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Time to eliminate government funded student loans. Most of the kids going to college now shouldn't even be there in the first place. I was doing volunteer work

Time to eliminate government funded student loans. Most of the kids going to college now shouldn't even be there in the first place. I was doing volunteer work a few years back, speaking to some kids from the local community. One said he was going to a 4 year college, probably paid for by the government given the circumstances. Said he wanted to study "coaching". And our tax dollars are paying for this...

AsyncAwait 7y ago
This is the reactionary right-wing Twitter take, but for every coach, there's computer science, engineering & biology students suffering under massive, unforgivable debt. Yes, student loans need to go, but not so that people don't go to college. That should be free for undergraduates in today's economy, where you need high level ed. for what used to be done by people who barely finished high-school 30 years back.
- aiphex 7y ago
  I think university education also makes more intelligent, socially and self aware members of society. Even if it doesn't directly lead to a career in a chosen field, it produces better people who hopefully make better employees.
  - dwnvoted2hell 7y ago
    I don't think spending 150k on a degree makes you more intelligent. What makes you intelligent is the desire to further yourself in the first place. The ability to minimize the investment to get to maximum profitability is a sign of intelligence. “You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for $1.50 in late fees at the public library.”
  - malvosenior 7y ago
    This is definitely not the case in 2019. Almost everyone has a degree and a lot of people demonstrate almost no ability to think for themselves.
- dwnvoted2hell 7y ago
  While there are publications that predict job growth, perhaps real statistics with what workforce is presently training for would also help. Maybe fields without growth should have limited spots for people to get a degree in. And fields with high need whose demand is not being filled could be subsidized. Most of this is already happening to some extent.
scarface74 7y ago
Right. Only people with money should get an education.
- corporate_shi11 7y ago
  Someone without means but with demonstrated ability would be able to get a private loan.
  - pnutjam 7y ago
    username checks out
  - scarface74 7y ago
    Because students have never “demonstrated more ability” because their parents were able to afford expensive test tutors. Besides, “private student loans” would be based on an ability to pay. Guess who that leaves out?
    - corporate_shi11 7y ago
      Sure they have, but studying for standardized tests (and tests in general) does not take significant financial resources. A diligent student only needs a few review books and the internet to study for standardized tests. Is it harder for poor students? Of course. But is it prohibitively harder for a smart, poor student to do well in school and demonstrate their ability? Absolutely not.
      - scarface74 7y ago
        Because it is so easy for poor people to “lift them up by their bootstraps” surely explains why income mobility is so great in the US. If they could “all learn from books”, I guess no one needs teachers.

AsyncAwait 7y ago

This is the reactionary right-wing Twitter take, but for every coach, there's computer science, engineering & biology students suffering under massive, unforgivable debt. Yes, student loans need to go, but not so that people don't go to college. That should be free for undergraduates in today's economy, where you need high level ed. for what used to be done by people who barely finished high-school 30 years back.

aiphex 7y ago
I think university education also makes more intelligent, socially and self aware members of society. Even if it doesn't directly lead to a career in a chosen field, it produces better people who hopefully make better employees.
- dwnvoted2hell 7y ago
  I don't think spending 150k on a degree makes you more intelligent. What makes you intelligent is the desire to further yourself in the first place. The ability to minimize the investment to get to maximum profitability is a sign of intelligence. “You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for $1.50 in late fees at the public library.”
- malvosenior 7y ago
  This is definitely not the case in 2019. Almost everyone has a degree and a lot of people demonstrate almost no ability to think for themselves.
dwnvoted2hell 7y ago
While there are publications that predict job growth, perhaps real statistics with what workforce is presently training for would also help. Maybe fields without growth should have limited spots for people to get a degree in. And fields with high need whose demand is not being filled could be subsidized. Most of this is already happening to some extent.

scarface74 7y ago

Right. Only people with money should get an education.

corporate_shi11 7y ago
Someone without means but with demonstrated ability would be able to get a private loan.
- pnutjam 7y ago
  username checks out
- scarface74 7y ago
  Because students have never “demonstrated more ability” because their parents were able to afford expensive test tutors. Besides, “private student loans” would be based on an ability to pay. Guess who that leaves out?
  - corporate_shi11 7y ago
    Sure they have, but studying for standardized tests (and tests in general) does not take significant financial resources. A diligent student only needs a few review books and the internet to study for standardized tests. Is it harder for poor students? Of course. But is it prohibitively harder for a smart, poor student to do well in school and demonstrate their ability? Absolutely not.
    - scarface74 7y ago
      Because it is so easy for poor people to “lift them up by their bootstraps” surely explains why income mobility is so great in the US. If they could “all learn from books”, I guess no one needs teachers.