Forgiving Student Loans

[The Professor]

I’m totally against student loan debt forgiveness. What about the people who have already paid their loans? That is many individuals over the years. And what about the future college attendees, are they going to be offered loans that will not have to be repaid, too? Where does it end? 
 

[Voice of Reason]

I am ok forgiving the interest but the loaned money should be repaid. 

[Pi]

When you go to college most of the time you tend to know what you want to do. 
Some don’t, but most do. I never understood the gen Ed’s people have to take. Those are nothing more than money makers for the school. The University 101’s of the world are especially awful. You learn nothing, normally a senior at the university “teaches” the class and it’s just a waste a time. But it’s full price. 
 

Part of the student loan debt (justifiably so) is that classes are designed to make money, not educate. 

[MBWC41]

2 hours ago, Pi said:

When you go to college most of the time you tend to know what you want to do. 
Some don’t, but most do. I never understood the gen Ed’s people have to take. Those are nothing more than money makers for the school. The University 101’s of the world are especially awful. You learn nothing, normally a senior at the university “teaches” the class and it’s just a waste a time. But it’s full price. 
 

Part of the student loan debt (justifiably so) is that classes are designed to make money, not educate. 

Electives are slap in the face to students.

Classes that count towards the credit requirements for graduation but are not needed for the degree.

I sleep better knowing my Dr. took advanced pottery, world music and screenwriting 101 before being accepted to medical school 🙄

[MBWC41]

4 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

I am ok forgiving the interest but the loaned money should be repaid. 

I’m also ok with this.

[MBWC41]

6 hours ago, The Professor said:

I’m totally against student loan debt forgiveness. What about the people who have already paid their loans? That is many individuals over the years. And what about the future college attendees, are they going to be offered loans that will not have to be repaid, too? Where does it end? 
 

Never understood this argument. Just because I went through it doesn’t mean every generation should have to.

I’ve known many people who died from cancer. That doesn’t mean I’m against finding a cure…

The problem isn’t necessarily the debt, it’s the outrageous cost of attending. We agree on this. Fix the cost of attending and I’m all for a one time reduction of debt. I really like the idea of zero interest, not a handout. 

[Voice of Reason]

2 hours ago, MBWC41 said:

Never understood this argument. Just because I went through it doesn’t mean every generation should have to.

I’ve known many people who died from cancer. That doesn’t mean I’m against finding a cure…

The problem isn’t necessarily the debt, it’s the outrageous cost of attending. We agree on this. Fix the cost of attending and I’m all for a one time reduction of debt. I really like the idea of zero interest, not a handout. 

People who paid for their own student loans now feel like they are also paying for other people's student loans through their tax dollars. That doesn't seem fair. 

[MBWC41]

15 minutes ago, Voice of Reason said:

People who paid for their own student loans now feel like they are also paying for other people's student loans through their tax dollars. That doesn't seem fair. 

Very little in life is fair. 
Our tax dollars pay for stuff for all types of people but that’s a topic for another day.

I’m all for holding the borrower accountable for the money they borrowed. It’s the interest rates I’d like to see reduced.

Going forward, if we’re not going to change the system and reduce the cost of education, I’d also be in favor of mandatory community college for a year or two. If you show you’re making passing grades and have a clear career choice then you would be eligible to take out a loan and transfer to a traditional 4 year university to finish out your degree.

Allowing naive, immature 17 and 18 year olds to take out loans for insane amounts of money has always been a terrible idea. 

I say all this as someone who paid off their student loans.

[Voice of Reason]

2 hours ago, MBWC41 said:

Very little in life is fair. 

I think most things in life are fair.

Our tax dollars pay for stuff for all types of people but that’s a topic for another day.

I am good with taxes. No problem paying my share to support the greatest society on the planet.

 

I’m all for holding the borrower accountable for the money they borrowed. It’s the interest rates I’d like to see reduced.

Agree.

Going forward, if we’re not going to change the system and reduce the cost of education, I’d also be in favor of mandatory community college for a year or two. If you show you’re making passing grades and have a clear career choice then you would be eligible to take out a loan and transfer to a traditional 4 year university to finish out your degree.

Allowing naive, immature 17 and 18 year olds to take out loans for insane amounts of money has always been a terrible idea. 

On all this section, when you get to age 18, you are far enough along to make your decisions. Plus, there are parents and advisors to help students make informed decisions.

I say all this as someone who paid off their student loans.

See above in bold.

[TheDeuce]

3 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

See above in bold.

Must be nice.

[OlDog75]

If you BORROW money, you pay it back.

[Randy Parker]

5 hours ago, OlDog75 said:

If you BORROW money, you pay it back.

What a concept.

[The Professor]

57 minutes ago, Randy Parker said:

What a concept.

😄 I’m with you on this. 

[bugatti]

What a yucky situation all around and I genuinely understand both sides of the debate. We have been programmed in America to believe higher education is something that it is not. Over time it has evolved into the scam of all scams where we are preying upon kids (basically) to start their life off on the wrong foot. And the problem with the concept of student loans is the price of tuition has outpaced the market, exponentially. I read a couple years ago the average price of tuition in 1970 compared to 2020 has increased by 3,000% +/-. If it were on par with the average starting salary of 1970 vs. today, average tuition would have increased by 1,200% +/-. It would nice if our debt problem here was cut down by 2/3 or so 🙂 

And we know how this works. The people it disproportionately hurts are those that can't afford it to begin with; hence, the cycle keeps going.

[rjs4470]

4 hours ago, bugatti said:

What a yucky situation all around and I genuinely understand both sides of the debate. We have been programmed in America to believe higher education is something that it is not. Over time it has evolved into the scam of all scams where we are preying upon kids (basically) to start their life off on the wrong foot. And the problem with the concept of student loans is the price of tuition has outpaced the market, exponentially. I read a couple years ago the average price of tuition in 1970 compared to 2020 has increased by 3,000% +/-. If it were on par with the average starting salary of 1970 vs. today, average tuition would have increased by 1,200% +/-. It would nice if our debt problem here was cut down by 2/3 or so 🙂 

And we know how this works. The people it disproportionately hurts are those that can't afford it to begin with; hence, the cycle keeps going.

Some higher education is something it is not. There are certainly some pretty useless degrees out there, but there are many important jobs that are absolutely needed and can't be done without college. And like many have said, costs are just crazy now. The days of being able to work your way through college in your teens and early 20's are pretty much gone. And like it or not we need doctors, lawyer, teachers, engineers etc, and many would never be able to pursue those careers without loans. There are some very good values out there though which I wish students gave more thought to. I started working on my MBA a year ago, and looked at all the usual suspects in KY. And UK, EKU, UL, were all WAY overpriced...like to the tune of $40K+ for 12-15 classes. I ended up going to Murray and the whole program will cost me about $16k, which fortunately, I can afford (with a little help from a part time job). I just can't imagine how these "elite" and private schools continue to suck kids in  when they might literally take a lifetime to pay off the tuition.