8 thoughts on “The College Debt Debate”

1. If only it were so cut and dried. I know many a person who has a college degree but are swimming in debt because most companies will not pay decent salaries but insist on the degree. And worse yet, if they can’t find someone to work at that price, they ask for (and usually get) an H1-B visa and bring someone in who will work for that amount.

   I have seen this happen for years in the computer sciences industry. Cybersecurity is the bane right now. Companies will ask for a litany of certifications and then start the pay at $40k a year. If I have the certs they want, I should be making well over $100k a year. Even at that rate, I’d be lucky to pay the loans back.

   We created this monster. Cheap funding with no way to take it off your debt load if you go bankrupt. The banks don’t lose because the government guaranteed it. One misstep and you are ruined for life. One of my friends fights this issue every day.

2. It’s not like mechanics are likely to be taxed to pay student debt relief. The gubmint will just issue debt, and finance that with more debt. And it’s not as though mechanics don’t borrow money to pay for their degrees, whereas in other countries they would have been paid apprentices from a young age.

3. There are a lot of people who went to state colleges and dropped out who then have the debt but not the degree. These kids started off hurting for money, which made them good targets for predatory lenders and collegiate accomplices. They fall into the “auto mechanic” range of professions that don’t require a college degree.

   IMO, to be acceptable to most people, any plan to address college debt has to punish all the parties. Fixing the system can’t happen without dealing with colleges and lenders. Both should have to help foot the bill.

   1. IMO, to be acceptable to most people, any plan to address college debt has to punish all the parties.

      I remember starting off engineering school. We were told to look to the left and right of us, and realize that of the three of us, only 1 would graduate. It was daunting at the time, but I didn’t think it all the way through. The university had taken all our money and was proud of the fact that they would only graduate a 1/3rd of us. That’s a lottery system most of us wouldn’t partake in any other circumstance. These predatory systems should be punished.

4. 1. Dump the debt. Allow future debt to be relieved by bankruptcy.
   2. Put a windfall tax on academia to pay for it.
   3. No more government-backed student loans.

   Job done. Kids who made bad decisions can now have lives again, and many left-wing academics will be laid off.

   1. On an emotional level, people want to help and they don’t really care if their helping hurts individuals or the system in the long run.

   2. Sure, dump the student loan debt that totals over $1.5 trillion. What’s another $1.5 trillion added to the national debt? A trillion here and a trillion there, pretty soon you’re talking about some real money.

5. The reason hazing persists in organizations, and the reason the Bar exam still requires a law degree in so many states is because nobody wants to be the one left without a chair when it’s all over.

   If and when the decision is made to rip off the band-aid of the college loan scandals, at least some of the people who sacrificed opportunities to make good on their own debt are going to come with pitchforks.

   I can’t say that I’m any better; I made stupid mistakes with money through college and again in grad school, but I finally paid off all of my loans and I’m sure I’ll feel at least a little put out by the notion that there are those who will have their college debt forgiven with nary a penny out of pocket themselves.

   As Wodun said, the “relief” should come from the endowments and budgets of the administration of these institutions. Unfortunately from what I’ve seen, that means I’ll just pay a higher state income tax rate to pay for the state-run universities when the music stops.

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