OT: Today is National Student Debt Day

Submitted by L'Carpetron Do… on

http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-education/2016/01/its-nationa…

Today is National Student Debt Day.  A group of student debt activists are convening in DC to bring attention to the student debt crisis that America is facing.  

Personally, I think this is really important and I believe student loans are a huge anchor weighing down the economy and I'm glad it's getting more attention.  I wanted to see what MgoBoard thought.  Discuss.

 

gopoohgo

January 28th, 2016 at 1:04 PM ^

This will last long.

Agree with above, this will devolve into politics, socialism, 1%ers, with very few posts addressing why a college degree costs so much.

Hannibal.

January 28th, 2016 at 2:01 PM ^

For lots of degrees, that is what you still might be doing.

Anyhow, like any other bubble, this one is caused by supply and demand getting completely out of whack.  A big reason for this is that the conventional wisdom for at least my entire life has been "go to college go to college go to college".  Get a degree at all costs.  $10,000.  $100,000.  It doesn't matter.  Get a degree.  People haven't asked themselves in a long time if it's really worth it.  It was worth it in 1970 when the cost was much lower and getting a college degree meant more in the workplace.  But now?  For lots of people, I'll bet that it doesn't make economic sense. 

uofmfootball97

January 28th, 2016 at 2:22 PM ^

This is exactly where I'm at and have been for the last 5-6 years. I dropped out of college after 3 years because I couldn't get another loan to continue with school (not even with a co-signer) and couldn't afford to keep paying for it myself. Since then, I have worked my way into an insurance position where finishing my degree won't actually affect my job status or how much I make. So while I would love to say "I'm a college graduate", financially it makes no sense.

bluebyyou

January 28th, 2016 at 7:03 PM ^

There is another problem that may make one ponder even harder about the desirability of getting a college degree and it is where the world is going with respect to robotics/AI.  In my IP law practice, I deal with clients that work in these areas and the level of sophistication continues to rise quickly as will the number of  jobs that will be lost.

I saw a piece on Bloomberg's website a couple of days ago, and here is the link:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-25/why-robots-mean-inter…

It talks about how robotics will mean low interest rates long term because of what will happen to worker wages due to unemployment as well as increased productivity.  A practical example that all U of M people should be aware of is the development of autonomous cars and soon thereafter, trucks.  There are 3.2 million profession truck drivers in the US. My guess is within two decades many of them will have no jobs.  This is not an if, but when, and it could well be within a decade. This is the tip of the iceberg.

pdgoblue25

January 28th, 2016 at 1:07 PM ^

My father worked his ass off, and so did I, to put me through college.  If student debt gets bailed out then kindly send my father a check as well.  Why the hell should you get it for free when I didn't?

No, we were not a wealthy family.

pdgoblue25

January 28th, 2016 at 1:15 PM ^

Most people aside from personal motivation finish college because debt is adding up, money is running out, or parents are losing patience.

If that's no longer an incentive, what happens in theory if a student gets 2 years of tax subsidized college just to fail out?  Just a bad investment?  Oh well, what does he/she care, they weren't paying for it.

The universities don't give a shit, they get their money up front while still being able to raise tuition every damn year.

Trader Jack

January 28th, 2016 at 1:20 PM ^

Is anyone saying that we should eliminate the cost of college for students all together? I'm certainly not. What I'm saying is that you're presuming to know the motivations of students you've never met, plus saying that something that would help other people shouldn't exist because you wouldn't reap any benefits from it. That's a really selfish take.




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pdgoblue25

January 28th, 2016 at 2:26 PM ^

going well.  Just my opinion.  I'm a young person, but I still believe in a country where something isn't handed to you just because you want it.  You have student debt, yeah, it sucks.  Well you signed up for the loans, and the terms of the loan.  Nobody forced you to do it.

Musket Rebellion

January 28th, 2016 at 4:04 PM ^

Your assumption that "nobody forced you to do it" is absurd. Everyone on this board knows that, especially now, you need a college degree to go anywhere in life. Most entry level positions will require some sort of college degree. Unless you are wealthy, the chances that you are going to be saddled with a large amount of debt are fairly high. Congratulations to you for having a father who was willing and able to put you through school. Unfortunately a vast portion of the population isn't so lucky. Stop being a smug prick and have some empathy. Not everyone who is buried up to their eyeballs in debt is looking for a hand out, or to have their debts erased. Most people are just wondering why the cost of tuition has risen exponentially over the past ten years, meanwhile, jobs and wages have not. This is, I think, one of the more important questions that this generation will face.

