<p>That Federal Direct loan, was totally paid off within 3 years of graduation. In fact, my dd’s dp (darling pater, i.e., yours truly) guaranteed the loans. And I have as good a credit rating as anyone could have. 7.4% was simply an absurd rate to charge. Usurious.</p>
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So true! And now that health insurance is changing so much, there needs to be a real eyeball to the absurdly cheap (to the employee) health insurance plans of public servants. On another thread a beneficiary of such a plan brays about their fabulous (and fabulously cheap) health insurance. There is no reason the taxpayers should have to subsidize these insurance plans to the extent that they do. Costs will be going up, and the public employees should share in these increases. </p>
<p>I don’t know the details about the plan beyond what I read in the linked article, so won’t pretend to at this point. However . . . there are loan forgiveness programs that seek to incentivize work that otherwise is less attractive but needed like public health in rural areas, VA hospitals, underserved inner cities, teaching in less desirable zip codes (especially now that teacher ratings and pay will be linked to test scores). The world only needs so many cash only plastic surgeons, dermatologists and ENTs. I’m sure there are issues with implementation - most programs, no matter how well intentioned they are or who initiates them have issues that need tweaking. I just looked up some broad numbers and the most conservative number that I could find in a hurry (from Forbes) pegs fossil fuel subsidies at $4.5 bill per year. Depending on what is thrown into that pot estimates range from there to $14 bill and some much higher. The “sky is falling” stated amount in the article is $14 bill over the program’s lifetime for perspective. This is not a wholesale endorsement of details, but I would urge people to climb back out of the political reeds and take a closer looks at solutions other than everyone attend community college.</p>
<p>“7.4% was simply an absurd rate to charge. Usurious.”</p>
<p>What rate is on your credit card? If it is less than 7.4%, please tell me where to get it. Student loans are unsecured debt, even if there is a co-signer, and the rates for unsecured debt is usually 15%+ for credit cards, and well into the 20-30% range for cash borrowed from finance companies. Banks don’t make many unsecured loans that aren’t associated with another account (overdraft for checking, for example) except for student loans.</p>
<p>Criminal usury rates are usually at 45%, but many lenders have licenses to lend at much more than that (Payday loan lenders, check cashing businesses).</p>
<p>My first home loan was at 7.4%. Hardly usurious.</p>
<p>College is too expensive. Subsidizing it is not the answer. Actually, it’s a huge part of the problem. </p>
<p>I didn’t want a student loan to pay off after I graduated.</p>
<p>I majored in BS Computer Science at a state university. I joined the Army National Guard in a state with State Tuition Waiver. I graduated mid-pack in my class, but I was able to walk out of undergrad with $0 in educational loans, a security clearance, etc. I had a 30 min phone interview with a defense contractor and they were willing to pay more than what Wall Street was paying for software engineers for less than 35 hours/week of work and over 6 weeks of vacation per year in a metro market that was 3x less expensive than NYC.</p>
<p>Now I’m working full-time while attending a MS Computer Science program part-time for free again. I continue to serve in the Army National Guard because I enjoy it and will make it a part-time 20 year career.</p>
<p>There’s no free lunch in this world. If you want to reap great rewards/benefits, you have to be willing to pay to play.</p>
<p>There are states which choose to subsidize higher performing students on the front end with large scholarships. Some are in-state only and some seek to draw talented OOS kids one presumes with taxpayer money. These boards are full of recommendations to consider these programs. Maybe kids don’t value the education if it is subsidized, but the kids I know who are benefitting from Georgia HOPE and the generous aid and UA seem to be taking full advantage of it (in the best way). Presumably these states have decided that there is a societal and likely direct economic development benefit to these programs. I haven’t seen a lot of “lazy kids sucking the government dry” comments about these programs. </p>
<p>Again, the exact mechanisms are open to question, but one must decide if an educated population is a societal value then work backwards from there (or a healthy population for that matter).</p>
<p>@Polo08816 - good job making your way and finding self sufficient ways to get it done. I would point out that if you have a semi-cushy job with a defense contractor some here might blow the whistle on government waste. It is private industry but not by definition somehow less suspect and more deserving than an individual who might provide the same service as a government employee for less pay and less vacation and are widely maligned as being “at the government trough.”</p>
<p>Well, people will find the public money if it’s offered, obviously. I don’t see scholarships as in any way equivalent to erasing debt after a student or a family makes a poor financial decision. We will all just start going to unaffordable dream schools dream with the taxpayer footing the bill. Simply, it makes no sense</p>
<p>Socialism, yuck. </p>
<p>The problem with this system is that one eventually runs out of other peoples’ money.</p>
<p>A lot of people get a degree in Tapestry Weaving or Cheese Appreciation and wonder why they can’t find a job. Getting rid of the monetary penalty will only further this trend. I’m not saying everyone should be an Engineer or something like that, but jobs/potential salary should be considered when choosing a degree. </p>
<p>I read the “the availability of government loans has lead to the increase in costs” quotes all over the place on this. site. Can anyone cite a study that proves this relationship. My gut is that this an urban myth.</p>
<p>Saintfan got the issue right on loan forgiveness. Loan forgiveness is a way to incentive doctors and teachers to serve high need/high poverty areas. For others in public service, having loan forgiveness is simply a potential recruiting tool. Speaking for myself, I could easily earn 25% more in the private sector but I’ve made to choice to stay in the public sector.</p>
<p>Public teachers in our county are paid much less than they could make elsewhere, or in another field.I have no problem with the teacher loan forgiveness programs. I think they range from $5000 for someone who teaches in a Title I school for five years, on up to 17000+ for other specialties. (Special ed, math and science). </p>
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I do hope you’re speaking tongue in cheek. You mean students who are low income don’t deserve to attend college?</p>
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<p>Perhaps in some areas of the country, but not all. The median salary of a teacher in our SoCal town is pushing $90k, which is nearly 2x the median salary of the country. Add in great genies, and a generous retirement system long gone from the private sphere, and they do much better than the parents whose kids they teach.</p>
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<p>Have you completed school? It’s pretty impressive to finish 4 years of college without debt. What field are you in?</p>
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<p>That is the wrong way to do an incentive since it does not provide any incentive to a person who does not have any loans which is highly discriminatory.</p>
<p>If you want to provide that incentive, it should be available to anyone who applies for the jobs in those areas and in the form of a yearly bonus or some such structure.</p>
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<p>Public high school employee contracts in NYS are going to drive our schools to insolvency. Every year, districts let teachers go simply because we can no longer afford them. Where they get jobs, I don’t know. I’d sooner make a little less an have a job than the reverse.</p>
<p>On the case of teachers, lets not forget that they don’t work for 2.5 months. Also, they have excellent perks/benefits and tenure/union protection making them basically unfirable. </p>
<p>So yeah, they get slightly lower checks at end of the month than most people, but that’s small potatoes. </p>
<p>If it were up to me, I would double the salaries, eliminate tenure and make them WORK for their money.</p>
<p>ARE there doctors who don’t have loans?</p>
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<p>We are all paying for corporate entitlements and policies that benefit only the very rich. We all also pay for wars that line the pockets of those in the military-industrial complex. </p>
<p>I find your position ironic given that you wanted to sue your university after you failed a class and they dismissed you. Your excuse was not feeling well and having panic attacks. It is interesting to me that you expected the college to understand your circumstances but you are seemingly unable to show any compassion toward others.</p>