Posted on 01/17/2022 12:43:02 PM PST by grundle
Democrats think that innocent taxpayers should be forced to pay off student debt.
I think this is a horrible idea.
I’m a Libertarian, which means that I am against punishing innocent taxpayers.
It also means that I, unlike Democrats, understand the horrible incentives that would be created if innocent taxpayers were forced to pay off student debt. Such a policy would encourage colleges to raise their tuitions even more than they already have, and would also encourage future students to borrow even more money than what had been borrowed by past students. This would make the problem of student debt worse, not better.
By comparison, my proposal would not do these harmful things. On the contrary, my proposal would cause colleges to think very hard before they encourage their students and potential students to borrow money. It would also encourage colleges to reconsider their current policy of offering worthless majors that cause their graduates to end up working at Starbucks.
My kid has a loan for a doctoral program which should eventually set him up in a nice practice. But at 7% interest it’ll take him forever to pay the loan back. Especially if he and his wife want to buy a home and start a family before they’re 40.
The bad guys here are the universities & banks.
I agree with Democrats about that. But I wouldn't call taxpayers "innocent." Taxpayers are guilty of earning income. The innocent ones are the students who accumulate debt. Say an innocent student goes to an expensive college for four years, cuts class all the time, and gets the bare-minimum GPA required for graduation with a basket-weaving degree. I say the guilty taxpayers should fully pay that innocent student's full tuition. After all, basket-weaving is a tough line of business.
/s
One the one hand, if you have been too lazy to look at the job and salary prospects for some college degree you intend to pursue, and from that have no idea how or when you can pay back the sums you borrowed to pay your extravagant college for its extravagant degree, then YOU are still the one most responsible for your education debt.
On the other hand, it is clear that those to whom the largest boon is given by government supported student loans and grants is the continually extravagant colleges. It is also clear that the constant push for greater government backing for all that has encouraged the colleges to go ahead and be wasteful and extravagant, the political class is going to get the taxpayers to cover it.
Therefor, unless there is (a) vast reductions in government assistance for college tuition, and (b) some accountability on the part of colleges for the useful prospects of the degrees they hand out, then (1) college tuition will continue to rise faster than inflation, which it has for decades and (2) the student debt crisis will be a permanent unresolved issue with (3) current “remedies” - more government aid - repeated as the “solution”.
It’s similar to the Planned Parenthood rat laundromat. Student loans for being sent to government indoctrination centers result in students being rat voters and teachers being rat contributors to keep it all going.
Why do colleges with billions in endowments need to charge so much? I suppose if they didn’t they’d lose “prestige” (not to mention even more money).
Student debt forgiveness should be funded by...those who borrowed the money. When they repay their debt, their loan is forgiven. Pretty simple concept, yes? Works every time it is used.
In a more ideal world, any college with an endowment above a certain number, let’s say one billion dollars, has their endowment taxed at 50% with all proceeds going to a central fund for repaying tuition debt.
University of Michigan president is fired from *****$927,000-*****a-year job
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4030235/posts
Why student debt forgiveness at all? Crazy inflation is shrinking their debt month by month and yes, they should meet their obligations.
We need to go back to adults being adults.
Why? What’s special about student debt?
Should the responsible schlubs who go married, started families, and bought a house instead pay both their mortgage and the irresponsibles’ “student debt”?
I agree re: a real college education not being a jobs program.
But I don’t think you’re in touch with modern higher ed if you don’t think many college programs are at least close to worthless and, given the indoctrination, often worse.
Why ever should it take massive giveaways to the irresponsible as a “trade off” to get the federal government out of something they should never have been involved with at all?
Some? More like damn near all of them.
While I love this proposal, I don't think it is politically saleable. What I think might be would be something like the following:
Yeah, there will be a lot of screaming and shouting, but the pain gets spread around. And best of all, the government beast is dead; meaning new lenders can make rates based on the marketability of the degree or even make small loans to someone going to trade school to learn welding or cosmetology.
Because that is gimmicky grandstanding.
With the exception of a few professional programs at a level that the private sector is willing to underwrite loans, we need to get college back to a pay-as-you-go plan except for the gifted students who earn scholarships.
Have the colleges co-sign the loans, with them taking the hit if the student can’t pay.
Suddenly colleges would stop offering worthless majors and accepting unqualified students.
Agree with all you said.
Everyone posting on this thread should keep in mind that government-backed student loans are not intended to help the students. They are designed to subsidize the schools.
“She was 19, had signed up to go to online classes at Phoenix College, got a student loan for about 20k...”
A very common tale regarding Phoenix and colleges like it.
Something sounds wrong with that story. A black female would have been at the top of the list for almost any scholarship or financial aid program in any university. Why the heck was she borrowing money to go to an online school?
Suddenly colleges would stop offering worthless majors and accepting unqualified students.
That's a great idea.
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