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I'd encourage looking at actual average student loan debt, which in my reading is significantly different than the typical online narrative. According to the Do

I'd encourage looking at actual average student loan debt, which in my reading is significantly different than the typical online narrative. According to the DoE[1], in 2018 the average debt of a public university Bachelor's degree completer was $26,100. That's not 'lifelong debt slavery', that's a Toyota Corolla. 1. https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=900 https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=900

EA-3167 3y ago
It's also beyond nuts to compare debt that people voluntarily took on with slavery. The desire for people to avoid the consequences of their own actions as a political stance is a non-starter.
secabeen 3y ago
Yep, the nameplate tuition number is paid by a vanishingly small number of students, and average Tuition and Fees net of aid for the 75% of students attending public four-year institution is $2,500. https://research.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/trends-college-pricing-student-aid-2021.pdf https://research.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/trends-college-p... (pg 18) There are lots of influential professional students (doctors and lawyers) who want $100k+ handouts, but they are a loud minority.
ProfessorLayton 3y ago
2021 numbers [1]: Average Student Loan Debt: $39,351 Median Student Loan Debt: $19,281 Average Student Loan Payment: $393 Median Student Loan Payment: $222 Half of student loans are $222/mo or less. I'd also like to mention that if student loans became a lot harder to come by, people like myself could not have afforded college. [1] https://thecollegeinvestor.com/32031/average-student-loan-debt-by-year/ https://thecollegeinvestor.com/32031/average-student-loan-de...
- WithinReason 3y ago
  > if student loans became a lot harder to come by, people like myself could not have afforded college. Yes but why is that? all I paid for 5 years of university education was about $30 in administrative fees, and I have no complaints about its quality.
  - ProfessorLayton 3y ago
    Because access to cheap student loans is key to many of us being able to afford college? Tuition and even room + board aside, there's other costs like books ($$$), supplies, transport etc. that cost money — money that many from poor backgrounds don't have. Without being able to borrow (or making it very expensive to do so), it would require a part-time job on top of a full coursework, or taking longer to get a degree, which has it's own costs associated with it via lost earnings.

EA-3167 3y ago

It's also beyond nuts to compare debt that people voluntarily took on with slavery. The desire for people to avoid the consequences of their own actions as a political stance is a non-starter.

secabeen 3y ago

Yep, the nameplate tuition number is paid by a vanishingly small number of students, and average Tuition and Fees net of aid for the 75% of students attending public four-year institution is $2,500. https://research.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/trends-college-pricing-student-aid-2021.pdf https://research.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/trends-college-p... (pg 18) There are lots of influential professional students (doctors and lawyers) who want $100k+ handouts, but they are a loud minority.

ProfessorLayton 3y ago

2021 numbers [1]: Average Student Loan Debt: $39,351 Median Student Loan Debt: $19,281 Average Student Loan Payment: $393 Median Student Loan Payment: $222 Half of student loans are $222/mo or less. I'd also like to mention that if student loans became a lot harder to come by, people like myself could not have afforded college. [1] https://thecollegeinvestor.com/32031/average-student-loan-debt-by-year/ https://thecollegeinvestor.com/32031/average-student-loan-de...

WithinReason 3y ago
> if student loans became a lot harder to come by, people like myself could not have afforded college. Yes but why is that? all I paid for 5 years of university education was about $30 in administrative fees, and I have no complaints about its quality.
- ProfessorLayton 3y ago
  Because access to cheap student loans is key to many of us being able to afford college? Tuition and even room + board aside, there's other costs like books ($$$), supplies, transport etc. that cost money — money that many from poor backgrounds don't have. Without being able to borrow (or making it very expensive to do so), it would require a part-time job on top of a full coursework, or taking longer to get a degree, which has it's own costs associated with it via lost earnings.