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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

#181

Post by adreamingsoul »

JBlue42 wrote: post #173
adreamingsoul wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm probably just being extra hard on myself today.

Take the weekend off from the news, or longer. Find a good, non-political book and dive in. I've found it pretty easy to get into a negative spiral when reading about all the shit going on. Our awareness of the myriad problems and the seeming political and cultural insurmountability of them don't do our minds any favors.

Agreed. I have several books on timber framing that I need to finish.

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

#182

Post by dragonwriter »

Turing_Machine wrote: post #174
tinym wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only slightly pedantic: The United States has been at war for just over 16 years now.

Even more pedantic: The United States has been at war with North Korea since June 27, 1950. The war has been in a ceasefire state for a long time, but there has never been a formal peace treaty. Although a still more pedantic person might point out that there was no formal declaration of war in Korea, so technically it's not a "war" (it was called a "police action").

An even more pedantic person might point out that while various norms (international or internal) might obligate a country to declare war before prosecuting it, the fsct of armed international hostilities is war in international law (though it may not trigger all the effects triggered by a declared war in a states internal law) even if there is no declaration.

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

#183

Post by infamouscow »

r00fus wrote: post #27
matte_black wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The banks that loaned out all that money will need massive bailouts or else shut down. Let’s be clear, students will NEVER be allowed to default these loans, nor should they. They must either pay it or take their debt to the grave and pass it down to their heirs.

> Let’s be clear, students will NEVER be allowed to default these loans, nor should they. Why not?

Because most of these students will likely default. And once the tax base drops, other government budgets are impacted resulting in a net loss for society. The alternative is the government only offers loans to students majoring in fields that lead to jobs capable of repaying.

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

#184

Post by [deleted] »

buf wrote: post #166
vminkov wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Come to Eastern Europe, your student loan money is enough for a whole new life here. P.s. honestly, I don't understand how ppl who are so hoplessly indebted are not migrating here. Bulgaria offers very cheap life with the opportunity of doing business with the EU and the US. Why work 24/7 when you can enjoy a good life in a place where the local people and economy need a foreigner to lead them in the business and glo…

This. I "retired" to Bulgaria last year for 6 months and lived lavishly: restaurants, beach/mountain vacations, travel, shows, massive apartment, etc and found that my cost of living was 1/10th what I paid in San Francisco for less than half the luxury. I'm only back in the US now for a limited time. I've done the math and found that I need a few more years of work to live in Bulgaria full-time for the rest of my lif…

[deleted]

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

#185

Post by lozaning »

fineng123 wrote: post #105
vminkov wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Come to Eastern Europe, your student loan money is enough for a whole new life here. P.s. honestly, I don't understand how ppl who are so hoplessly indebted are not migrating here. Bulgaria offers very cheap life with the opportunity of doing business with the EU and the US. Why work 24/7 when you can enjoy a good life in a place where the local people and economy need a foreigner to lead them in the business and glo…

Because they don't understand. A common refrain about the story in the U.S. of LaVar Ball, the impetuously famous basketball dad, is that it was a huge mistake to send his kids to play in Lithuania. It's a classic example of "worldly" Americans going to the Louvre and being "cultured" but not having the depth of understanding that Eastern Europe is a wonderful, beautiful place. It's just not as well-kept and poorer s…

I think there's plenty of room to critique LaVars choices while staying purely within the confines of basketball. The difference between skill level, exposure, and compensation is quite stark between the US and anywhere else. He could send his kids to go live at the Louvre and it's still be a dumb basketball move.

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

#186

Post by dragonwriter »

matte_black wrote: post #13
jjoonathan wrote: post #3

Oof. What happens when a huge chunk of these default because educating everyone doesn't magically create jobs for everyone?

The banks that loaned out all that money will need massive bailouts or else shut down. Let’s be clear, students will NEVER be allowed to default these loans, nor should they. They must either pay it or take their debt to the grave and pass it down to their heirs.

> Let’s be clear, students will NEVER be allowed to default these loans, nor should they.

I think you mean “discharge in bankruptcy”, not “default”; default is what happens when you miss a scheduled payment; lots of students do default.

Also, they are dischargeable in bankruptcy, though the standard is harder than with other debt.

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

#187

Post by judah »

dorchadas wrote: post #99
adreamingsoul wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

And that's _exactly_ why I will likely never have kids. I'm a millennial myself, caught up in all that (doubly so, if they remove the student loan forgiveness for public workers), and I don't want to make any child of mine grow up in the world it seems we're heading to (especially degrading climate).

> "I don't want to make any child of mine grow up in the world it seems we're heading to"

This is utterly short-sighted thinking.

