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I really hope this doesn't make it through Congress. We need to reform the education funding system, not continue to enable it. The federal government is alrea

by pcl 11y ago

I really hope this doesn't make it through Congress. We need to reform the education funding system, not continue to enable it. The federal government is already basically putting money in the pockets of universities by subsidizing the loans up-front. Making them tax-free on the back-end will probably have similar unintended consequences. Edit: if you're a US citizen, make your voice heard: https://emailcongress.us/ https://emailcongress.us/

pmiller2 11y ago
So, you have a plan that helps current students (who are carrying a collective ~$1T in loans), fixes the system so colleges and universities aren't dependent on huge subsidies, and makes college education affordable?
- pcl 11y ago
  It's not that universities are dependent on huge subsidies. The problem is that the federal loan system has enabled them to do some pretty shady things that no other industry can do. Today, universities set the base tuition prices so high that essentially nobody can afford to pay. But then, the university gives their prospective students the opportunity to disclose exactly how much they can afford -- verifiable with their income statements and their parents' income statements. Once this upper bound on price is established, the prospective student then receives a combination of grants and loans to cover the difference. Meanwhile, these loans (entered into by teenagers still in high school) are not subject to bankruptcy laws. So the repayment of them is all but guaranteed. I don't know of any other industry in which the federal government enables a supplier to achieve tax-return-based proof of income in the supplier / purchaser negotiation process. [Do] you have a plan that helps current students Sadly, I don't. I empathize for people who are saddled with a lot of debt, but enshrining the problem by passing new legislation on top of the existing federal loan guidelines just perpetuates the problem for the next generation.
  - chrishynes 11y ago
    The fix is to make student loans dischargeable in bankruptcy. The market will rapidly correct to accommodate.
- gohrt 11y ago
  Yes, it's called the public college+university system, and it worked well for at least half a century and propelled the baby boomers who now run the USA

by pcl 11y ago

pmiller2 11y ago

So, you have a plan that helps current students (who are carrying a collective ~$1T in loans), fixes the system so colleges and universities aren't dependent on huge subsidies, and makes college education affordable?

pcl 11y ago
It's not that universities are dependent on huge subsidies. The problem is that the federal loan system has enabled them to do some pretty shady things that no other industry can do. Today, universities set the base tuition prices so high that essentially nobody can afford to pay. But then, the university gives their prospective students the opportunity to disclose exactly how much they can afford -- verifiable with their income statements and their parents' income statements. Once this upper bound on price is established, the prospective student then receives a combination of grants and loans to cover the difference. Meanwhile, these loans (entered into by teenagers still in high school) are not subject to bankruptcy laws. So the repayment of them is all but guaranteed. I don't know of any other industry in which the federal government enables a supplier to achieve tax-return-based proof of income in the supplier / purchaser negotiation process. [Do] you have a plan that helps current students Sadly, I don't. I empathize for people who are saddled with a lot of debt, but enshrining the problem by passing new legislation on top of the existing federal loan guidelines just perpetuates the problem for the next generation.
- chrishynes 11y ago
  The fix is to make student loans dischargeable in bankruptcy. The market will rapidly correct to accommodate.
gohrt 11y ago
Yes, it's called the public college+university system, and it worked well for at least half a century and propelled the baby boomers who now run the USA