Picktown GoBlue

January 28th, 2016 at 7:56 PM ^

Amen. Oops no politics/religion. This is a legal obligation to return with interest what you signed up for on the electronic dotted line. If one does not intend to pay it back I have a problem. If one gets into hardship there should be opportunities for relief but with consequences like failing to meet other obligations. But given how "commitments" are made this could be a strange concept.

Ryno2317

January 28th, 2016 at 2:02 PM ^

Actually, I blame both.  Banks were required -- by the government -- to issue a certain percentage of their loans to high risk/low income applicants since the mid-1990s.  I also blame Congress for not overseeing Fannie and Freddie.  Go watch the youtube video of Barney Frank screaming at a Bush Administration official for even suggesting that Fannie and Freddie were making bad loans to people who couldn't pay for them.  Frank calls him every name in the book and basically says that he hates black people. 

BursleyBaitsBus

January 28th, 2016 at 2:14 PM ^

Oh believe me I know the government should have a lot of the blame. 

When you have unqualified idealists running finances of your country, you're bound to run into issues. 

It's like throwing a lamb (shaky loanees) into a lion den (wall st) and getting mad at the lion for eating the lamb. 

It doesn't make sense. 

We should also thank clearing houses for their complete faith in the credit default swap and ratings agencies for not actually looking carefully at the underpinnings of those risky CDOs... 

Sigh... 

Now we're about to make the same mistakes with student debt. 

gopoohgo

January 28th, 2016 at 1:13 PM ^

Well, is it a ridiculous take to ask him to help pay for it since he did not benefit directly?

Because most of the protest against student loans are federal student loans that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy...and thus if 'forgiven', means that the federal government (and thus taxpayers) will be reimbursing the loan originators.

 

Trader Jack

January 28th, 2016 at 1:26 PM ^

No, it's not. If there is something that's going to benefit you, but not me, and that alone makes me say you shouldn't have it, I'm being selfish. I don't see why that's so hard to understand.

I don't necessarily believe student loans should be totally forgiven. I also don't believe tuition costs, or the interest rates on student loans, should be nearly as high.




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gopoohgo

January 28th, 2016 at 1:36 PM ^

Sigh you don't get it.

"Forgiving a student loan" directly benefits the person whose loan is forgiven. Thus, it is selfish, because one person benefits, and other people will have to pay for this loan forgiveness.

If you believe that someone is selfish for objecting to loan forgiveness because they will be directly paying for it via their Federal taxes, you have to also believe that someone is selfish for asking for their non-dischargable loan to be forgiven and expecting SOMEONE else to pay for it.

Trader Jack

January 28th, 2016 at 1:32 PM ^

Again, you're (incorrectly) presuming to know what I'm asking for. I'm not asking for anyone to take over my responsibility for anything. I'm saying that tuition costs and interest rates on student loans are too high. You're saying no efforts should be made to lower them because, hey, that option wasn't available to you.

Should we stop medical research, too? I mean, people that have died of certain things in the past didn't have the option to receive treatments that are effective today, right?




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MaizeAndBlueWahoo

January 28th, 2016 at 1:57 PM ^

I think it's perfectly logical to be resentful when, having worked hard to be self-sufficient, one is asked to bail out people who didn't take the same care.  Paying twice for the same thing so that someone else doesn't have to pay at all isn't a good system.

This is not to say that everyone saddled with student debt that they can't pay is in that situation due to laziness or stupidity.  But many are.

Trader Jack

January 28th, 2016 at 2:18 PM ^

Man, I wish people would take the time they spend crafting a response and just read the whole of what I'm saying. I don't find it odd at all that someone would scoff at the prospect of paying for someone else's education, while that person pays nothing. All I'm saying, and I've said this several times now, is that tuition costs and interest rates on student loans are too high. This guy has decided that, since potential solutions weren't available to him while he was in school, no one should see a reduction in tuition or interest rates. That's what I have a problem with.




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MaizeAndBlueWahoo

January 28th, 2016 at 2:30 PM ^

Possibly could say the same to you.  What he said was, he and his family should get the same help.  Also, he didn't say tuition or interest rates shouldn't go down.  He said that if people are going to have their loans forgiven just for being too much to handle, he wants his cut.

And it makes sense.  Punishing the people who made it themselves and rewarding people who got themselves into a bad situation (and believe me, not one person who is in student loan debt can say that literally none of it was their own doing), it should surprise nobody when that causes resentment.