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Half of the US government's financial assets are student loans

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Re: Half of the US government's financial assets are student loans

#71

Post by aidenn0 »

adreamingsoul wrote: post #65
gesman wrote: post #11

Recent reports from the Treasury Department show that the US government owns nearly $1.5 trillion in student loans. That’s pretty sad when you think about it: the US government’s #1 financial asset is debt owed by tens of millions of its young people for university education that didn’t even necessarily qualify them for a real career. Millennials are the most educated generation in history. Yet there are record numbe…

Millennial here, thanks for the daily reminder of the future I have to deal with. Failing government systems, check. Unaffordable educational system, check. Limited housing and land, check. Degrading climate, check. Some days I believe I just may find a way out of it. But, for every day I participate in the rat race is just another lost when I should be working on building a better future for my family.

There's still a chance for you if you can get adopted by someone rich!

Re: Half of the US government's financial assets are student loans

#73

Post by bradleybuda »

philipov wrote: post #62
thinkloop wrote: post #44

One thing to keep in mind is that "assets" are far from "spending". Governments generally do not accumulate assets, everything they collect is reserved for spending (besides some operational accounts and things like foreign reserves). The student loan program is an exception and so figures heavily in this stat.

Government owns a lot of land, and land is most certainly an asset. Does it figure into these stats? It would be rather deceptive to craft your definition of asset to exclude the most important one.

These are so-called "financial assets" (which I'm guessing are a relatively small portion of the US government's total assets).

Re: Half of the US government's financial assets are student loans

#74

Post by ProAm »

gesman wrote: post #11

Recent reports from the Treasury Department show that the US government owns nearly $1.5 trillion in student loans. That’s pretty sad when you think about it: the US government’s #1 financial asset is debt owed by tens of millions of its young people for university education that didn’t even necessarily qualify them for a real career. Millennials are the most educated generation in history. Yet there are record numbe…

> The Board of Trustees of Social Security tells us that the program is going to completely run out of money within the next 15 years

Can you cite any sources on this? Im fairly certain it will not be completely out of money, but will be to a point where more money is going out than coming in.

Re: Half of the US government's financial assets are student loans

#75

Post by rco8786 »

empath75 wrote: post #43
tw04 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, given the only way to escape student loans is death... good luck defaulting?

You can't get blood from a stone. If they don't have the money, they don't have it.

Right, and the gov't isn't exactly waiting on this money for solvency. This debt is just going to stick around for decades until people start to die.

Re: Half of the US government's financial assets are student loans

#76

Post by JumpCrisscross »

chatmasta wrote: post #40
mylons wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ya, I had this thought as well, but then the IRS garnishes your wages until you die. So how does it pop? Seems like a lot of people would have to go to jail or something along those lines for it to actually happen?

They can only garnish your wages if you’re a W2 employee, or use the banking system. Contractors need to pay their own taxes, and the IRS can’t garnish what it can’t see. Gig economy + cryptocurrency + social media + student loan debt could lead to some very interesting times.

“Interesting time” as in jail time for money laundering and wilful tax fraud?

Re: Half of the US government's financial assets are student loans

#77

Post by cs702 »

This ignores $2.466 trillion of US treasuries and $1.771 trillion of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities owned by the Federal Reserve.[a] Although the Fed, as the US's central bank, operates independently of the federal government, its balance sheet should properly be consolidated. The largest financial assets owned by the US federal government are therefore US treasuries and government-sponsored-entity mortgage securities, not student debt.[b]

--

[a] Figures are as of November 2017. See page 12 here: https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/quarterl...

[b] Many people don't realize or understand that the largest creditor of the US federal government is the US federal government, through the Federal reserve. The US federal government currently pays interest on $2.466 trillion of treasuries to the Federal Reserve, which, at the end of each year, sends all that interest back to the US Treasury.

Re: Half of the US government's financial assets are student loans

#78

Post by 45h34jh53k4j »

adreamingsoul wrote: post #65
gesman wrote: post #11

Recent reports from the Treasury Department show that the US government owns nearly $1.5 trillion in student loans. That’s pretty sad when you think about it: the US government’s #1 financial asset is debt owed by tens of millions of its young people for university education that didn’t even necessarily qualify them for a real career. Millennials are the most educated generation in history. Yet there are record numbe…

Millennial here, thanks for the daily reminder of the future I have to deal with. Failing government systems, check. Unaffordable educational system, check. Limited housing and land, check. Degrading climate, check. Some days I believe I just may find a way out of it. But, for every day I participate in the rat race is just another lost when I should be working on building a better future for my family.

dont worry. put your funds into 'good money' like sensible cryptocurrencies and watch your savings multiply. that is how we will fight the crooked boomer system.

Re: Half of the US government's financial assets are student loans

#79

Post by d--b »

thinkloop wrote: post #44

One thing to keep in mind is that "assets" are far from "spending". Governments generally do not accumulate assets, everything they collect is reserved for spending (besides some operational accounts and things like foreign reserves). The student loan program is an exception and so figures heavily in this stat.

Yes, the title makes it sound like the US government is in a dire situation because it has its solvency tied to students paying back their loans...

But mostly the government is a borrower of cash and not a lender.

Here the government is indirectly financing people's education by offering cheaper loans than the market would give. There is not much to talk about...

Re: Half of the US government's financial assets are student loans

#80

Post by hidenotslide »

fixermark wrote: post #68
evanpw wrote: post #51

Notwithstanding entirely valid concerns about student loans, this is pure clickbait. The feds also own 30% of the nation's land (640M acres), and have the exclusive right to collect $3T+ per year in taxes (not to mention they can literally print dollars).

What is the impact to the American economy when the Federal government has to write down the value of over half its assets as the average lendee dies without paying?

Nothing? That person was also collecting social security and medicare if they were old enough.
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