The potential to erase all Federal Student Loan debt (Not political) (1 Viewer)

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I doubt they'll get all student debt, but any would be of great assistance to our youth.

I recall a while back seeing an article that claimed for the cost of servicing student debt, we could provide public universities for all. I think it's about time to at least consider bumping public education standards to a bachelor degree. High school is just way too far behind the times.
 
Someone just started almost this exact same thread over on the Political board, so I’ll just copy and paste what i wrote there a few minutes ago:



Personally i am of the opinion that the Biden Administration will completely forgive all student debt as one of it’s first orders of business.. and it’ll be a nice start, since I’m still paying mine off- but it’s only a start... There needs to be major help for people who‘ve been financially devastated through no fault of their own- after all, that’s WHY we pay taxes, and have a government at all.. i was telling a friend recently, i think it’s a no-brainer that they’ll wipe it out, but for me it’ll just put me back at square one where i was prior to the pandemic since I’ve had to run up an amount of debt (credit cards, loans) due to my loss of income- that is almost equal to what i owe in student loans... So yeah, a good start.
 
To be clear (because it wasn’t clear to me at first), we are speaking of Federal Student Loans, not Student Loans held by private companies.

I’m for it. Stimulate the economy. The thing that ultimately needs to be addressed is the price of a mediocre college education. Folks are paying crazy prices going to school to earn an education that won’t deliver the ROI that is required to pay off the student loan. Colleges next to correct that course, and student need to take their dollars to a university (or go to a Vo Tec) that can provide them that ROI.
 
I dont agree with erasing it completely

There has to be some responsibility on behalf of a person who knowingly takes out a loan and agrees to pay it back

I do, however, support reform on it. Forgiving some, drastically or possibly eliminating the interest, forgiving loans gotten for a school that goes out of business....I am open to discussing a lot of options
 
I’m one for wanting kids to have the responsibility of having some debt, and some responsibility to carry. I know I did, and I know I paid mine off. But when my daughters in state tuition at a state school ran about 25000 a year, that’s an utter joke to me. States have pushed the expense of college off on students and families, with very little to no accountability. There are a lot of ways kids get screwed over on this. No part time job can even make a scratch in the costs of living during college, and most families don’t have the ability to simply pay it.

I look at my own children. The biggest thing that the feds could do is chop the interest rate on private loans as those rates are ridiculous. Also, for the buttload of cash that’s been blown in my life on absolutely stupid things (war in Iraq, however many trillions handed out to banks during the recession and Covid, the ton of cash handed out to businesses during this same time) I mean come on.

people can scream accountability all you want. I know a lot of kids who are accountable, and who are paying their debts. But, if you stand back and look for the good of society, that generation is caught under a huge amount of debt. They aren’t buying houses, cars or other major purchases because they simply cannot. If Biden wants to really get the economy going again, he is going to have to provide some relief as the baby boom generation is pretty much done with driving the economy, as the last are nearing retirement age. GenX is in the main purchasing time, but a lot of us are starting to get things set for retirement planning. So where is your big economic potential at? Pouring thousands to banks. And what is the economy getting out of that? Not encouraging manufacturing, or construction that’s for sure.
Also, look at the birth rate for the generations past x. It’s very low and if you focus on college grad even lower yet. If you leave child raising to the bottom of the economic scale, and right now policy is pushing that way, statistically the costs of raising, education and care are much higher to society in whole. In other words the ones who should be having kids that will spend big amounts on them are not, once again hurting the economy.
 
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I think this could be very much a reality with the Biden administration.

The upside to doing this would cause massive stimulus to the economy and free the burden of crushing student loan debt to 40 million Americans.
Bad move. What about those that took ownership, such as I, to help payoff debt for my daughter? I am helping her by having taken a short term 2nd mortgage. Interest rate is far less, than on a student loan.

Additionally, what I have issue with, is if you can attend a public university to get the same degree you could get at a private university and where you may pay 2-3 times more for the same degree, why would you put yourself in that added debt? A much bigger issue. Why would anyone get a seconday degree in say social work, where the cost of the degree will take 20 years to pay off, because the jobs one could get earning a large salary is so limited?

My sentiments towards universities that offer BS degrees in fields of work, that 1) have an extremely high cost and 2) those jobs associated with that degree, are very limited. And the jobs that do exist, even in a nominal way, do not pay enough to pay off the debt.

At the end of the day, my kids, along with my wife and I, are not responsible to help pay off others student loan debt, through higher taxes...etc. YOU TOOK THE CHANCE. YOU ON THE HOOK. PAY YOUR DEBT! End of story. Be responsible.
 
Someone just started almost this exact same thread over on the Political board, so I’ll just copy and paste what i wrote there a few minutes ago:



Personally i am of the opinion that the Biden Administration will completely forgive all student debt as one of it’s first orders of business.. and it’ll be a nice start, since I’m still paying mine off- but it’s only a start... There needs to be major help for people who‘ve been financially devastated through no fault of their own- after all, that’s WHY we pay taxes, and have a government at all.. i was telling a friend recently, i think it’s a no-brainer that they’ll wipe it out, but for me it’ll just put me back at square one where i was prior to the pandemic since I’ve had to run up an amount of debt (credit cards, loans) due to my loss of income- that is almost equal to what i owe in student loans... So yeah, a good start.
Sorry for your debt., of student loans. But you should have thought about the fact of your debt. prior to going into the major of YOUR choice! My daughter, along with a number of her college friends, are paying their way through their debt. They are taking responsibility for their money owed.

