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U.S. Student Debt in ‘Serious Delinquency’ Tops $166B

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Re: U.S. Student Debt in ‘Serious Delinquency’ Tops $166B

#11

But I thought the more a degree costs the more it magically increases lifetime earnings?

And the corollary: we destroyed the value of a high school diploma by lowering the standards and just shoving everyone through, so you need that magic degree more than ever now.

Re: U.S. Student Debt in ‘Serious Delinquency’ Tops $166B

#12

Education is important. Access to education is important. But our current system of giving out student loans with no regard to if the student will ever have a realistic ability to repay borders on predatory. If we can't do anything to solve that portion of the problem, we should at least restrict the mandatory fees that are tacked on for non instructional purposes. No student should have to pay for decades to prop up…

If we are being honest, sports and minor non-instructional costs are minor vs the cost of small classrooms and professors.

We need to vastly cut costs and sports and non-instructional costs wont move the needle.

Re: U.S. Student Debt in ‘Serious Delinquency’ Tops $166B

#13
I wonder if the increase in serious delinquency is being disproportionately driven by loans to for-profit institutions.

This article addresses the issue directly:

"Student debt a harsh math lesson for US graduates as wages lag" - https://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2018/03/student_deb...

For instance:

> Compared to their peers at other colleges, students attending for-profit institutions -- mostly those classified as inclusive, part-time or two-year -- are falling behind in their debt repayments. Twenty-two percent at for-profit schools were behind on their academic loan payments compared with six percent of students at public institutions, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve.

Re: U.S. Student Debt in ‘Serious Delinquency’ Tops $166B

#14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We will bail them out when enough voters vote for candidates who support zeroing out this debt, and write it off as a policy mistake. We’ve wasted trillions on unproductive military initiatives in the Middle East, this would be relatively minor in comparison. The economic productivity realized by these debtors able to be full economic participants instead of having student loan drag for a lifetime outweighs the moral…

the only way i’d support that is if the government gets out of the loan game and if we get rid of the provisions that prevent people from filing bankruptcy on the loans.

Yes, I would agree with this, along with government providing for free community college as well as subsidizing trade schools.

Fresh slate and we start over as a country on the right foot for education delivery.

Re: U.S. Student Debt in ‘Serious Delinquency’ Tops $166B

#15

i predict we’re going to have to bail these people out. once a critical mass of americans do something idiotic, it becomes politically expedient to bail them out and blame the companies for greed. this is a direct response of the government providing unlimited loans to anyone

We will bail them out when enough voters vote for candidates who support zeroing out this debt, and write it off as a policy mistake. We’ve wasted trillions on unproductive military initiatives in the Middle East, this would be relatively minor in comparison. The economic productivity realized by these debtors able to be full economic participants instead of having student loan drag for a lifetime outweighs the moral…

It would be easier to get the public to agree to this once the root cause is corrected. Getting loan forgiveness while continuing to issue loans that too often end up in default status is going to be a difficult sell. Writing off as a policy mistake might be possible but only if the policy mistake is corrected first or simultaneously.

Re: U.S. Student Debt in ‘Serious Delinquency’ Tops $166B

#17

Education is important. Access to education is important. But our current system of giving out student loans with no regard to if the student will ever have a realistic ability to repay borders on predatory. If we can't do anything to solve that portion of the problem, we should at least restrict the mandatory fees that are tacked on for non instructional purposes. No student should have to pay for decades to prop up…

People have been fine with Medicade/Medicare spelling out costs for services and such they should be willing to accept the same in higher education to obtain a Federally backed loan.

Schools will trip over themselves to offer degree programs to meet Federal Assistance requirements. Each degree, each course credit leading to that degree, should all be subject to review on a periodic basis to insure that the needs of the country as a whole are being supported. Colleges which fall outside the loan guarantees will obviously find methods to insure students can attend, by steering endowment funds and sponsorships.

Re: U.S. Student Debt in ‘Serious Delinquency’ Tops $166B

#18
Stuff like this is one of the reasons I like the idea of a basic income...because you could easily just divert the BI to pay for long term services in a situation like this.

Can’t pay student loans, your BI gets automatically directed to paying it off with no interest until the balance is clear.

Need to pay for school in the first place? Direct the monthly BI to the university to cover tuition/housing/meal plan (or a significant portion of it).

Commit a violent crime that will put you in jail, let your BI go to the prison to cover your stay.

Have a baby? The baby gets a basic income that can pay for daycare, baby supplies.

Re: U.S. Student Debt in ‘Serious Delinquency’ Tops $166B

#19

i predict we’re going to have to bail these people out. once a critical mass of americans do something idiotic, it becomes politically expedient to bail them out and blame the companies for greed. this is a direct response of the government providing unlimited loans to anyone

We will bail them out when enough voters vote for candidates who support zeroing out this debt, and write it off as a policy mistake. We’ve wasted trillions on unproductive military initiatives in the Middle East, this would be relatively minor in comparison. The economic productivity realized by these debtors able to be full economic participants instead of having student loan drag for a lifetime outweighs the moral…

I can see two distinct groups of people who would take issue with this, not that they'll necessarily have their way:

- people who were realistic about their finances and did not take on debt to "drag for a lifetime" in the first place. Why should the "rich" and/or reckless kids who lived in overpriced dorms with unnecessary amenities get bailed out when "I was smart and didn't screw myself from the start"?

- people who were able to afford a university education out the gate and were not burdened by any or much debt in the first place (and their parents!). Why should the "poor" and/or reckless kids who reached for something they couldn't & shouldn't have been able to afford get bailed out when "I worked hard to provide for myself / my family from the start"?

Re: U.S. Student Debt in ‘Serious Delinquency’ Tops $166B

#20

i predict we’re going to have to bail these people out. once a critical mass of americans do something idiotic, it becomes politically expedient to bail them out and blame the companies for greed. this is a direct response of the government providing unlimited loans to anyone

Not to be too cynical, but I seriously doubt that the individual borrowers will be bailed out. The government will instead provide liquidity to the servicing companies so they can repackage and resell the loans. Nobody really cares about the borrowers; it's all about keeping the companies in business.
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