We in Western nations are utterly privileged and blessed to live in today's world. Abundance of clothing! Abundance of food! Free and accessible plumbing! Clean drinking water! Travel anywhere you like for relatively cheap! You probably own a large climate-controlled contraption that can transport you long distances in a short amount of time! No epidemic diseases/plagues of yesteryear! No famines! The average lifespan is already 80+ years old and that number continues to increase.

The world we are heading to will likely continue to see advances in technology and medicine, leading to less suffering and healthier, longer lifespans. More resources too - there are fewer destitute poor today than at any other time in history.

Warren Buffet said that the moment one was born in the United States or another Western country, that person has essentially won a lottery. Puzhong Yao, a Chinese immigrant to the US put[0] it this way:

"If someone is born a U.S. citizen, he or she enjoys a huge advantage in almost every aspect of life, including expected wealth, education, health care, environment, safety, etc., when compared to someone born in developing countries. For someone foreign to “purchase” these privileges, the price tag at the moment is $1 million dollars (the rough value of the EB-5 investment visa). Even at this price level, the demand from certain countries routinely exceeds the annual allocated quota, resulting in long waiting times. In that sense, American citizens were born millionaires!"

Jeff Atwood of Coding Horror blog expounded further[1]: "Being born today, rather than 50, 100, 200, 500 years ago is also effectively winning a lottery."

If you don't wish to have children for some reason, fine. But don't give us the foolish nonsense about refusing to bring up children in a terrible world. The world is the best it has ever been -- technologically, socially, medically, and probably morally -- and that trend is pointing in the right direction.

[0]: https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2017/11/western-elite-chi...

[1]: https://twitter.com/codinghorror/status/951212445426622464

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

#188

Post by adreamingsoul »

vminkov wrote: post #93
adreamingsoul wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Come to Eastern Europe, your student loan money is enough for a whole new life here. P.s. honestly, I don't understand how ppl who are so hoplessly indebted are not migrating here. Bulgaria offers very cheap life with the opportunity of doing business with the EU and the US. Why work 24/7 when you can enjoy a good life in a place where the local people and economy need a foreigner to lead them in the business and glo…

I've seriously considered it, but my family is the primary reason why I haven't pulled the trigger. I have Scandinavian roots on my Dad's side and would most likely try to utilize that.

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

#189

Post by marshray »

dnautics wrote: post #104
CodeSheikh wrote: post #45

Thanks to baby boomers for depleting resources of this nation and now younger generations are stuck in this financial mess. Had they been more visionary with better overlook then today there would have been better opportunities for younger generation to earn and pay back those loans. https://www.vox.com/2017/12/20/16772670/baby-boomers-millenn...

Let's not be too harsh on the baby boomers, they were trying to create a better world for the next generation, they chose chose to do it via an unsustainable system that relies on top-down direction of the economy using inappropriate tools. Can you blame them for that? Top down worked great at things like rebuilding europe after a war (admittedly an eminently unfalsifiable task)... True, there were minority voices cl…

> they were trying to create a better world for the next generation

I don't see a lot of evidence for this, except perhaps Reagan's program of deficit spending on an arms race to bankrupt the 'evil empire'. Maybe people should be forgiven for believing in the trickle-down lie once, but it's now simply a transfer of wealth scam.

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

#190

Post by godelski »

ytwySXpMbS wrote: post #150
godelski wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because 80% of people (at least Americans) live tldr: There's more to the equation than finance.

What stuff has led to culture shock? What's stood out to you?

There's a lot. But to sum up a few:

- The overwhelming political nature of everything here. It is "free-market is the solution to everything or you're a socialist" mentality. The Moore race is a good example of this. The only thing worse than a Dem is a pedo. I'm moderate right, for reference. (maybe some of this is just the political climate of the times)

- Bible belt and churches around every corner. Religion is much more common place, and I definitely get weird looks if I mention that I don't go to church.

- Everyone is big. I mean the obesity thing here is common and I'm shocked at the amount of fast food and all meat diets people do. This can lead to some bland food, though there is also some really good food. Great BBQ here.

- There is much more casual racism here (I'm white, but it is enough that I notice it when I'm not looking for it). Lots of confederate war flags and for some reason people keep telling me that the civil war had nothing to do with slaves. I don't know why people keep bringing that up in discussions that it isn't related to. These things also pop up in the frequent political discussions that I can't seem to avoid.

- Finding friends is hard. Part of this is just moving to a new area, part of it is cultural differences. I expect this to be a challenge for anyone that is moving not into a big area or into a job/school that you have a lot of peers. You'd be surprised how many friends you have because you sit next to them for hours a day.

- Everyone is extremely nice. This isn't really a bad thing, but it is surprising. People will go out of their way to help you.

And there are just cultural norms and vernacular that are strange to me. I'm also in a small town, so that definitely plays a factor. But it isn't a hick town either. I can't escape the feeling that I'm a foreigner. And I think that feeling of being a foreigner is off-putting for a lot of people.

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