I’m a 29-Year-Old With $235k in Student Debt. I’ll Never Pay It Back.

Yahoo Finance ^ | June 17,2019 | Simon Galperin

[Hojczyk]

I have $235,000 of student debt. The first $120,000 came with a bachelor’s degree from my state school. Another $70,000 or so came with my master’s degree. The remainder is accrued interest.

I would have to begin devoting half of my income to debt payment if I cared to pay it off by 2042. I can’t do that because I make just under $4,000 per month. And that income is a fairly new development in my life. Why would I choose to pay down my debt if it meant I wouldn’t be able to afford basic living expenses?

My parents are in their 60s and 70s and will live the rest of their lives with my student debt. Likely so will I. Again – we won’t be alone.

Three million Americans over the age of 60 are paying off student debt. Approximately 40,000 of them are having Social Security or other government payments garnished.

College was supposed to be about getting ahead in life. But it’s become a driver of inequality.

It does not have to be this way.

Some economists say that forgiving student debt would boost GDP by $100 billion per year for ten years and add several million jobs to the economy. It would unlock the capacity of 44 million Americans to buy homes, launch small businesses, and retire with dignity.

Congress could pay for it by repealing the $1.5 trillion tax cut it passed in 2017. Primarily benefiting the wealthy and corporations, even Goldman Sachs says that whatever economic boost the tax cut brought with it has passed.

And to keep future generations from suffering under the burden of student debt, Congress could make public colleges, universities, and trade schools in the United States free.

[KevinB]

From his bio: "M.A. in Social Journalism at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism"

Hey, dumb ass, maybe you should have thought about that before borrowing a quarter million dollars to get a worthless degree!

[COBOL2Java]

Yeah, but idiots like this vote.

I wonder who he'll be supporting?

[The people have spoken]

He has an M.A. in Social Journalism from the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Idiot.

That he may be. However, there are millions upon millions like him, and they'd eagerly crawl over broken glass to go and vote for ANY charlatan who promises to relieve their debt. A credible proposal by the Democrats to rescue him from his idiocy could spell big, big trouble for us at the ballot box.

[mel]

College is way way overpriced for what one gets in most cases
That amount is not uncommon.it is sad. I think electrician or plumber is a better shot these days

[Reagan80]

Sadly; most of that $120K went not to beer, but leftist thug professors who will use our hard-earned tax dollars to grift the rest away from us that they haven’t already stolen.

We’re funding our own demise to academics who couldn’t hold a candle to the average private sector worker’s productivity.

[SolidRedState]

WOW! How does one rack up so much debt in a field with hardly any return on investment?

My two sons are both in their thirties, one has 2 years of college, the other has dual degrees and they both make more than I do and work for major corporations in white collar jobs. They have no college debt because they worked for everything they have.

No reason for ANYONE to bail out people who make poor career decisions on overpriced educations.

No sympathy. NONE.

[Responsibility2nd]

Should sue the university.................

__________________________________________

Even better: The colleges should be liable for the debt. Not the taxpayers.

[WASCWatch]

This is why parents should never co-sign for anything related to college expenses.

If you want to help your kids go to college, but never co-sign for loans. Kid can go to a local junior college and live at home; and also get a part-time job; or take classes through an accredited on line college like www.wgu.edu and graduate with far more money in the bank when you started if you work part-time.

[Freedom4US]

"It does not have to be this way."

No kidding, Dumbass. It never "had to be this way" in the first place. You could have studied for a degree in a field where, you know, there is an actual demand for graduates, I didn't notice in a cursory glance of this article where you even bothered to mentioned this. We can fairly assume, therefore, it is some nonsense jiggery-pokery.

Education is a racket. You were warned. You got rooked. That sucks to be sure, however don't cost shift this expensive mistake on your part to the backs of ordinary taxpayers. Take it up with the school. Take it up with whomever gave you this stunningly bad advice.Why do you want a bailout from folks who don't even go to college; take it up with the folks who likely have Billions of dollars in their endowments and extremely valuable real estate.

For someone who spent so much time in school you really don't sound particularly bright.

[KevinB]

M.A. in Social Journalism at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism according to his bio. I kid you not.

[M Kehoe]

Hi.

I didn’t see in the article what his Bachelor’s or Masters was in.

Let me guess. African American or Women’s studies?

5.56mm

[Mr. Jeeves]

Congress could pay for it by repealing the $1.5 trillion tax cut it passed in 2017.

Or university endowments should just about cover it - since they are the porkers who benefitted from the graft in the first place.

[Hojczyk]

I worked construction in Denver and retired in 2000 and left the state...

But the “dumb” Mexicans who were laborers and cement finishers were send there kids to apprentice schools to become plumbers,electricans, elevator workers..

And the “smart” whites were sending there kids to college...

I wonder who is making the most money

[LTC.Ret]

IF “the first $120,000 came with a bachelor’s degree from my state school” -— then your state school is NOT a college but a PARASITE designed to suck all the money out of state citizens, and should be abolished immediately!!!

[HarleyD]

I’ve known a number of people like this. They believe that they can borrow as much as they want for as long as they want and never pay it back. They all end up in some cheap run down motel living on handouts.

[Fresh Wind]

So tell me, Simple Simon, why should I be forced to contribute my money to help you pay off your debt?

And how, with your nonexistent understanding of basic economics, were you able to get a degree at all?

Let me guess...

The word “studies” appears in the names of both of your degrees.

[sparklite2]

Think Simon's geeky?  This
is the CTO at the same co.

[dfwgator]

The saddest thing is that somebody actually hired this idiot.

[Magnum44]

I have $235,000 of student debt. The first $120,000 came with a bachelor’s degree from my state school. Another $70,000 or so came with my master’s degree. The remainder is accrued interest.