Perhaps all college, college housing, and college dining plans should be free, but until that time happens, I don't understand this argument.

> The debt isn’t real,

How come?

IMO the cost and value of college have long since diverged. Colleges and creditors are colluding and, unfortunately, many borrowers feel they have no choice but to participate in this sick game.

Debt is only real if someone is out that money.

You’re asking how a line item in a database isn’t real?

Isn't your paycheck a line item in your employer's database?

My employer is not a nation state or central bank.

It's clear you are just trolling. By your logic, federal employees shouldn't get paid, since their salaries are just lines in the government ledger.

Arguing discharging debt not originated in good faith is not trolling. My argument is this debt could be discharged without ill effect, to not to is a choice (and a poor choice at that, with economic consequences).

Debt is not written in stone. It is always negotiable, and only sometimes enforceable. There is no morality around debt, so I’m unsure why the strong feels around why this debt can’t be forgiven or renegotiated.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt:_The_First_5,000_Years

Discharging debts increases inflation, and is essentially a hidden tax on everyone else who made more responsible choices.

>There is no morality around debt, so I’m unsure why the strong feels around why this debt can’t be forgiven or renegotiated.

What does this mean? It seems like the vast majority of people see it as a moral issue, both for discharging or collecting it.

Talk to people who feel trapped by their debt, and people who worked hard to pay off their debt, and they will often be clear on this.

I've defaulted on hundreds of thousands of dollars of federally insured debt strategically (as the credit hit was cheaper than paying back the debt), so I guess make better choices than pay debts you don't have to? It's just a contract. If someone sees it as a moral issue, that is a personal deficiency; I recommend speaking to a therapist. The loss rate is baked into the credit pricing and potentially credit insurance the borrower is required to pay. Don't allow your feelings to bind you beyond contractual requirements, that's a self made prison. Like religion, it’s just another belief system used to exert control.

This is just hacking another system imho. Your opinion may differ.

In general, I agree that people don't have a moral duty to act beyond their contractual obligations.

With respect to student debt, it isn't just an individual choice to default. That isn't a contractual option available.

Instead, some people are seeking positive action from others to void the contract, and this is action is politically contested by those with the power to do so.

Why not send me $100k then? It's just a line in a database after all.

Did you incur that debt because your country is dysfunctional, doesn’t provide education at a reasonable cost, and you were told it was the only path to a good job? Probably not.

[argument withdrawn]

I have plenty of friends that graduated from state schools and incurred no debt, all in the US. Does that invalidate your points about the inability to get an education at a reasonable cost?

> I’m sure you’d have no problem burning millions of dollars of VC funding on a low value business idea, as if that would be of superior economic value.

You know absolutely nothing about me.

State schools aren't some magical catch all free education place. You might know some people who pulled it off but there are a lot of us that didn't.

I know several people that went to school in NJ. I just looked up the costs and it's < $10k/year. That's pretty reasonable and NJ is a high cost of living state. No one said there is a magical catch all.