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Forgiving Student Debt Isn’t the Solution to Anything
James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal ^ | May 15, 2019 | Preston Cooper

Posted on 05/15/2019 7:36:13 AM PDT by reaganaut1

The time-honored American tradition of outlandish political promises continues apace. Now, the spotlight is on student debt. Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren added to the debate recently when she put forward a proposal to cancel $640 billion worth of federal and private student loans. Warren touts her plan as a way to boost the economy, redistribute wealth, and help struggling borrowers.

But as justifications for canceling nearly half the outstanding $1.5 trillion balance of student debt, these arguments are woefully inadequate.

To her credit, Warren has recognized and partially addressed one of the major problems with canceling all outstanding student debt. Since student loans finance education, and education is associated with higher earnings, student debt is concentrated among high-income people—meaning that the benefits of loan forgiveness would flow disproportionately to the rich. Warren proposes forgiving smaller amounts of student debt for richer households, partially addressing this issue.

Though this feature makes Warren’s plan slightly less problematic than other loan forgiveness proposals, it is still inherently flawed as a policy. That wealthier families benefit more from it only scratches the surface of the problems with student loan forgiveness. Nearly every argument offered in its favor is wrong.

The first argument Warren offers for her debt forgiveness plan is that it would boost the economy. She writes that student debt is “an anchor on our economy” which is “reducing homeownership rates” and “leading fewer people to start businesses.” Boiled down, this argument essentially stipulates that student loan payments are keeping borrowers from spending their money on other things that would spur economic growth, such as home mortgages or business formation.

Forgiving student debt would undoubtedly increase purchasing power for the people receiving forgiveness. But the money required to pay for debt cancellation has to come out of the economy somewhere else

(Excerpt) Read more at jamesgmartin.center ...


TOPICS: Education; Politics
KEYWORDS: studentloans; warren
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To: rintintin

Make a promise, keep a promise.


21 posted on 05/15/2019 8:02:48 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: reaganaut1

The student debt issue is a lot more complicated than most here understand, or care to know about (My third zero-loan child is getting her bachelor’s degree this Saturday, four more to go).

I know a lot about the system.

AT A MINIMUM, the colleges, trade schools, beauty academies and others who pimp these loans based on the high rate of return on their product should have to co-sign the loans. It would be better if the FTC investigated the massive fraud and false advertising that surrounds this “industry”.

And protecting the loans from being discharged in bankruptcy, when other loans are routinely dealt with that way? It’s outrageous.


22 posted on 05/15/2019 8:05:38 AM PDT by Jim Noble (1)
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To: dfwgator

Make a promise, keep a promise

So you think bankruptcy laws should be eliminated?


23 posted on 05/15/2019 8:07:08 AM PDT by rintintin (q)
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To: rintintin

Not necessarily eliminated, but I think as of how there’s too much loan forgiveness.


24 posted on 05/15/2019 8:08:47 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Cletus.D.Yokel
".... Would that be a legitimate interview question?..."

Hale yes, it's legitimate. Why not?

I ran credit reports on all prospective tenants when I owned rentals. It's legitimate and legal if you have them sign a credit authorization release.

So run a frickin' credit report on all job applicants. That'll get you the answer you're looking for.

25 posted on 05/15/2019 8:13:14 AM PDT by HotHunt (Been there. Done that.)
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To: dfwgator
And if they didn’t read the fine print, well, not my problem

There is no fine print. There is essentially no disclosure at all.

They walk by tables set up in the basketball arena on orientation day. Table A they pick up a "I'm a Wildcat" Tee shirt. Table B they pick up the LGBTQ education schedule. Table C they walk away with a loan, which they've been "granted" as part of their "scholarship package".

Until you see it in operation, you simply would not believe it. My first daughter had her bill reduced by a "loan" we never applied for and which no one was told about. When we went to refuse it, it took months to get it off the books. After they got over the shock of someone refusing what to the college was free money, they just cut her tuition by that amount.

