Student loan debt

[Traildogbob]

If you did not watch John Oliver last night, you should be sure to see the replay. This is a national disgrace.
And he highlighted a Texas (of course) rep that aggressively refuses any relief to those debt ridden.
Claiming he is a small business owner and “Pays His Bills”.
Guess what, he got over a million in PPE cash, and will not pay back a penny.
And he is one of the richest reps in office.

[Johnny2X2X]

1. Joe Biden's PAYE

The new Pay As You Earn option Biden launched is called SAVE. It's absolutely a game changer for most borrowers. Federal student loan payments are affordable for all borrowers now. The student debt crisis is solved, at least in terms of Federal guaranteed loans.

[MichMan]

2. It is just being added to the National debt for future taxpayers to deal with

There hasn't been any new source of revenues established to pay for it.

How is that solving the debt crisis other than kicking the can down the road?

[EYESORE 9001]

3. I would argue that paying off student debt is an economy-booster instead

Consider all the freed-up liquid assets flowing into the economy. Those who grouse about paying off student loan debt - in the face of corporate and upper-income tax cuts - are straining at a gnat. Fuck austerity budgets anyway.

[angrychair]

5. What's the alternative?

The current situation is broken and barring significant changes it will lead to massive amounts of debt and people being held prisoner for decades trying to pay it off.
The other things they need to do is lower the administrative overhead at colleges and universities and bring down costs as education expenses are far outpacing other debt.

[MichMan]

10. Yet, we are still letting colleges charge whatever they like and ignoring the real problem

They get to charge obscene amounts and instead of trying to address that problem, instead we cap the amounts student have to pay and stick the taxpayers with the rest. Might as well give the colleges a blank check.

The alternative is to pay for current forgiveness by raising taxes, not by passing it on to future generations

[mike_c]

12. it's worth asking why "education expenses are outpacing other debt"

During the last 40 years state legislatures have aggressively disinvested in public higher education, transferring much of the cost from public coffers to individual students and their families, and dramatically raising the perceived cost of attendance.

[MichMan]

16. Why? It seems to have occurred in all states regardless of political makeup

Red or Blue, it seems like they all cost exorbitant amounts.

[angrychair]

17. It's multiple factors really

Cutting of state funding. It's also a unprecedented increase in administrative overhead over the last 20 years. Also a massive increase in pay for certain administrative positions.
These factors are at the root of the increased costs.
Books costs have dramatically increased in the last 10 yrs alone.
I have relatives spending a out $400 a semester for books or sometimes a single book can cost that.
All this while cutting the number of tenured professors and increasing adjunct professors (no tenure track or even benefits in most cases) and TAs teaching classes (also no tenure or benefits and sometimes not even paid).

[HeartachesNhangovers]

6. You are correct. The underlying issues still haven't been addressed.

One of the worst issues ([link:https://www.cbsnews.com/news/college-grads-jobs-underemployed/|): half of college degree holders don't end up with jobs that require degrees. I understand that lots of people - lovers of knowledge - pursue degrees with no expectation that it will result in a related career, but certainly not half of the people who go to college. This doesn't even count all the people who enroll, rack up considerable debt, and drop out without a degree. Many young people (and possibly their parents) have very unrealistic ideas about the financial benefits of a college degree.

A few decades ago, going to college was a no-brainer. The cost was reasonable enough, and a much smaller percentage of the population had a degree, so that almost any degree was impressive to an employer. Today, the number of degree-holders has exceeded the demand, so the value of a degree has been substantially diminished.

[Johnny2X2X]

13. Biden has raised revenues other ways

And make no mistake about it, the majority of borrowers will still pay back what they borrowed, these changes to pay back options just allow them to forgoe interest and have their payments be based on their incomes. Biden has raised taxes on corporations that will more than make up for this.

It's not kicking the can anywhere, it;s an investment in the American people, it's what Dems stand for, investing in regular peoploe trying to make their lives into something in pursuiot of the American Dream. The tax cuts for the wealthy and giant subsidies for oil companies are never paid for, they're always kicked down the road to pay for them, but that's just Republican values, to take from the people and give to the rich.

[Happy Hoosier]

4. Those assholes....

I'm doing my best to make sure my daughter doesn't start he adult life up to her ears in debt. It's a tough world for these kids. I am fortunate to be in the financial position to try and cushion her from that. I make sure she is aware of the incredible privilege she is in the position to take advantage of.

[Traildogbob]

7. My biggest issue

Is the loan companies that are outright scamming the students.
One student was sent a payment coupon for 7+ years at one penny below the payment. And after all those years she had a balance the same as the beginning. The loan company negated each payment because it was below the required payment. She has been fighting this fraudulence for 3 years with the courts siding with the loan agency.
That was just one of many of the scams Oliver was pointing out.
No one should be paying 30 years with only 1/4 of the balance being paid down.
The scans and absurd interest rates need to be fixed, and prosecute the outright theft.
Just watch John’s show and see the details of the people being abused. Not asking for get out of the loan for free, but make the loan companies abide by reasonable rules,

[MichMan]

9. The Federal government has been the loan issuer for over a decade now

Congress sets the interest rates

[Traildogbob]

11. Watch the show

See the multiple loan communities highlighted and the scams they are doing.
Those are all private companies that specifically loan to college students.
Maybe all Of Oliver’s researches are all full of shit ant his show is a Fox Like propaganda network.
Damn you Oliver and HBO with all those lies. Shame shame.

[Orangepeel]

8. The country should forgive the interest retroactively

Forgiving student loan debt makes a lot of people angry, which is why it is hard to do politically. I'm for forgiveness, but I hear plenty of "my kid had to pay off loans" or "it was too expensive for me to go to college, I should have just borrowed a bunch of money!"

But most people understand refinancing a loan, like a mortgage to pay less interest. It wont convince those determined to make life harder for others, like republicans in congress. But I think it would be more palatable for most people.

[Johnny2X2X]

14. The selective forgiveness has been great

You have to look at whose loans Biden has forgiven. People who went to scam universities and got useless degrees from them have seen loans forgiven. People who became disabled and were unable to work had loans forgiven. People who paid interest for years and have paid back in excess of what they borrowed have had loans forgiven. Military vets had some loans forgiven.

For the rest of the people, he offered refinancing optiions based on their income, and he basically did away with accruing interest. No more of this borrow $40K to go to college and pay back $100K. These are federally guaranteed loans, the private companies who adminster them are making money when they shouldn't have been. The era of the borrower making $50,000 a year and having an $1800 student loan payment is over.

Biden is investing in the American people, if he was giving breaks to giant corporations on loans they had, no one would be blinking an eye at it.

[ForgedCrank]

15. The guy

has his own issues that I won't address in my opinion, but on one subject, I have to agree with him.
No one is entitled to have a debt "forgiven". They aren't forgiven at all, money is forcibly taken from all the rest of us in order to pay that, OR, it is just written off into the national debt (which eventually translates to the same thing). This sort of stuff is the reason college educations are so expensive. As long as people see the free money train (through student loans and now potential FREE student loans they never have to pay back), they spend recklessly on their education, and the colleges keep pumping the prices because they know they can get it. There is no market moderation at all with this model. It's no different than the influence of healthcare insurance on medical expenses.
I don't find anyone else to be responsible for decisions I have made, and it's a bit insulting to hear some say they shouldn't have to pay back money they borrowed.