"The Debt Collective, an organization founded by a group of activists who met during the Occupy Wall Street protests a decade ago, is calling on people with student debt to stop paying it.
The group’s goal is to get all private and federal student loans canceled and to make public college free.
They say there’s essentially already a strike occurring, with a large share of borrowers unable to pay down their loans." …
Yeah, I don’t want to pay my mortgage either but guess what, I signed the papers and enjoy living in the house.
You took out a loan knowing you had to pay it back to get a good education. You chose to do this.
Go ahead, make it so student loans aren’t available anymore.
No, the government, my tax dollars, should not be responsible for your debt or your higher education.
“Why people with student debt are refusing to pay it.”
Because, like any other problem, if you ignore it, it will go away.
Soon they will be complaining that they cannot get a mortgage or even a car loan. And in many cases are unable to rent an apartment so they can move out of their parents’ basement.
come on Dave, you’re better than quoting a click-bait title.
What a stupid thing to recommend. I don’t typically use that adjective, but it fits. Forbearance is a terrible recommendation. Income driven repayment is good, but paying extra results in paying less over the life of the loan (or less tax on a forgiven amount, if it comes to that).
I am reminded of the student who asked one of my coworkers for “that loan you don’t have to repay.” What part of l-o-a-n do you not understand? You borrow, you pay it back. I am open to ideas like refinancing federal loans at a lower interest rate, not capitalizing interest when when moving in & out of repayment plan types, or maybe even capping overall interest … but making what you owe magically disappear? Sorry, no.
Loan payments need to be part of the borrower’s budget.
How do you live that kind of stupidity and expect grown-ups to take you seriously? That’s a declaration I would expect from my 13 year old daughter.
This would be the best possible outcome. Seriously.
I agree we have pushed student loans too far but I still think there is a need for some sort of loan. Obviously it should be more regulated because not everyone can make good financial decisions.
I understand your point though. It certainly has pushed up the costs of college. Uggggh.
If you think college is expensive now, wait until its “free.”
@saillakeerie, we already see it in Germany.
No tuition costs. Room and board on the student to provide.
As I understand the German system, its only a certain group of kids who are slated to go to college (typically from a relatively early age). Others (with few exceptions) will not go. And the college system isn’t like the US system (with new student activity centers, dining halls with huge array of options, new and shiny libraries and dorms, sports facilities, etc).
What is being tossed about in the US is “free” public college for everyone who wants it. Without some limiter on them, costs will skyrocket. Basic econ concept: subsidize something and you will get more of it and the price will go up. Subsidies in college costs are a big driver for increases in college costs. Look at medical costs: big subsidies (people pay a fraction of the costs of care and have no idea how much anything costs or reason to care). Costs soar. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
@PurpleTitan Is it true that not everyone in Germany can actually take advantage of that “free tuition” ?
These days, there are multiple pathways in to German unis and a large percentage of the student population are what we call non-trads. Yes, they are not open to everyone because everyone has to get in by meeting some standard/pathway completion (among many) but it’s not like they are extremely difficult to do if you’re of at least average intelligence and willing to study (and can do reasonablely well on tests).
No, they don’t tend to have lavish sports centers or lifestyle enhancement extras like many American colleges offer, but c’mon, they have libraries. German unis are there for students to pursue an education and credentials.
The German system makes sense.
Not more than 15-20% of the population in the US has the intellectual potential for real academic study beyond 13 years of primary and secondary education.
Let’s start providing alternatives to the standard college prep sequences that are used in practically all US high schools. Just how many people are ever going to understand precalculus on any conceptual level, or ever use it again after high school? 15% may well be an overestimate.
That’s the key point here. Germany is very much different than the US, so the comparison is hard to justify. I still prefer the options available here.
^
You can prefer whatever you want, but I don’t see free undergrad in Germany making their education expensive, which was the original point of debate.
The whole concept of paying very little for your national defense in relationship to your size and strategic importance for decades allows for options.
There is more to it as well. Culture.
And the athletic options, creativity/exploration via varied course work and social connections you gain here have value too.
It’s about choices. We probably have too many. Restricting it to European standards, time lines and major focused study only is one idea. Perhaps something in between, the state flagship options. Etc.
However, try getting everyone on board with listing a small group of schools and having little flexibility in choice. It’s my understanding it’s a very score and board exam driven process. Think of uproar for many of the parents with children with lds, advocates for low ses and other barriers to entry.
Tough questions. But worth a conversation.
As pointed out there are many differences with regard to the Germany universities, their relative operating costs/lower cost structure, and who can access that college education.
Let’s look at the proportion of Germany’s residents who have a college degree. The proportion of 25-64 year olds who have a tertiary degree in Germany is 29.1% (vs. 47.4% in the US), and among 25-34 year olds: Germany 32.3% vs. US 49.4%.
https://data.oecd.org/eduatt/adult-education-level.htm#indicator-chart
https://data.oecd.org/eduatt/population-with-tertiary-education.htm#indicator-chart
While we don’t know the isolated impact that ‘free’ college tuition has on the % of German residents with college degrees, tracking students from a relatively young age (before high school), and the robust post-secondary vocational training system are two factors that likely keep the college graduate numbers relatively low.
I do think easy loan money is part of the increase in college costs in the US, but with the projected rise of online not-for-profit schools and the looming decrease in the college age population (starting around 2026), there may continue to be downward pressure on college costs…average tuition discount rate is already over 50%. These market dynamics are probably unsustainable for some smaller and/or financially challenged colleges.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/05/10/nacubo-report-shows-tuition-discounting-trend-continuing-unabated
^ I don’t see much change in either country.
I will say:
“And the athletic options, creativity/exploration via varied course work and social connections you gain here have value too.”
They also occur in Germany. Students have the equivalent of our intramurals, organize music festivals, etc. Doesn’t seem to hinder their economy much. For elite professions, Germany uni grads are probably overrepresented at McKinsey.
“The whole concept of paying very little for your national defense in relationship to your size and strategic importance for decades allows for options.”
Fair point. Though you could also argue that paying much more to sustain a military-industrial complex that is much bigger than needed and in many of the wrong areas (because it is one of the few massive welfare state schemes that are deemed politically acceptable by many) instead of on education may not be the best policy either.