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Jeff Bezos is just one person. Do you really think the US can't afford to cancel everyone's student debt?

by bbddg 6y ago

ericd 6y ago
Do you think we should? Is it fair to everyone who didn’t go to college because it was too expensive?
- notsureaboutpg 6y ago
  I hate the idea of cancelling student loan debt. Why should people who chose to take on massive debt to go to private colleges get debt relief? Many many people made sensible decisions to go to lower cost schools, in-state schools or community colleges to avoid debt. Then there are people who chose to avoid college altogether to avoid debt. Some people religiously are forbidden from taking on debt and they oblige that by avoiding expensive schooling. And forgiving student debt is a punch in the face to all those people. If we forgive student loan debt we HAVE TO give the same amount to people who were prudent enough to avoid that debt in the first place or else it's all a sham.
- Can_Not 6y ago
  There is a runaway trolley barrelling down the railway tracks. There are people tied to tracks as far as you can see. You can pull the lever at any time to stop the trolley from killing people, but that would not be fair to everyone who has already been ran over by the trolley. Which is the right thing to do?
  - ericd 6y ago
    That's not an apt metaphor. I wasn't talking about it being unfair to those who paid off their debt already/got "killed by the trolley", but those who didn't go to college because it was too expensive, or lived at home, went to community college for two years, and then transferred to a state school so that they didn't have to take on debt. Now their tax dollars would go to help pay off the debts of everyone who went to expensive private colleges, many of whom come from much wealthier families. Rather than forgiveness, we should make the debt dischargeable via bankruptcy. It should've never been made non-dischargeable (though it did help reduce interest rates, and enable more people to get them, that also upped the amount schools could charge, and made it so loan officers didn't have to consider the creditworthiness of the applicant, and their plan for repayment). It should be something that passes a need bar before essentially foisting the cost on society, and bankruptcy is a mechanism for doing exactly that. Use the money toward making public universities free, and expand the public university system, as well as trade schools. That’s really how you save all those future people tied to those tracks.
    - Can_Not 6y ago
      > but those who didn't go to college because it was too expensive, or lived at home, went to community college for two years, and then transferred to a state school so that they didn't have to take on debt. So, basically, just more trolley victims, or people that decided to risk not being hired for the best jobs that usually required at least a 4 year track-tying, because there was a trolley running people over.

Jeff Bezos is just one person. Do you really think the US can't afford to cancel everyone's student debt?

by bbddg 6y ago

Jeff Bezos is just one person. Do you really think the US can't afford to cancel everyone's student debt?

ericd 6y ago

Do you think we should? Is it fair to everyone who didn’t go to college because it was too expensive?

notsureaboutpg 6y ago
I hate the idea of cancelling student loan debt. Why should people who chose to take on massive debt to go to private colleges get debt relief? Many many people made sensible decisions to go to lower cost schools, in-state schools or community colleges to avoid debt. Then there are people who chose to avoid college altogether to avoid debt. Some people religiously are forbidden from taking on debt and they oblige that by avoiding expensive schooling. And forgiving student debt is a punch in the face to all those people. If we forgive student loan debt we HAVE TO give the same amount to people who were prudent enough to avoid that debt in the first place or else it's all a sham.
Can_Not 6y ago
There is a runaway trolley barrelling down the railway tracks. There are people tied to tracks as far as you can see. You can pull the lever at any time to stop the trolley from killing people, but that would not be fair to everyone who has already been ran over by the trolley. Which is the right thing to do?
- ericd 6y ago
  That's not an apt metaphor. I wasn't talking about it being unfair to those who paid off their debt already/got "killed by the trolley", but those who didn't go to college because it was too expensive, or lived at home, went to community college for two years, and then transferred to a state school so that they didn't have to take on debt. Now their tax dollars would go to help pay off the debts of everyone who went to expensive private colleges, many of whom come from much wealthier families. Rather than forgiveness, we should make the debt dischargeable via bankruptcy. It should've never been made non-dischargeable (though it did help reduce interest rates, and enable more people to get them, that also upped the amount schools could charge, and made it so loan officers didn't have to consider the creditworthiness of the applicant, and their plan for repayment). It should be something that passes a need bar before essentially foisting the cost on society, and bankruptcy is a mechanism for doing exactly that. Use the money toward making public universities free, and expand the public university system, as well as trade schools. That’s really how you save all those future people tied to those tracks.
  - Can_Not 6y ago
    > but those who didn't go to college because it was too expensive, or lived at home, went to community college for two years, and then transferred to a state school so that they didn't have to take on debt. So, basically, just more trolley victims, or people that decided to risk not being hired for the best jobs that usually required at least a 4 year track-tying, because there was a trolley running people over.