In the US, school is free from Kindergarten to grade 12. Why isn’t college free?
It's not free, it's subsidized by the government. An important distinction.
Student Loans a Lot Like the Subprime Mortgage Debacle, Watchdog Says
171–180 of 372 posts
Re: Student Loans a Lot Like the Subprime Mortgage Debacle, Watchdog Says
#172We need to get rid of student loans. The problem is that Universities don't ever need to worry about a student defaulting and can keep increasing the prices of tuition with impunity. If they default, they don't care, because the money is already in the bank. If universities had to worry about students defaulting, they would get rid of bullshit degrees that don't result in an actual job and the prices would come done…
> If universities had to worry about students defaulting, they would get rid of bullshit degrees that don't result in an actual job and the prices would come done due to free market forces.
This is a hypothetical but classic example of how regulation is required to support a free market.
Re: Student Loans a Lot Like the Subprime Mortgage Debacle, Watchdog Says
#173We need to get rid of student loans. The problem is that Universities don't ever need to worry about a student defaulting and can keep increasing the prices of tuition with impunity. If they default, they don't care, because the money is already in the bank. If universities had to worry about students defaulting, they would get rid of bullshit degrees that don't result in an actual job and the prices would come done…
> If universities had to worry about students defaulting, they would get rid of bullshit degrees that don't result in an actual job and the prices would come done due to free market forces. This is a hypothetical but classic example of how regulation is required to support a free market.
A free market? Nobody but nobody would be stupid enough to lend money to students in a free market. The student would be an infeasible credit risk. They have no money or assets.
There is no free market here.
Re: Student Loans a Lot Like the Subprime Mortgage Debacle, Watchdog Says
#174Earlier quoted context omitted.
> And european governments have plenty of bs job creation engines like roadwork, too. Do you really think that there isn't economic value in roadworks?
US BS job creation is in healthcare, particularly insurance processing and billing, not roads.
Printing paper checks in the 21st century....
Re: Student Loans a Lot Like the Subprime Mortgage Debacle, Watchdog Says
#175so in other words, when the government steps in and interferes with the loan market it just balloons costs and lacks the oversight it should have; because it was a quasi government agency which caused a big portion of the mess in the mortgage industry one with many connections to members of Congress
I cannot gather whether you are pro or contra regulation from this comment since regulation is stepping in and interfering...
Re: Student Loans a Lot Like the Subprime Mortgage Debacle, Watchdog Says
#176That's just ridiculous! Voting is for suckas! Ha ha, I got my weed and my iphone, who gives a fuck about politics??? /s
Re: Student Loans a Lot Like the Subprime Mortgage Debacle, Watchdog Says
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The facts don't support this claim. U.S. government spending on tertiary education is 0.91% of GDP compared to Germany's 1.0% and Japan's 0.45% US voters aren’t comparing taxes with Japan and Germany. They’re voting between politician A who says they will lower taxes, and does it by removing funding for higher education or politician B, who does provide higher education and hence has to collect higher taxes and pol…
Maybe American voters don't want to pay more for college education because they know how much it costs, and they feel they are already paying enough? I think they are correct. Reforming higher education means cutting spending first and foremost. Shut down half the universities, lay off 1/3 of the staff in the rest, seize the endowments, close all the sports stadiums, fire most of the admins, force students to finish…
> Reforming higher education means cutting spending first and foremost.
This has already occurred and continues to be cut further. What also happened however, is the legislature promised lenders that taxpayers would pay for all student loans. Of course this doesn’t get accounted in cash flow, because you can just assume more people will pay back their loans than actually will.
So now you have a situation where a lender can make a loan of unlimited amount of money with no risk to the lender, a borrower who knows nothing about money but has infinite ability to borrow, and a seller (schools) that get less money from taxpayers, but now can fight for the gobs of money that the students (who know nothing) have control of spending.
Hence unnecessary stadiums, recreational centers, buildings, admin, etc.
Re: Student Loans a Lot Like the Subprime Mortgage Debacle, Watchdog Says
#178We need to get rid of student loans. The problem is that Universities don't ever need to worry about a student defaulting and can keep increasing the prices of tuition with impunity. If they default, they don't care, because the money is already in the bank. If universities had to worry about students defaulting, they would get rid of bullshit degrees that don't result in an actual job and the prices would come done…
> If universities had to worry about students defaulting, they would get rid of bullshit degrees that don't result in an actual job and the prices would come done due to free market forces. This is a hypothetical but classic example of how regulation is required to support a free market.
Where's the free market here? As far as I know, student loans are guaranteed by the government so the universities are not incentivized to keep the cost down because no matter how much they charge, students can "afford" to pay.
Re: Student Loans a Lot Like the Subprime Mortgage Debacle, Watchdog Says
#179We need to get rid of student loans. The problem is that Universities don't ever need to worry about a student defaulting and can keep increasing the prices of tuition with impunity. If they default, they don't care, because the money is already in the bank. If universities had to worry about students defaulting, they would get rid of bullshit degrees that don't result in an actual job and the prices would come done…
> If universities had to worry about students defaulting, they would get rid of bullshit degrees that don't result in an actual job and the prices would come done due to free market forces. This is a hypothetical but classic example of how regulation is required to support a free market.
How so? I don’t see the connection here.
Re: Student Loans a Lot Like the Subprime Mortgage Debacle, Watchdog Says
#180It seems like the majority of the commenters here are missing the point. The increasing rate of student loan default is not a result of kids who go to a four year college, graduate with an unmarketable degree in philosophy, fall on hard times and then can’t pay their bills. It's kids who go to barber or cosmetology school, take on $30k of debt, then realize they don't make enough money cutting hair to support themsel…
There is also a huge number of people who don't graduate at all.