it better.
The highest paid public employees in almost every state in the Union are men’s football and basketball coaches at state universities. These schools also have enormous budgets for athletics and administrations. And yet, the consumers (students) are getting saddled with more debt for less valuable degrees.
Forgiving the loans does NOTHING to fix the problems. It only appeases some people for votes. Politics at its worst. The problem is clear - because school loans are unforgivable in bankruptcy the schools and banks will lend more money for crappy degrees because ALL the risk and burden is on the borrower. They are always senior to every other creditor. Even the IRS will negotiate credit, but not school loans.
The system is being mismanaged to benefit the banks, administrators, athletic departments and endowments while crushing the students and giving out useless degrees.
Fair enough, and thanks for expanding.
For me I'd say politics at its worst would be continuing to do nothing. We obviously agree about some of the larger problems but I don't see this as upholding the current setup as good or right, I see it instead as a first step along the path of solving the problem. One bite at a time, and all that. I'd also say the folks who were previously drowning in that bad debt might view this as doing a little bit more than appealing to them for votes. For a bunch of them this will likely be life changing improvement in their financial situation, maybe I've still got too much optimism in me though.
Your bankruptcy idea is interesting but I suspect that may create more problems than it solves. You might be right that it may encourage better lending habits but if 2008 taught me anything it is that banks have to be told the right thing to do, when left to their own devices they will do whatever it takes to make the most money possible. I can easily imagining that by allowing for bankruptcy on student debt you'll just create scenarios where only the wealthiest have access to education, a problem for individuals and society at large.
He/Him
"A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play, his labour and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation." -L.P. Jacks
20 bucks says dudes will be charging their trucks at sites with generators, lol.
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Nice small relief, but doesn't really address the fire. Hopefully more states start to move in the direction of free community college for 2 year degrees and local trade schools (or bring trade funding and courses back to HS).
Yes. There will be guys plugging trucks into welders and generators on the job site. It has already been tried and a few have figure out how to pull it off.
I agree with you on these three points: Community College should be free, agreed. Trade schools should be paid apprenticeships, not just free. Trade schools should start in junior high, middle school and high school. Anything less than that is just BS.
Yes. There will be guys plugging trucks into welders and generators on the job site. It has already been tried and a few have figure out how to pull it off.
I agree with you on these three points: Community College should be free, agreed. Trade schools should be paid apprenticeships, not just free. Trade schools should start in junior high, middle school and high school. Anything less than that is just BS.
This is an excellent proposal.
- Doc
I kind of pushed past this as well for the conversation but I third (fourth?) that these are solid ideas.
He/Him
"A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play, his labour and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation." -L.P. Jacks
