Obama's plan for student loans

Be an adult.

Pay off what you owe.

Sorry if that offends those with massive loan obligations.

 

I hate to paint with a broad brush stroke (and don't intend to offend anyone here), but it's been interesting to watch the the growth of student debt, over the couple decades I was in the biz. I've worked in states, privates, D-1's, D-3's and Jucos. Pretty broad base of experience.

When I started out, school was (obviously) cheaper. Both in "real money", and in just about every way you can look at it (% of family income, relative to inflation, etc). At least, in public (state) schools. In addition, families had either a) done a better job of saving / preparing, or b) were willing to bite the bullet / live a more spartan lifestyle to put their kid through school.

Now, it's just different. In a lot of ways, I suppose it mirrors a lot of what got folks into credit card debt issues. Families (and students) just didn't blink at the thought of borrowing vs. just sucking up and paying.

Most markedly, though, is the definition of what's "necessary" with the students themselves. Whether it be living off campus, a year studying abroad, a TV in the dorm room, a car at school, "having" to take a 5th year to finish, on and on.....it's just a different breed of kid these days. One who's willing to borrow to the gills, for what used to be consider a "luxury" part of the college experience.

Of course, feel free to fire away. These are just my thoughts and observations. My .02

 

On a related note, I feel like the growing push that everyone go to college can only exacerbate that, while at the same time eventually devaluing the college education that we're supposed to go into debt to pay for.

Because if everyone has a college education, then a college education ceases to be a line of demarcation.

 

Deskslave, it's been changed from a demarcation to a minimum requirement for most kinds of middle class salaried employment. It's what high school used to be in the '40s-50s.

 

Paying 10 perecent of your income for 20 years is getting off easy? Or 10 years if you do "public service work."

Yeah, this is horrible. :

OBAMA NEEDS TO FOCUS HIS ATTENTION ON THE ECONOMY AND HELP PEOPLE!

President Obama announces plans to help people struggling to pay bills and care for their families.

STUPID GOVERNMENT!

 

The federal government (NIH) paid for my girl to attend graduate school (Brandeis) if she entered into a specific area to help address the lack of scientists in this country. Considering she would never have been able to able to afford that education, I think that's a good thing.

She is still paying off her undergrad loans from another school. It has nothing to do with a free ride, but if you can encourage people for the better good of the country, I think that is a good thing.

 

Yeah, so other people struggling to pay bills that already paid their student loans can have their taxes raised to pay off what's left.

 

What people? What taxes?

If you're allowed to construct make-believe anecdotal arguments against this plan, am I allowed to make up stuff that makes it seem like a good idea?

OK, here it goes: Other people will provide a valuable service to this country by working in the public sector, and, as a results, will have whatever is left on their student loans after 10 years paid off. With that extra money, they'll spend more and reinvest in the economy.

Yay. Everyone wins!

 

This is a slippery slope, isn't it? Because there are doctors (probably most of them do in some way) and lawyers who do serve the public. So which ones qualify and which ones don't? My wife is a doctor and I think this is stupid. While she does have a ton of debt (think at least a solid mortgage payment worth of student loans spread out over 30 years at this point), it's some of the easiest debt there is to pay back. Intrest rates are about as low as you can get on a loan and you get a tax benefit.

Still, while we won't be hurting financially eventually, that amount of student loans can be a burden if you aren't smart with your money. A lot of people will jump on this kind of opportunity whether they can afford it or not and that's a lot of lost money. Someone has to foot that bill. Our loans helped us live through medical school. We knew good and well we'd have to pay them back and have planned for it. Tough luck to those who didn't do that.

 

Or, the cost of about 18 FA Hornet Strike fighters, which cost a nifty $57 milion apiece to build, and millions more to fly/maintain, with no tangible return.
http://www.news.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=1100&tid=1200&ct=1


Which would be a better expense of $1 billion?

 

I guess reading comprehension gets past some people. To qualify, according to the story, you have to work in public service for 10 years, while making payments on your loan.
For certain other jobs, you have to work for 20 years and also make loan payments.
In either case, you have to pay on your loan. So instead of paying on the interest, your loan payments go to the principal and nobody really loses.
People will be more likely to stick with their loan repayment program, if they know they get it taken care of after a certain period time.
Plus, all this does is make national a program that already exists on the state level in some places.
And some jobs already come with loan forgiveness. AmeriCorps, among others. Same thing for doctors who agree to work in the Delta or some other poor spot across the country. Their loans get forgiven.

But I guess some people don't mind facts getting in their way as they mindlessly rush to bash Obama or any other program that might actually help people and not giant corporations.