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<p>Source? </p>
<p>You’re totally sick of something that hasn’t happened yet but you suspect it might?</p>
<p>Lynjobes, weve established that the middle class- i.e. Those making $40,000 to $59,000 do indeed have more loans than those making either more or less.
So why is it you feel that lower income students who have less loan debt,( sometimes zero), will be the ones who need to be bailed out?
:-/ </p>
<p>Source? The Obama administration has been hinting (and other government officials) that we need to “do something” about existing loans. Gee, I can’t fathom what that means but yet another give-away program by the government (aka the few of us left paying federal income taxes–which is less than 50% now in case you want to know). Also, college tuition has almost exactly tracked the amount of annual loans the government offers–the colleges are raising tuition to match the loans. So, government interference started a lot of this. And OhMomoof2, yes, I am sick of subsidizing everything–food stamps, disability programs, tuition, loans, and so many other government (taxpayer paid) programs. No one minds helping the truly sick or needy, but all of these programs are terribly abused.</p>
<p>Lyn- quick suggestion- quit your job, and then you can get to be one of the subsidized.</p>
<p>So, in other words, your source is your paranoia.
Got it 
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<p>Those are all little things in the national budget, compared to Social Security, Medicare, and military.</p>
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<p>OK got it. </p>
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<p>College costs have risen a LOT more than even the total gov’t backed loans available now, I can’t imagine where you got the idea that they matched.</p>
<p>Hopefully, no one has a problem with subsidizing the defense budget. </p>
<p>Current gov’t backed loans for undergrads are $5500-6500-7500-7500 for years 1-4 of college. $2K of each is not subsidized.</p>
<p>The college I attended costs about $60K per year today. When I went in the 80’s it was around $25K. That’s a difference of $140K…not even close to what the government subsidizes or even just guarantees. Not even with Pell is it even close. I really don’t think you can blame the government for the cost of college today. </p>
<p>Then who is to blame?? :(( </p>
<p>What about Parent Plus loans? They require very little in the way of qualifications. Many families check the box to send little Susie to a school they can’t afford and get in very big trouble. Isn’t the gov’t somehow involved?</p>
<p>This is a question. Don’t everybody start yelling at me. </p>
<p>“Private colleges are 27% more likely to practice gapping than public colleges, but both do it.”</p>
<p>I’d love to see where this statistic came from. Seriously, I very much doubt public colleges are less likely to practice gapping than private. Unless, of course, you believe that including Parent PLUS up to COA constitutes NOT gapping. ;)</p>
<p>Public colleges also include numerous community colleges. Even if you add in the parentally subsidized food and utilities for the student living at the parents’ place, the overall cost of attendance should be low enough that there would not be a gap (although there is the possibility of needing direct loans to supplement student work earnings and/or Pell grant).</p>
<p>Right on lynjobes! The yahoos in Washington have already eased the path to forgiveness–In 2010, Congress approved the Pay As You Earn plan, which sets up student loan payments based on a person’s adjusted gross income and family size. It reduced the monthly payments on direct student loans from 15% of discretionary income to 10%, and also assured after 20 years of consecutive payments – 10 years for those in public service(of course!) – the remaining loan balance would be forgiven. If you are in any sort of government job, be it local state or federal, after ten years of reduced payments, you are done–loan forgiven! Forgiven means no payback, which means taxpayers once again foot the bill for someone else borrowing too much. Same thing that happened with the mortgage mess and the various programs designed to assist those who were “victimized by the banks.” </p>
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<p>Of course she wouldn’t have been able to afford it. I was responding to this:</p>
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<p>because it’s always surprised me that people are more upset about (relatively fewer) opportunities for poorer students rather than (far more) opportunities for better-off ones. I’m not being entirely fair in my response because Niquii says (s)he’s branching off of a discussion about low-income families having an easier time paying for college. Sorry 'bout that. </p>
<p>If D1 needed to work every summer to cover her student contribution and she also wanted these kinds of opportunities, she could’ve chosen to go to a college with an honors college or merit program which offered paid research internships or travel as part of their merit recruitment. Or simply one which offered enough merit money to free up her summers. </p>
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And that’s exactly what I did. I chose a school whose honors college program pays for its student to study abroad, research and the like, and offered enough money that I don’t have to work through college. </p>
<p>I definitely understand that there are set-backs from being low-income and these special programs provide opportunities that they would have never had, but it was awe-worthy for me. I didn’t expect there to be such a difference in the rigor, interest, and requirements in some of the programs I’ve seen. </p>
<p>Defense of the country is one of the things the Constitution that the federal government is in charge of. I happily pay for that, although I’d get rid of a lot of the waste that is in that department, as in all government departments. It is naive and historically short-sighted to think we should not spend on defense. And, most of the defense budget is payroll for our fine troops, at any rate. </p>
<p>Social Security is a larger share of US government spending than military spending. Medicare is nearly as much as military spending.</p>
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<p>I feel the same about education :)</p>