Posted on 12/03/2020 9:10:32 AM PST by SeekAndFind
The question of whether the government should cancel the $1.6 trillion in student debt held by 43 million American adults drifted out of the political debate after the strongest advocates for the idea, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, left the race for the presidential nomination.
It's back. That's because President-elect Joe Biden has endorsed canceling at least $10,000 in federally held loans per borrower as a COVID-19 relief measure (Democrats in Congress want to raise the figure to $50,000).
Biden also proposes easing payment terms for most borrowers and taking other steps to cut the financial burden for low-income college students.
"The relative burden of education debt has long been higher for families with lower net worth, and...this disparity has grown much wider in the past couple decades."
Janet Yellen, then-chair of the Federal Reserve, in 2014
Biden's proposal has also revived the arguments against canceling student debt, which tend to revolve around issues of fairness. Accordingly, it's proper to take a look at the pros and cons. Spoiler alert: Canceling student debt will yield huge benefits for individual borrowers and for the economy at large, and the more the better.
In reality, most student debt is destined to be canceled eventually, observes University of Utah economist Marshal Steinbaum, a senior fellow at the Jain Family Institute, a social science research organization.
That's the harvest of the increased popularity of income-driven repayment programs, which cap annual repayments at a percentage of a borrower's income and forgives any balance remaining after a set period — 20 years for undergraduate loans and 25 for graduate or professional study.
"Cancelation is the thing that everyone's waiting for," Steinbaum told me. "So why are we making them wait? Why don't we just recognize that these are bad loans and eat them now?"
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
And those of us who paid our way... the government owes us back pay, then right?
Yes, make the colleges pay off all student debt. They ripped them off in the first place.
“By cancelling student loan debt, you are encouraging tuition rates to inflate even more.”
Funny thing is the reason the students have the debt they are talking about cancelling is they couldn’t afford the tuition. So raising the rates is like trying to euthanize a dog that was hit by a truck dead on and made flat. It doesn’t change a thing when the new debts will have to be forgiven in four years, just at greater dollar amounts.
This is how we got started on the national debt when in the 1960’s they started borrowing from one fund to foot the bill for another or just made the debt disappear. Pretty soon, everyone owed everyone else. So they inflated the dollar to catch it up until the new debts to the funds came in at inflated prices and they had to start all over again. Liberals do not learn from their stupidity. And too many are money/math challenged.
wy69
The average loan amount for new cars is $32,480
You forgot about the Parents who put off retirement for years to make sure their kids weren’t loaded with student debt.
The debt repayment should come from the lenders and colleges, they are the ones who benefited from the corrupt system.
Big chunk of student debt was used for party supplies, boose, marihuana. Many kids go to college to party, take debt and then end up without degree or with some useless degree and with lot of college debt.
Friend of mine took second mortgage to fund his son college, and turned out the son never went to any classes, just moved to some girl place and enjoyed himself.
As far as college funding US model of paid college somehow limits the student population - either you are exceptional, then you usually get full ride or you have to pay.
Socialists give you free (free tuition only! most US socialist can not believe that free college meant only no tuition) college, but then they have to limit spending by not letting most student in.
If the socialists take over, be ready that maybe only 5%-10% high school graduates will make it to college.
The useless degree will probably be eliminated altogether.
Yup. It is an indirect way for job security for professors who teach useless degrees.
Perfectly okay if you want to get a degree in something obscure and useless just don’t make me pay for it.
Same here.
RE: Among those who borrow, the average debt at graduation is $25,921
The average loan amount for new cars is $32,480
So what’s the problem? We don’t cancel loans for new cars. Why should we cancel them for college loans?
Eliminate “ student loan debt “ from the headline, and you’ve got your answer.
Eliminating “ college “ altogether is the far more prudent solution.
Nothing like completely insulting those of us WHO PAID FOR OUR EDUCATION out of our earnings/pockets.
Would make me wish to NEVER do any business with anyone who got their loans cancelled. Total Boycott.
Or only cancel the loans of those who received degrees.
Their foremost goal is one-world indoctrination, carried on behind a facade of contorted social constructs, all the while intent on erasing Western civilization and individualism in favor of command societies and socialism.
Any useful education a student might happen to get is incidental to the school's primary mission. It's a subterfuge to conceal the main goal of creating one-world centered citizens who will passionately place the "good of the collective" above family.
My very liberal daughter worked VERY hard to pay back all of her loan by the time she was 30. I can’t wait to hear what she will have to say about this. Maybe this will FINALLY be the event that causes the scales to fall from her eyes.
If you think this is bad, just wait until they pass a bill sticking you with a Lebenty Zillion Dollar REPARATIONS FEE.
The Bend-Over Party has a long list of projects like that, designed to make you feel better about to yourself. We will be overjoyed to pay for the damage ANTIFA and BLM caused and at the same time pay for the mobs lifestyles. Seems many (Many) of the riot-goers were spoiled, Caucasian, college enrolled hipster wannabees.
Let's get this shooting match over with before I cannot participate.
And progressive “enhancements” to how our 401ks work.
(201k, 101k ...)
Why? Isn’t the student loan program doing what it was designed to do? Create debt slaves beholden to the Democrat Party?
“Just vote Democrat and maybe someday we will do something about your plight.” Wink, wink.
What about canceling the debt for a new truck for me?
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