I remember my Father, working 80 hours a week, to put his 4 kids through college. We all also worked at least 20 hours a week while going to college. And I remember my mother squeezing every nickel until 6 cents dripped out of it. JUST so we wouldn't be burdened with debt after we graduated.
I know that some people weren't as "lucky" as we were, and couldn't pay for college without debt. I don't begrudge them getting their subsidized loans. Or their ability to actually put full effort into learning, instead of hitting the books after an 8-hour shift on your feet.
But...taking my taxes, and giving them a government handout--because they mismanaged their previous government handout.... Not gunna lie, that's pretty hard to take.
Where's my Dad's $20,000 compensation? Make that $80,000 compensation, because he put 4 kids through? Where's my compensation for getting B's in some classes instead of A's, because I just couldn't study enough after working all week?
I know that some might find it "hard" or "inconvenient" to pay back these student loans....but guys, you already got your government subsidy. You are supposed to be putting money back in to help the next generation, not just soaking us all for another round of money, because youblewit.
This kind of taking money from people who managed their finances well, and giving it to those who didn't, is what gives liberalism a bad name....
"I didn't have it good so the next generation shouldn't either."
Student loans in the US are very predatory. This is a good step towards student loan reform, hopefully, and definitely a welcome boom for many struggling americans. Much better than tax cuts for people who have high incomes, for sure!
Right. Until the schools start losing money, there is zero incentive for them to reign in costs. That doesn't mean I want to see people suffer under the burden of their loans but this program isn't solving the right problem.
Investigate the schools. What claims were made in the advertising? What did they know about the economic realities of graduates and when? Some of this was probably fraud. If you are telling kids "come have a bright future at my college" and statistically, that isn't happening, you probably should have to give the money back.
Do you mean the loans are predatory, or the people who sell them? Like any financial product, they have at times been sold fraudulently--but this is already illegal and you can get remedy through the courts.
I've heard the loans being called predatory because they are interest-only loans. But, if you have the discipline, interest-only loans are an excellent tool for managing risk.
For example, I got an interest-only mortgage on my house when I moved to the valley. I felt better about joining a startup, because I knew I could ratchet down my monthly spend if I had to do an extended job search.
Of course, this means that you have to have the discipline to pay more than the minimum each month when you are getting a paycheck. Ideally, you should pay until it hurts, because the faster you pay down the principle the sooner you are free.
Yes, this means you'll have to buy fewer SUV's, or no SUVs at all and take the bus. Yes, you won't be able to eat out every meal--or perhaps any meal. I feel for you, I've been there, but that's life. Welcome to the wonderful world of being an adult.
If, after graduating from high school, you can't do enough math to compare the monthly student loan payments with the monthly income of your chosen major, well, that's on you. You should have payed more attention in school.
If, after graduating from college, you don't have the critical thinking skills to know that you need to pay down the principle on your loan--or it will eventually explode, well, that's on you too.
In either case, if you don't have the self-discipline to manage your money effectively, it doesn't matter how much money the government gives you.
Exactly where is my reimbursement. I was not super wealthy but I prioritized my kids college education and made sure to pay for it to avoid them having to go into debt over it. This produced a, not insignificant hardship, to the family but it was worth it. How do I apply for some of this money?
Is this more of the lazy people get free stuff and responsible people who contribute to society gets screwed again? People wonder why there's such a political divide and I'm telling you that political divide is largely around whose hand is in your wallet. We need to cut this entire welfare state off at the knees. If you wanted a free education you could have scraped together a few thousand dollars and gone to Germany and got your free education. Don't expect the average taxpayer to pay for it.
Just be glad the President can grant free money so that he can be reelected. You wouldn't want the other guy to be in office would you? It's a small price to pay...
sigh it would pain me. But let's face it: if the survival of our democracy depends on the votes of people whose votes can be bought and sold, it's already gone.
Agree with the sentiment as I was also raised on a household where both my parents worked and (while we were not frugal) we took care of every $, and I learned at a young age not to get myself into deals that I could not honor, including, of course, not asking for money you can't or don't know how you'll pay back.
I don't think this is constitutional, in the sense that it really is unfair to some people who made the extra effort to fulfill their financial obligations, they should also get something back.
Also, the elephant in the room is dropping this a few months before the election definitely looks like a political move, but let's not devolve the conversation into that ...
I think this is sending the absolute worst message you can to both sides of people involved here:
* To the ones who paid their debt, it tells them "sorry, sucker, thanks for the $$$"; not explicitly, but that's definitely how I would feel about it.
* To the ones who didn't pay, it could create the impression that debt is forgivable. You do not want this message to spread, particularly in a country like the US where debt is so fundamental for pretty much everything. You do not want more people taking on debt with a more careless approach. You also definitely do not want to do that in this particular moment where there's a lot of uncertainty about the US hegemony over the rest of the world. $7B is nothing for a country like the US; but this will create a sentiment that could cripple the economy for years on end.
