Student debt "Crisis"

[S.Clancy]

Is anyone else tired of hearing this BS? No one put a gun to anyones head saying they had to take out a shit load of loans, and forgive me for expecting some sort of personal responsibility for your life! I understand that some borrowers got hosed by predatory private creditors, but the majority just thought it was free money, whoooo!!! Rant over, ******* ******* ****!

 

[Russp17]

I agree to a point but just wanted to point out a lot of these kids parents are just as responsible as the kid. Many kids have no idea what they are signing up for and parents should at the very least educate them on finances and how these loans work.


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[brsnow]

The economic impact will affect everyone.

 

[sjackson6715]

The economic impact will affect everyone.

What do you mean by this? Not being sarcastic, I’m genuinely interested.

 

[cornfedkiller]

I'll chime in with what I hope doesnt turn into too long of a response..

I think there are several culprits - the first being the federal government. Giving out loans to 18 year old kids that have no idea what lies ahead of them, what this debt will do to them, and no real plan of repaying them other than "getting a degree". If you want to borrow money from a bank, you better have a plan to repay it, the bank must assess their risk, and comply with regulations so the loans are not "predatory". The government doesnt care who is taking out the loans or how much they are for - and its guaranteed money for them because they are not forgivable for any reason (bankruptcy).

The government recognizes this is a problem and thinks they need to do something to help forgive these loans, while at the same time doing nothing to prevent from getting into the situation in the first place.

Its no wonder college tuition has risen as much as it has in the last 10-15 years... if you owned a business and your customers never asked the price, just showed up, bought stuff, paid the bill and never batted an eye if it was more expensive next time, wouldnt you keep raising the price? When the government steps in and "hands" out money, they've artificially inflated the demand, which means prices go up.

As mentioned above, I also think parents are to blame. People should definitely be educating their children about the consequences of these decisions. Unfortunately, a lot of adults aren't very financially responsible either...

The last culprit is the students (borrowers) themselves. Yes, take some personal responsibility for your actions. As someone who had about a quarter million in student loans when I graduated college, I've made quite a few sacrifices while getting them paid off, so they won't get much sympathy from me.

 

[fire652]

I went to college later in life and have a substantial amount of student debt but my career choice offers the opportunity for loan forgiveness. However I do not think it is right to allow someone to go into six figure debt to come out with a fine arts degree or a history degree. Some of these programs are ridiculous and parents should guide their kids into degree programs that will allow them to obtain employment after graduation.


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[Smithb9841]

This is one thing that sets me off and will
Make my blood boil!!! And our society doesn’t teach kids the way they should.

When I was a kid the teachers I had laid it out like this, basically college is an investment in yourself. If you go to college you’re investing in your future and banking on the fact that what you earn your degree in will pay off in the long run. I went to school for business im
Still 30K in debt from student loans that I make payments on every month and every time I pay that bill I know that it was worth it because I got a degree in something that I the “investment” paid off for. I never would expect to have loan forgiveness or any other program because I know I chose that route and believed (which I was right) would pay off and it has.

Now days kids are told to get a degree in something you love and are passionate about which is BS it’s called work for a reason ya you should like your job but you also have to understand at the end of the day your going to work!! You have these spoiled kids getting degrees in things that aren’t going to pay off for them in the long run and then complain that they can’t get a job with a liberal arts degree!!! Well no s**** Sherlock...

Man Clancy you got me all fired up now haha... seriously tho this is something that doesn’t get enough attention.. in My
Mind there needs to be a shift in culture and teachings that college is an investment in yourself Your future and your career it’s not where you go for 4 years to go find yourself and learn who You are or Whatever other BS is being spewed

Oh and btw I’m a younger guy 28 I just was brought up with a different mindset and my
Parents pushed that college is just a stepping stone to help you get where you
Want to go.. ok I think my rant is over haha

 

[Carlin59]

I've got a fun solution. I'm hearing (not from this discussion necessarily but in general) that 18 year olds aren't mature or intelligent enough to take on debt, and yet they are somehow equipped to vote at that age. How about offering loan forgiveness, with the caveat that if taken, the recipients right to vote is rescinded for "x" years. If we collectively are willing to say "I feel so bad that you were so inept that we will erase $xx,xxx debt for you", I think it is fair to say they probably shouldn't be deciding the future of our country by voting. Obviously satirical, but I'm not a fan of automatic student loan forgiveness or double standards (18 being a qualifier for voting, military service, adult criminal prosecution, etc). I agree that better education is needed before hand, but I'm not willing to give a pass to those who already put ink to paper. I do like the various state and federal loan forgiveness programs that require qualifying public service for a certain number of years, I've seen that keep some really good people in public medicine or education that would otherwise have cashed in on the private sector.