Let me ask this question. So if I purchased a much larger home, because I could say get a lower than market average interest rate, and I knew at the end of say 5 years, that interest rate would then be higher than the average rate projected in 5 years across the market, should I expect the government to bail me out, with “forgiveness”? What are we doing here? Let’s all expect others to pay off our debt. Put your big boy pants on. Quit whining and TAKE OWNERSHIP and be responsible!

And it is not the responsibility of the federal government, to pay for your irresponsible financial decisions. Nor I, or my children.
 
I’m one for wanting kids to have the responsibility of having some debt, and some responsibility to carry. I know I did, and I know I paid mine off. But when my daughters in state tuition at a state school ran about 25000 a year, that’s an utter joke to me. States have pushed the expense of college off on students and families, with very little to no accountability. There are a lot of ways kids get screwed over on this. No part time job can even make a scratch in the costs of living during college, and most families don’t have the ability to simply pay it.

I look at my own children. The biggest thing that the feds could do is chop the interest rate on private loans as those rates are ridiculous. Also, for the buttload of cash that’s been blown in my life on absolutely stupid things (war in Iraq, however many trillions handed out to banks during the recession and Covid, the ton of cash handed out to businesses during this same time) I mean come on.

people can scream accountability all you want. I know a lot of kids who are accountable, and who are paying their debts. But, if you stand back and look for the good of society, that generation is caught under a huge amount of debt. They aren’t buying houses, cars or other major purchases because they simply cannot. If Biden wants to really get the economy going again, he is going to have to provide some relief as the baby boom generation is pretty much done with driving the economy, as the last are nearing retirement age. GenX is in the main purchasing time, but a lot of us are starting to get things set for retirement planning. So where is your big economic potential at? Pouring thousands to banks. And what is the economy getting out of that? Not encouraging manufacturing, or construction that’s for sure.
Also, look at the birth rate for the generations past x. It’s very low and if you focus on college grad even lower yet. If you leave child raising to the bottom of the economic scale, and right now policy is pushing that way, statistically the costs of raising, education and care are much higher to society in whole. In other words the ones who should be having kids that will spend big amounts on them are not, once again hurting the economy.
I agree partially with what you have written. The feds. can certainly make accommodations with the interest. How about, 0% interest and paying out the loan over a given number of years, each person elects to do so. And as one’s earnings go up, they pay a little bit more. Pretty simple. I think long term, it will be only more of a burden, not only for those actually paying their debt, but for those that would be given total, or even partial forgiveness. Some way, some how, that money will be reclaimed by the feds. Either through higher taxes, or by higher federally imposed fees. And those fees may be added on in some way to future college tuitions, making loans down the road, even worse!

The bottom line is. EVERYONE SIMPLY CANNOT EXPECT TO BE BAILED OUT OF DEBT. I want the feds to forgive my 2nd mortgage I took out to pay my daughter’s student loans. Is that right? NO it is not! I knew what was involved. I have to live with it and she is paying me back.
 
To be clear (because it wasn’t clear to me at first), we are speaking of Federal Student Loans, not Student Loans held by private companies.

I’m for it. Stimulate the economy. The thing that ultimately needs to be addressed is the price of a mediocre college education. Folks are paying crazy prices going to school to earn an education that won’t deliver the ROI that is required to pay off the student loan. Colleges next to correct that course, and student need to take their dollars to a university (or go to a Vo Tec) that can provide them that ROI.
Blame the universities as the root cause for offereing degreed programs, in fields of work, where graduates will find it difficult just to land a job, much less be able to earn a decent living. Add in, the secondary degree programs.
 
I don’t know all the details of federal student debt. My first impression is, your debt, your responsibility. I have never been bailed out of any of my debt. Even the ones that turned out to be bad decisions, lesson learned.
 
bigger problem is the cause of the debt and the resulting payoff

having gov offer free Univ. just means a different entity is paying for it, its not free

there needs to be cost controls regardless who pays - potentially turning many degrees into 3 yr by cutting the electives (i took 3 semesters of p.e. (still cheaper than a gym for what i received but it takes up time)) and any other measures to lessen cost

student loan debt should be a pre-tax deduction , would also look into the using of partial SSI payroll deduction to be allocated to load debt should the person desire as it is an investment into one future

)
 
I don’t know all the details of federal student debt. My first impression is, your debt, your responsibility. I have never been bailed out of any of my debt. Even the ones that turned out to be bad decisions, lesson learned.
You agreed to the loan and the terms. Pay it back. Just like a car, or a house. So after this debt is paid off for all these students, what do we do?? Start over again, then in 20 yrs, pay those students debt off?? Where does it end? Do we pay off physician loans, people that are making 500,000/yr.? I agree, the debt and cost of college is out of control But guess who caused itGovernment, handing out free money to people. After the universities figured out the idiotic government was stupid enough to just had out cash, they just kept increasing the price to attend, and the gov just keeps handing it out.

Anytime the government is involved its political. I like how that was thrown into the thread title.
 
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I don't like the idea of outright forgiveness, either. I do agree they could do some things with the interest rates. Have it at 0% for the first 3-4 years, then slowly increase. There are ways to help without putting a noose on the average taxpayer.

The point made about public vs. private universities is a valid one. Some of these schools charge 25K and up per semester. To just forgive that kind of debt on the backs of the American taxpayer is very un-American.

The other thing nobody wants to even consider is the overall cost. One day our national debt will choke the life out of this country. I never thought it would be in my lifetime, but government spending is a runaway train.....so anything is possible at the rate we are going.
 
Blame the universities as the root cause for offereing degreed programs, in fields of work, where graduates will find it difficult just to land a job, much less be able to earn a decent living. Add in, the secondary degree programs.
While I agree with this concerning the degree programs. This wasn't a problem until the gov't started giving out thousands of dollars to 18yr olds.
 
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