Democrat and Republican voters agree that America faces a student-debt crisis

MarketWatch ^ | 08/11/2018 | Jillian Berman

[SeekAndFind]

Whether the nation’s $1.5 trillion student-debt problem represents a crisis is a matter of debate among policy makers and experts. But ask regular voters what they think and the answer seems pretty clear.

More than half of Republicans, 67% of Independents and 71% of Democrats agree that student debt is a crisis, according to a recent poll of 1,000 voters conducted by Lake Research Partners and Chesapeake Beach Consulting on behalf of Americans for Financial Reform and the Center for Responsible Lending, two consumer advocacy organizations.

“It’s pretty clear that regardless of political orientation, people see it not just as a problem, but as a crisis-level problem,” said Alexis Goldstein, a senior policy analyst at Americans for Financial Reform, a nonprofit organization advocating for stricter financial regulation.

That regular Americans are coming down on one side of that distinction is more important than simply semantics. Among wonks and academics it’s a question whether student debt constitutes a crisis for our nation and our economy broadly or simply a crisis for specific individuals or groups. Experts on different sides of that divide tend to have different approaches to solving our student loan problems.

But the poll released this week suggests the debate is going on separately from how Americans experience student debt, said Mark Huelsman, a senior policy analyst at Demos, a left-leaning think tank. And indeed, there are many reasons why voters may be feeling anxious over student debt.

Over the past several years, tuition went up while wages stayed stagnant, pushing families to spend more of their limited income on paying for college. And young people who graduated into the recession or post-recession economy have struggled to find jobs with salaries high enough to make their debt manageable.

[Lumper20]

The money we pay/owe (actually more money that we owe/are in debt for the free ride of these selfish PUNKS) keeps rising all because of AA and you name it. If these punks really want an education they sign up for 2 years military service for every one year in college. I damn sure did in 70-72. Yes, I had been selected for the program- but; a man who toots his own horn is not abiding in the Lord’s way. How many here have asked a younger kid/millennial-” Do you or do you have a friend who ever talks about wishing your grandparents DEAD?” ASK, You will find out the truth.

[Rashputin]

I'm not sure it's true, but a friend of mine who manages a Walmart said Walmart is the largest employer of Anthropologists in the country.

He has an assistant manager who has an Anthropology degree and had an applicant with the same degree as well, plus, he had someone with an Anthropology degree working for him on third shift at another store he managed before this one.

Maybe he was making a joke but actually I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it were true.

I suspect sociology is even worse.

[flamberge]

Spot on! They must pay back what they owe

That will take longer than most of them will live.

Most student loan debt will never be fully repaid, no matter how much we might demand such action. And that is why we have bankruptcy laws. Student loans should be written off using these laws.

We should also, right now, Stop Making New Student Loans for liberal arts programs of any kind, and require stringent applicant qualifications before extending credit to scientific, technical, or medical programs.

This would cause a rapid contraction of the "higher education" industry by 20 to 30 percent. That would be a good thing.

[Forty-Niner]

Actually as the government got more involved in granting student loans the colleges and universities compensated by ratcheting up prods salaries, expanding degree course hour requirements, and tuition’s. Talk about wealth redistribution....commie leaning profs have it down pat!

[newfreep]

The “Educational/Indoctrination Industrial Complex” is unAmerican and a threat to our Constitutional Republic.

[snarkytart]

You’re better off if you want to go into the tech world to get a few good certifications like Security Plus Certified Ethical Hacker or Linux plus. It might cost you a few thousand dollars to most, but then you’re set and in certain areas a security clearance helps. However if you have all those shirts you can sign on with the subcontracting company and no help put you in the pipeline to get your clearance paid for 100%

[snarkytart]

Certs NOT shirts lol

[1Old Pro]

America doesn’t face a crisis, kids and parents who borrowed irresponsibly face a crisis.

[rxsid]

"I was talking about a technical school grad in the building trades and many other fields."

Well, that too isn't what it used to be.

Many in the construction trades, for example, continue to be displaced with foreign nationals who are willing to work for far less.
About the only area this doesn't happen (yet) is at the top of the pyramid (ownership, management).

[shelterguy]

I’ve been in the construction business for 40 years. I haven’t seen these foreign nationals who will work for for less yet.
I’ll let you know if I see any.

And if you are on most any government construction project you will need to follow the prevailing wage rates so there is no such thing as paying anyone less.

[rxsid]

I don't know where your from where your experiencing the preservation of construction jobs for citizens for 4 decades. Perhaps Maine? Sounds like you should be counting your lucky stars your neck of the woods has seen no impact.

Anyway, While I haven't been in the construction biz for 40 years, I used to work on a framing crew for a number of years way back in the day prior to going to college. I can tell you without hesitation, even many years ago, I saw first hand illegal aliens starting to displace citizen crews all around us. And it's only gotten worse. This was in California.

As I mentioned earlier too (re tech jobs, another biz I've been in and know first hand), if the government is involved, it's a different story. However, drive by any large non government job site anywhere in the west but especially in Ca, or Nv where the majority of the housing booms occurred in the last decade or so and you'll see a large portion of workers are from south of the border (illegal's and legal's).

In some states, reliance on foreign-born labor is even more pronounced. Immigrants comprise close to 41 percent of the construction workforce in California and close to 40 percent in Texas. In New York, 35 percent of the construction labor force are foreign-born and in Nevada, one in three construction industry workers come from abroad.

http://www.nahbclassic.org/generic.aspx?sectionID=734&genericContentID=241345 (2015)

In some states, reliance on foreign-born labor is even more pronounced. Immigrants comprise close to 42% of the construction workforce in California and close to 41% in Texas. In New York and Nevada, 37% of the construction labor force is foreign-born and in Florida, 35% of construction industry workers come from abroad.

https://www.nahbclassic.org/generic.aspx?sectionID=734&genericContentID=260375 (2018)

Keeping in mind. those numbers are only what's being reported. The actual real life numbers are higher.

http://eyeonhousing.org/2015/02/construction-immigrants-highly-concentrated-in-some-states-and-trades/ again, only those that are actually counted

[rxsid]

oh, and regarding the foreigners working for far less...one example in the heart of it all...

Immigrants flooded California construction. Worker pay sank. Here’s why
Construction in Los Angeles has shifted from a heavily unionized labor force that was two-thirds white to a largely non-union one that is 70% Latino and heavily immigrant.
April 22, 2017

Ybarra, born in Los Angeles, has built a solidly middle-class lifestyle on more than two decades in the carpenters’ union, earning $40 an hour on top of a pension, healthcare and unlimited vacation days.

Martinez, born in Guadalajara, Mexico, works for a nonunion contractor, installing metal panels and other parts for $27.50 an hour. He doesn’t have retirement savings, his insurance doesn’t cover his family and he gets five vacation days per year.

The story of these two men illustrates the radical shift that has put construction front and center in the national debate over declining blue-collar jobs and President Trump’s views of immigration.

In the span of a few decades, Los Angeles area construction went from an industry that was two-thirds white, and largely unionized, to one that is overwhelmingly Latino, mostly nonunion and heavily reliant on immigrants, according to a Los Angeles Times review of federal data.

[shelterguy]

“””””””Martinez, born in Guadalajara, Mexico, works for a nonunion contractor, installing metal panels and other parts for $27.50 an hour.””””””””””””””””

So 27.50 an hour is working for slave wages??????????