13 thoughts on “The Second-Worst Idea Ever”

  1. Outright forgiveness of the d3bt is a lot to ask for but there are other in between solutions.

    Student l0ans are unique in the United States in that they are the only type of obligation whose principle and interest are non-negotiable, even in a b@nkruptcy filing. Any other obligation can be reduced or eliminated via negotiation or b@nkruptcy: state and federal taxes, credit card d$bt, mortgage debt. With any other obligation, a person can, in theory wipe the slate clean and begin anew. Not so with student l0ans.

    I think it’s worth considering a change in the law to allow student loan debt to be eliminated in bankruptcy.

    1. As is often the case, the actions of a few impact many. The b@nkrupsy law was changed to exclude student lo@ns because some people ran up a lot of lo@n debt deliberately and then filed b@nkrupsy to escape their obligations. If we change the law back, you can rest assured that a lot of people will do the same thing. Student lo@n debt now exceeds credit card debt in the US at nearly a trillion dollars. Who would get stuck paying that debt? Look in the mirror.

      This spam filter is damned annoying.

      1. The problem became a problem when the federal government began subsidizing student loans. It got tired of banks coming to them for money when students defaulted.

        Grants and scholarships are a little better, but the government has no business guaranteeing loans or treating them differently than other debt.

      2. The b@nkrupsy law was changed to exclude student lo@ns because some people ran up a lot of lo@n debt deliberately and then filed b@nkrupsy to escape their obligations

        And they were only able to do so because student lo@ns are subsidized by the federal government. This is a classic example of a government creating a public good and a tragedy of the commons situation, and then attempting to fix the problem with extremely bad law.

        My view is that some sort of large scale debt forgiveness for student lo@ns is inevitable. That is, the “second worst decision” was made by making the worst decision.

        Fundamentally, we have a big threat to our democracy when people (the youngest and most easily duped, I might add) can easily enter into massive unforgivable lo@ns that they can’t pay off or dissolve in b@nkruptcy.

        In my view, the solution is pretty ugly. Immediately discontinue government subsidized student lo@ns and change b@nkruptcy law so that current student loans so that b@nkruptcy applies to these loans once again. Since most such lo@ns are guaranteed by the federal government, this is going to result in a huge charge (up to a trillion dollars!) for the federal government and perhaps large scale b@nkruptcy for a considerable portion of the current post-student population.

  4. Maybe there should be a “lemon law” for college education. If you come out of college spouting leftist nonsense, thinking America is the root of all evil in the world, quoting Ward Churchill and Howard Zinn, then you can negotiate forgiveness for your college loans — provided you agree to go get a real education somewhere else, in a subject which promises you might be of use to somebody someday.

    1. How about this: you get forgiven of all your debt, but can never vote unless you pay it back.

      Solves a lot of problems, really. I’d be willing to pay my share of that deal.

  5. Not that I really support laws constraining what people and institutions do, but I’m starting to think if a law is required, it would be one requiring at least 4 years of workforce experience before one could apply for college. Some could start with part time jobs in high school to shorten the period, but go learn what is needed in the world and then get educated on it.

    Instead, our local school district offers joint high school/college credit, such that some kids come out of high school with enough college credits to be considered juniors. Consider this isn’t limited to the 1 in a million prodigy, but offerred to all high school students in the district; one can see the problem here. Sure, it lowers the cost of a college degree, but it lowers the value as well.

  6. Maybe the government could institute some sort of tuition program? You serve the country for a period of time (maybe by joining the military or something) and the government gives you some assistance with college?

    1. If there was a way to implement something like that without funneling children into the waiting arms of leftists groups to exploit, then maybe.

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