I graduated almost 15 years ago, and I am starting to think that anyone who graduated more than a few years ago simply cannot comprehend how bad it is to have to pay for school now. Average annual tuition at all 4-year institutions is just under $29k.[0] Real median HHI for the same year was $65k.[1] As a student you simply cannot work enough to pay for school anymore; it's not physically possible. So loans, grants, scholarships etc are a requirement.
Completely unrelated to the math, the idea that everyone with a high loan balance is there because of "piss poor decisions" is not only insulting, but also idiotic. You need to have a pretty impressive lack of understanding about a half dozen or so topics to truly believe that.
[0] https://www.ontocollege.com/average-college-tuition/ [1] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N
Maybe I do have an impressive lack of understanding of a dozen or so topics, but I grew up as the oldest of over 5 children to a single mother who was a school teacher, I spent most of my school time on free or reduced lunch, and was categorized statistically speaking as likely to end up low achieving. So sure there might be mitigating circumstances for some people, but I don't think that we can completely abscond with the idea of personal responsibility.
Further the reason school costs have continued to rise is because the schools know everyone will get a loan for it because the government pumps a bunch of money into just this one sector through the loans, by forgiving loans you are incentivizing a continuation of school's increasing price because they face no consequences for it and will still receive the money they want.
Finally if you aren't convinced by my account, I have a friend currently finishing his degree, he has spent his entire summer laying concrete in the hot sun for hours a day, busting his but to provide for his family and have enough money to finish his degree, so that is currently happening. To pretend that college can't be afforded without ridiculous loan is hokum.
> So the most important follow-up question to all of this is when did you do it? College costs have risen exponentially faster than just about everything other than healthcare, especially over the last 10-20 years.
The only kind of student debt forgiveness that I'd maybe support is the kind that allowed the debt to be discharged in a bankruptcy, then claw back the money from the school. That would create consequences that would incentivize positive changes. A money giveaway would just be a socialize-the-risk/privatize-the-gains perversion.
Do you have an example? Like buying too much house and getting then getting fired from your job?
I suppose the bankruptcy judge could make a determination of the student debt was a major cause of the bankruptcy, and only clawing back the money in those cases.
> Especially if nothing else about the current climate changes, all that will do is cause costs to rise even faster as the school just increases tuition to compensate.
But wouldn't that quickly spiral out of control for the school? If they just increase tuition, then they'd get more money clawed back down the road (assuming it's an ongoing policy, not a one-time program). I'm thinking they'd mainly have to cut costs, dip into endowments, or do some fundraising to fill the gap.
Insult to injury, ITT didn't actually teach students much. At least with the scammy mortgages, you sort of got a house.
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It seems to me the Biden Admin is doing triage, reviewing the student loans very deliberately, cancelling categories on a case-by-case basis.
I have no dog in this fight and only a shallow understanding of the issue. I expect that Biden Admin continue to cancel and reduce the most egregious loans. And then provide some kind of relief to the remaining borrowers who are most pear shaped.
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Our society and government forgives debts all the time. Bankruptcy and bailouts. Crucial to keeping our economy healthy.
I don't see why individual's debts, like student loans, should be treated any differently.
That's a fairly flawed assumption.
Funny how going to the best school that you're talented enough to get admitted to is considered a bad decision. That's fine though, just don't try to tell me that society is a "meritocracy", as opposed to an aristocracy.
The worst decision I ever made was being born to parents who couldn't afford to pay for an expensive education. I'll always regret that.
When I was 18, I had to pass up the opportunity to go to an Ivy League school. I went to a state school instead. Some people might claim that was the "responsible" choice, but it wasn't even my choice, it was my parents' choice. I don't think I was directly eligible for loans at the time; if I was, I might have taken them.
I mean I worked full-time through school, raised a family and still managed to finish my BS in 18 months and MS in 12 more a few years later, mostly because I didn't want to end up in debt.
It seems pretty messed up that I've been strenuously paying back student loans to avoid debt, and then the people that partied hearty during school get their loans forgiven because they make piss poor decisions.