We Must Cancel Everyone’s Student Debt, for the Economy’s Sake

Re:We Must Cancel Everyone’s Student Debt, for the Economy’s... by maccard on Saturday February 10, 2018 @10:22AM (#16347646)

We have this system in the UK, you pay 9% on everything above 21k, and the debt is written off after 25(?) years. It’s a stealth tax on the poor/low middle earners. Anyone who can afford to not take out the loans ends up with a 9% pay rise. Anyone who can afford to pay them back early (high earning graduates) end up saving. Then you end up with the majority of people who will end up paying back many many times the debt over in interest.

A fairer option for all would be a flat graduate tax where all graduates pay x% of their earnings over a threshol.

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Re:We Must Cancel Everyone’s Student Debt, for the Economy’s... by nabla9 on Saturday February 10, 2018 @10:45AM (#16347757)

>Anyone who can afford to not take out the loans ends up with a 9% pay rise.

You must take into account the potential capital income they lost and paying the risk of not getting well paying job from their own purse. If the government substituted loan has little lower rate than market rate, the choice between taking a loan versus paying it beforehand can be neutral or close to neutral.

>Anyone who can afford to pay them back early (high earning graduates) end up saving.

Isn't that a good thing? Aligning the incentives of the lender and the borrower.

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