 

[Smithb9841]

What do you mean by this? Not being sarcastic, I’m genuinely interested.

I’m assuming he means if certain loan forgiveness programs are pushed and student loans are forgiven we all as tax payers will shoulder the burden. I could be wrong but that’s what I assume

 

[big44a4]

Agreed. I didn’t have student loans as football covered my undergrad and masters. However, my wife graduated nearly 6 figures in student loan debt. We lived in a 1 bed room 650 sqft apartment with two 70+ lb dogs and a baby in our room for 3 years to pay them off. We still don’t pay for cable or internet at our house. Just boils down to making it happen. We all have to live with our choices.

A lot of people don’t understand finances. When we told others we were paying them off as fast as we could (entire paychecks with 0 savings/emergency fund over that 3 years) they’d say it’s better for your taxes to keep them. You can only write off a small portion of the interest paid each year.

 

[brsnow]

There are 2 parts, one we don’t have economic growth if people do not have disposable income, the other end being as loan defaults it can create another crisis similar to 08-09, the student loan amounts are staggering and more and more loans are defaulting. Hard to escape being impacted if the situation continues.

 

[fire652]

I've got a fun solution. I'm hearing (not from this discussion necessarily but in general) that 18 year olds aren't mature or intelligent enough to take on debt, and yet they are somehow equipped to vote at that age. How about offering loan forgiveness, with the caveat that if taken, the recipients right to vote is rescinded for "x" years. If we collectively are willing to say "I feel so bad that you were so inept that we will erase $xx,xxx debt for you", I think it is fair to say they probably shouldn't be deciding the future of our country by voting. Obviously satirical, but I'm not a fan of automatic student loan forgiveness or double standards (18 being a qualifier for voting, military service, adult criminal prosecution, etc). I agree that better education is needed before hand, but I'm not willing to give a pass to those who already put ink to paper. I do like the various state and federal loan forgiveness programs that require qualifying public service for a certain number of years, I've seen that keep some really good people in public medicine or education that would otherwise have cashed in on the private sector.

Yup. I am moving to an underserved area to work at a critical access hospital and this will qualify for student loan forgiveness


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[*zap*]

Why fiorgive any debt that they signed up for? These folks do not need any more coddling. No free rides, welcome to big boy rules and consequences.

 

[brsnow]

Yup. I am moving to an underserved area to work at a critical access hospital and this will qualify for student loan forgiveness


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Typically still taxed as income, the amount forgiven so worth discussing with tax person. Depending on amount, forgiveness can be expensive.

 

[toadmeister]

Speaking of voting, isn’t Bernie Sanders bribing students by saying debts will be forgiven?


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[willfrye027]

My wife and I will have about half a mil when it’s all said and done. But we will also have the jobs to pay for it. Definitely will be living frugally for years to pay them off but it will be a worthwhile investment in the long run. The problem is when people take on a crap ton of debt for a degree that won’t pay enough to get rid of the debt.

 

[willfrye027]

Yup. I am moving to an underserved area to work at a critical access hospital and this will qualify for student loan forgiveness


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What do you do out of curiosity?

 

[fire652]

What do you do out of curiosity?

Nurse practitioner


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[zacattack]

There’s a lot going on here. As faculty at a large university I see this everyday and there are many angles to this problem.
1. Getting useless degrees while taking out student loans, by useless I mean a degree that will never see a return on investment
2. Many people at college shouldn’t be there.
3. High school counselors are telling kids and parents that if you don’t go to college you will never amount to anything.
4. Not having a career path or goal when you decide on a major
5. Parents that are in massive amounts of debt, so students think that debt is normal, and have no idea how to live within or below your means
6. Keeping up with the Jones’s. Students lease/buy cars on student loans, buy insanely nice clothes, eat out constantly, new phones, etc.

/professor soapbox

 

[Gumbo]

Unfortunately, excluding a few degrees that do have real employment potential, college is a freaking scam anymore. The university/college system needs revamped and streamlined, and they need to stop giving out BS degrees (pun intended) that serve no purpose. And now there are politicians pushing the free college for all notion. Unless my kids have a real career path that necessitates a college degree I will encourage them to learn a trade.