The way this works is like buying a car. Nobody pays sticker. Except the Chinese students, and the Arabs. How much less your kid pays is a complex process - but if the college can get the difference made up by Uncle Sam, by promising the kid will pay it back later, why not go for it?

If you have not been through this (and I have, three times now, with zero debt), you literally would not believe how crooked the whole thing is.

26 posted on 05/15/2019 8:15:00 AM PDT by Jim Noble (1)
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To: Jim Noble

Who puts a gun to their head and makes them sign up for the loans?

I thought conservatism was about personal responsibility.


27 posted on 05/15/2019 8:16:01 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: reaganaut1

College was a mistake for most of them anyway. People need to pay for their own mistakes.


28 posted on 05/15/2019 8:16:51 AM PDT by DungeonMaster (Prov 24: Do not fret because of evildoers. Do not associate with those given to change.)
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To: dfwgator
Who puts a gun to their head and makes them sign up for the loans?

Did you read my last post?

29 posted on 05/15/2019 8:17:20 AM PDT by Jim Noble (1)
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To: DungeonMaster

The world needs ditch diggers, too.


30 posted on 05/15/2019 8:17:27 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Jim Noble

I did. But if parents had done their due diligence they would have known this has been going on for years.


31 posted on 05/15/2019 8:18:30 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: reaganaut1
My parents paid for four years of college for me. I paid for four years of college for each of my three children. I see reason why I should be taxed to bail out someone else's children who borrowed money for their college education.
32 posted on 05/15/2019 8:20:40 AM PDT by JoeFromSidney (Colonel (Retired) USAF.)
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To: reaganaut1

Those people freely entered those contracts to borrow that money to give to those institutions for indoctrination received.

NO!


33 posted on 05/15/2019 8:20:54 AM PDT by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizen Means Born Here Of Citizen Parents_Know Islam, No Peace-No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: dfwgator
The world needs ditch diggers, too.

And driving a back hoe would be a blast. Plus they are air conditioned.

34 posted on 05/15/2019 8:21:49 AM PDT by DungeonMaster (Prov 24: Do not fret because of evildoers. Do not associate with those given to change.)
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To: DungeonMaster

Effin' A!

35 posted on 05/15/2019 8:23:20 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: HangnJudge

If one is going to forgive student debt
recoup the losses from the schools who benefited
Take it out of their hide
They are the ones who got the money
Perhaps they would be more... selective in the future
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Good answer.


36 posted on 05/15/2019 8:24:47 AM PDT by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizen Means Born Here Of Citizen Parents_Know Islam, No Peace-No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: dfwgator
LOL!!!

That is almost what happened to me. 20 years in a cubicle then I couldn't stand it anymore. I wound up in a dirty old electric motor shop testing big electric motors. Loved it!! Got exercise, made bucks. My wife loved it when I came home dirty but happy that I had accomplished something I could actually see.

37 posted on 05/15/2019 8:25:27 AM PDT by DungeonMaster (Prov 24: Do not fret because of evildoers. Do not associate with those given to change.)
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To: Lurkinanloomin

But like, that would be racist.....or something.


38 posted on 05/15/2019 8:27:45 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: LoveMyFreedom

How about having the school co-sign the loan to guarantee that the school actually creates students w/ skills that are needed in the work place.

End the under water sports management degrees


39 posted on 05/15/2019 8:29:38 AM PDT by Jimmy The Snake
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To: reaganaut1
How’s that work? So, the kid who, maybe had the smarts and long time preference thinking, but not the money and chose the route of two years of community college and 2 years at the state university gets penalized again.

The self important yahoo (and we all know them) who took out 200K in loans so they could say they went to XYZ, they NOW get their loans forgiven the same as the kid above?

Or even worse, the kid who took 7 years to work and get through school on his own - he gets a big fat egg?

Completely not fair. Again, rewarding bad behavior and poor choices and f*ck*ng the people who do things right.

40 posted on 05/15/2019 8:31:06 AM PDT by riri
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