There's a third group of people as well, what about those who decided not to study, or to attend some small community college, because they couldn't afford a more expensive alternative? Now it turns out it was free all the time? Dang.
Comments
I remember my Father, working 80 hours a week, to put his 4 kids through college. We all also worked at least 20 hours a week while going to college. And I remember my mother squeezing every nickel until 6 cents dripped out of it. JUST so we wouldn't be burdened with debt after we graduated.
I know that some people weren't as "lucky" as we were, and couldn't pay for college without debt. I don't begrudge them getting their subsidized loans. Or their ability to actually put full effort into learning, instead of hitting the books after an 8-hour shift on your feet.
But...taking my taxes, and giving them a government handout--because they mismanaged their previous government handout.... Not gunna lie, that's pretty hard to take.
Where's my Dad's $20,000 compensation? Make that $80,000 compensation, because he put 4 kids through? Where's my compensation for getting B's in some classes instead of A's, because I just couldn't study enough after working all week?
I know that some might find it "hard" or "inconvenient" to pay back these student loans....but guys, you already got your government subsidy. You are supposed to be putting money back in to help the next generation, not just soaking us all for another round of money, because you blew it.
This kind of taking money from people who managed their finances well, and giving it to those who didn't, is what gives liberalism a bad name....
"I didn't have it good so the next generation shouldn't either."
Student loans in the US are very predatory. This is a good step towards student loan reform, hopefully, and definitely a welcome boom for many struggling americans. Much better than tax cuts for people who have high incomes, for sure!
I'd argue quite the opposite. By "fixing" the problem with half measures like this ensures the problem will continue.
Right. Until the schools start losing money, there is zero incentive for them to reign in costs. That doesn't mean I want to see people suffer under the burden of their loans but this program isn't solving the right problem.
My solution?
Investigate the schools. What claims were made in the advertising? What did they know about the economic realities of graduates and when? Some of this was probably fraud. If you are telling kids "come have a bright future at my college" and statistically, that isn't happening, you probably should have to give the money back.
Do you mean the loans are predatory, or the people who sell them? Like any financial product, they have at times been sold fraudulently--but this is already illegal and you can get remedy through the courts.
I've heard the loans being called predatory because they are interest-only loans. But, if you have the discipline, interest-only loans are an excellent tool for managing risk.
For example, I got an interest-only mortgage on my house when I moved to the valley. I felt better about joining a startup, because I knew I could ratchet down my monthly spend if I had to do an extended job search.
Of course, this means that you have to have the discipline to pay more than the minimum each month when you are getting a paycheck. Ideally, you should pay until it hurts, because the faster you pay down the principle the sooner you are free.
Yes, this means you'll have to buy fewer SUV's, or no SUVs at all and take the bus. Yes, you won't be able to eat out every meal--or perhaps any meal. I feel for you, I've been there, but that's life. Welcome to the wonderful world of being an adult.
If, after graduating from high school, you can't do enough math to compare the monthly student loan payments with the monthly income of your chosen major, well, that's on you. You should have payed more attention in school.
If, after graduating from college, you don't have the critical thinking skills to know that you need to pay down the principle on your loan--or it will eventually explode, well, that's on you too.
In either case, if you don't have the self-discipline to manage your money effectively, it doesn't matter how much money the government gives you.
Exactly where is my reimbursement. I was not super wealthy but I prioritized my kids college education and made sure to pay for it to avoid them having to go into debt over it. This produced a, not insignificant hardship, to the family but it was worth it. How do I apply for some of this money?
Is this more of the lazy people get free stuff and responsible people who contribute to society gets screwed again? People wonder why there's such a political divide and I'm telling you that political divide is largely around whose hand is in your wallet. We need to cut this entire welfare state off at the knees. If you wanted a free education you could have scraped together a few thousand dollars and gone to Germany and got your free education. Don't expect the average taxpayer to pay for it.
Just be glad the President can grant free money so that he can be reelected. You wouldn't want the other guy to be in office would you? It's a small price to pay...
sigh it would pain me. But let's face it: if the survival of our democracy depends on the votes of people whose votes can be bought and sold, it's already gone.
>you could have scraped together a few thousand dollars and gone to Germany
Perfect solution, US citizens should burden the German taxpayer to pay for their education, instead of their own country. /s
Agree with the sentiment as I was also raised on a household where both my parents worked and (while we were not frugal) we took care of every $, and I learned at a young age not to get myself into deals that I could not honor, including, of course, not asking for money you can't or don't know how you'll pay back.
I don't think this is constitutional, in the sense that it really is unfair to some people who made the extra effort to fulfill their financial obligations, they should also get something back.
Also, the elephant in the room is dropping this a few months before the election definitely looks like a political move, but let's not devolve the conversation into that ...
I think this is sending the absolute worst message you can to both sides of people involved here:
There's a third group of people as well, what about those who decided not to study, or to attend some small community college, because they couldn't afford a more expensive alternative? Now it turns out it was free all the time? Dang.