— Comments —
Kathy G. writes:
I understand this woman’s frustration, however, nothing is “free”, someone always pays, apparently she thinks “America” should pay for her “education”. I wonder what her field of study was. Being a woman, she has a better chance at employment than a White male.
That said, these people are targeted for debt slavery as young people. Most are taught nothing about financial matters in skool. But they ARE admonished over and over that to have a “fruitful life”, they need a degree. And a job. Not economic opportunity, not that maybe they need to apprentice with someone/learn a trade, nothing about building assets as opposed to accumulating depreciating toys.
Many of the younger generation are very non-materialistic in the sense that they do not value money and how hard it is for most people to get it. That sacrifice, long hours, extreme budgeting, making coffee/cooking at home from ingredients grown oneself is why many people have savings and assets. They accumulate experiences, like to travel, have the “college experience”, post selfies from places they travel. They see Boomers as selfish (and some are), sitting on wads of money that they could use, lucky, and beneficiaries of the system that has enslaved them, not understanding that student loan money really became widely available in the early ’80’s.
I have a daughter who was homeschooled after the age of 9, attended a fairly selective private school that did not accept federal funding. We helped as much as we could, but she had to take out loans, and ended up 40k in debt, which we knew she would, and an econ degree. She lived at home, was frugal and paid back her debt in under 10 years. Her degree was broad and fungible, and allowed access to different job opportunities. It can be done, with sacrifice.
Laura writes:
Thanks for your comments.
The availability of student loans makes college more expensive. That’s just the way it is. Students borrow and colleges hike the tuition because people will pay.
Young people are too naive and idealistic to have good judgment about loans and they can now borrow without their parents’ consent.
It’s wrong on so many levels to make this kind of borrowing a temptation.
Robert Manning writes:
This is about personal character.
This “kind of temptation” is no different than the countless other temptations confronting young adults and their complicit parents.
Students who take these loans are ignorant or dishonest if they don’t make it a top priority, make the personal commitment to pay off these loans, difficult as it may be.
They made the deal. They took the money.
I’m sick of hearing them whine, by the tens of millions. There are 43 million outstanding, totaling $1.7 trillion. 92% federal.
Naive and idealistic?
You must be 18 to sign for a loan (or have mommy and daddy cosign). They are “adults” by law. They can vote and be drafted and X-pat if they wish. Can I assume that their parents are more adult?
They can choose our legislators and the POTUS. They can die in combat and give up their citizenship. But, their young lives are “destroyed” or dramatically retarded by the student loan payments that they bet their future on?
I have zero sympathy for their welfare mentality. I often hear the phrase “pay to play”.
A bad deal is a bad deal, too tempting or not. They are going to be continuously tempted in a 1000 ways. Are most of them obese?
This scheme does smell like a scam, after the fact. The scam is crying to Uncle Sam for free money.
These loans are either subsidized by the fed or they’re unsubsidized, which mean the fed pays a healthy chunk of YOUR interest, or you pay the interest. This is not fine print. It’s bold and to the point. No student is being scammed by lenders. They are not forced to take these loans. Tens of millions of student borrowers talk constantly about their “oppressive” loans.
There is NO mystery with these loans. All is fully disclosed.
Perhaps we should raise the age of majority to 25 or 30. Let them actually work for a living first, serve their community or nation, do some good works.
Stop belly-aching over your own decision. In spite of arguments to the contrary, we DO have free will.
If a college age young adult, with or without parental/family/friend input, can’t understand the terms of the highest-risk unsecured loan to an adult-child with NO credit history, NO property, NO repaid loans, NO jobs, NO work history, NO education, NO assets – NO adult-life at all – and they still don’t understand how interest works and why the interest HAS to be higher because it is well known that many will default, and it is known that the U.S. taxpayer will be forced – without their actual consent – to “bail” them out without even a thank you, then they should be legally obligated to somehow work it off if they can’t earn enough with their worthless degrees to honor their first “adult” financial commitment.
https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-statistics
Laura writes:
It should be illegal to make that kind of money off stupidity and weakness.
It’s way too much interest. Usury is wrong.
