Student Debt Burdened Them, So They Moved Abroad and Stopped Paying

Post by ceejayoz » Sat, Apr 04, 2026, 9:55 PM UTC

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #66

ceejayoz wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think the other comment is accurate. edit: Yeah, that other comment is talking about European rates, not American rates. https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/interest-r... 6.39% to 8.94%, and that's for Federal. Private ones tend to be even higher. 7/1/21–6/30/22 3.73% 7/1/20–6/30/21 2.75% 7/1/19–6/30/20 4.53% 7/1/18–6/30/19 5.05% 7/1/17–6/30/18 4.45% 7/1/16–6/30/17 3.76%

Hmm. I wonder why it doesn’t make sense to launch a private lender that offers lower rates.

Post by hamdingers » Sat, Apr 04, 2026, 9:57 PM UTC

binarynate wrote: post #69

reenorap wrote: post #41

Paying your debts is a business decision, not a moral decision. There is nothing moral about paying your debt to a bank and nothing immoral about not paying your debt to a bank. Businesses do this ALL THE TIME. Businesses can do this, and will walk away from debt the second when the math makes sense. If it's okay for businesses, then the exact same behavior should be okay for us humans to do. I walked away from my ho…

In my opinion, if you agree to a deal and then decide not to fulfill your end of the deal, that is immoral. Like if you agree to pay me to make you a sandwich and then you take the sandwich but leave without paying, that is immoral.

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Apr 04, 2026, 10:10 PM UTC

retired wrote: post #38

standardUser wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US, student loan interest rates tend to be close to market (which I find despicable) and there is no automatic forgiveness. In fact, student loan debt has extra rules in the US making it difficult to get discharged in bankruptcy, so even that route doesn't work for a lot of people.

Had to look it up, it is 2.3% for 2026 which is a bit below the Euribor 1 year rate. Between 2017 and 2022 it was 0%. Loan forgiveness happens after 35 years so for most academics that is about 10 years before retirement. Forgiveness also happens upon death. Bankruptcy is a bit different here. We have a program where someone manages your finances for about three years, and after that most remaining debt is forgiven.…

Post by binarynate » Sat, Apr 04, 2026, 10:19 PM UTC

hamdingers wrote: post #73

binarynate wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my opinion, if you agree to a deal and then decide not to fulfill your end of the deal, that is immoral. Like if you agree to pay me to make you a sandwich and then you take the sandwich but leave without paying, that is immoral.

In my opinion, if you make a $50,000+ bet on an 18 year old's future career, whether or not that bet works out for you is entirely your problem. Investments don't always work out, tough luck. That's obviously not the same as buying a sandwich.

Post by ceejayoz » Sat, Apr 04, 2026, 10:50 PM UTC

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #78

ceejayoz wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same reason I can't easily start an AT&T/Verizon competitor. Doesn't mean their pricing is that reasonable, or that funding education should be run this way in the first place. It just means there are big barriers to entry, often established by the existing players to protect their margins. The Fed rate for student loans should be lower.

> there are big barriers to entry What are the barriers? Can I make non-dischargeable student loans at 5%?