Posted on 01/26/2016 10:39:02 AM PST by TroutStalker
My life and career have been scarred by the naïve exchange I made at college: an education of questionable value for a dangerous amount of debt.
Every once in a while, when I’m feeling overwhelmed, I watch college commencement ceremonies on YouTube. These rituals remind me how perverse our higher-education system is—and of the empty idealism that colleges and universities sell us: We are here today, donning our ceremonial robes and caps, to recite the traditional vacuous platitudes and wish you well in paying off high-interest student loans for which we are in no way held accountable. Let us now further romanticize our fair institution by singing the alma mater and conveniently forget that tuition has gone up 1,120 percent since 1978. Good luck out there, kids!
I’m a consumer of those vacuous platitudes and a victim of this system. After finishing my master’s degree in 2008, I found out—as in, I didn’t already know—that I had $200,000 in student debt.
Some well-paying professions might make this amount manageable, but for a bioethicist like me, it’s been crushing. Many things had to go wrong for this to happen—or right, if you’re a school or a lender. Although the hefty amount I owe is unusual, my experience is not: Motivated by an idealistic view of education and career and vulnerable to predatory, disingenuous, or at least negligent institutions, young people and their families too often take on large amounts of student debt. No matter how much they owe, the consequences of that debt can be outsized. These young people may have to abandon their educations early; pay back far more, after interest, than they took out; manage exceptionally exploitative loan terms; shoulder serious, chronic mental distress; delay important life decisions; and participate less in the economy than they otherwise would.
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
Yeah, there's not a lot of call for a bioethicist with a Bachelor's degree. What a surprise.
Clearly this guy is an idiot. Unfortunately, idiocy is not a crime, so he simply had to ask and they gave him all the debt that he wanted.
Not disagreeing with the commenters on the thread and I do recognize the unfairness of it all.....BUT
Student loan debt must be allowed to be discharged in bankruptcy. In this way he can eliminate some, and restructure some, so that the debt is adjusted so a “bioethicist” can afford it.
This, and only this will fix the college debt problem. It will shake the foundations of academia - but they need to be shaken.
Allowing for student loan debt to be discharged in bankruptcy will bring this nonsense to a screeching halt. If you cannot demonstrate the ability to repay, you do not get to borrow the money.
Tuitions will drop precipitously, because nobody will be able to borrow money to attend college.
Yes, it’s unfair to those who were financially responsible, perhaps did not go to college because of the cost - but that’s always the case in bankruptcy.
In this case (and millions of others), the lenders aren’t getting repaid by the borrower, no matter what they think
There is no positive in trying to force someone to repay a debt that they will never be able to repay.
It’s easy to castigate this guy as a moron, but remember, the basic decisions that led him to this point were made when he was 17 or 18 years old and then to a lesser extent, after four additional years of liberal academic indoctrination. Go lightly on him!
From the posted article:
After finishing my master's degree in 2008..
We should find the guy who held a gun to this idiot's head and not only forced him to borrow money for college but then major is something stupid.
...apparently there’s not much call for one with a Master’s Degree either.
Master’s either. You pretty much have to have a PhD in that field. And even then, your market is basically academic and some very large scientific companies. As the author should know very well by now.
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