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Are high student loan interest rates a form of tax on the middle class?

Are high student loan interest rates a form of tax on the middle class?

  • Total voters
    28
AliHajiSheik said:
So I'm left with the impression that collateral did not come up. Maybe you should just charge your education on a credit card and then you will have a lot more complaining to do.
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It appears that you are complaining. Perhaps if you don't have anything of substance to say, you should exercise some restraint.
 
MildSteel said:
The purpose of the loans in to facilitate education, not to create a source of revenue for the government. Over and above that, the government has an effective means of protection in case of default in the form of wage garnishment. As such, there is no need to charge excessive interest rates.
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Then go ahead and loan her the money at 0% interest rate.
 
MildSteel said:
?????
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You're on here bitching (again) about the interest rate she's getting. You want to borrow someone else's money? You have to borrow it on their terms, not yours. If the government's lending rate offends you so much, you give her the loan, and then you can charge her whatever interest rate makes you happy.
 
tres borrachos said:
You're on here bitching (again) about the interest rate she's getting. You want to borrow someone else's money? You have to borrow it on their terms, not yours. If the government's lending rate offends you so much, you give her the loan, and then you can charge her whatever interest rate makes you happy.
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You are the one that is here bitching (again) about someone making the observation that the interest rates that the government is charging are too high. In case you don't understand, it's like this, since the government took over $15,000 of my money from my paycheck last year in the form of federal income tax, I have the right to voice my opinion on what those interest rates should be. Get it?
 
MildSteel said:
You are the one that is here bitching (again) about someone making the observation that the interest rates that the government is charging are too high. In case you don't understand, it's like this, since the government took over $15,000 of my money from my paycheck last year in the form of federal income tax, I have the right to voice my opinion on what those interest rates should be. Get it?
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If 6% is too high, then don't borrow someone else's money. The federal government doesn't exist to loan your kid money.

Sure, you can voice your opinion all you want. I can also voice my opinion on your incessant whining posts. I just did that.
 
tres borrachos said:
If 6% is too high, then don't borrow someone else's money. The federal government doesn't exist to loan your kid money.

Sure, you can voice your opinion all you want. I can also voice my opinion on your incessant whining posts. I just did that.
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And I can voice my opinion about your incessant whining over my observation that the interest rates are too high. And because the government took a substantial portion of my paycheck in the form of income tax, it will continue to do it. Get it?
 
MildSteel said:
And I can voice my opinion about your incessant whining over my observation that the interest rates are too high. And because the government took a substantial portion of my paycheck in the form of income tax, it will continue to do it. Get it?
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Of course it will continue. If there's one thing we can count on, it's your baiting, whining polls.
 
tres borrachos said:
Of course it will continue. If there's one thing we can count on, it's your baiting, whining polls.
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And if there is one thing we can count on, it is your whining responses.
 
MildSteel said:
I was talking to one of my daughters today. She was saying that it is ridiculous that the interest rate on her car loan is only 3 percent while the interest rate on her student loan is more than double that. Such gouging is no more than a tax that is being imposed on the middle class. It is especially disgusting at a time when Republicans are proposing tax cuts that will benefit the wealthy.
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Explain to your daughter the basic difference between secured and unsecured loans. Next discuss what would be a proper interest rate for an unsecured loan; perhaps by using a store credit card's interest rate as a baseline. While many view a student loan as investment a 'sure thing', perhaps a dose of reality is in order - explain to your daughter that the on time degree completion rate for college is far below that for HS which does not require any promise to repay a lender.
 
MildSteel said:
What is moronic is ignoring that the average student indebtedness is over $28000 for students today. Students who recently graduated like my daughter face the task of repaying student loan debt. Of course people who are either too old or wealthy think that this topic is irrelevant. But to the many students facing this task, it is essentially a tax that is eroding the middle class.
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a. she could have worked her way through school and took out less in loans
b. you could have helped her pay for school
c. she could have gone to community college first, and then finished at a 4 yr university
d. she could have joined the military, and used the gi bill to help pay the way
e. she could have worked during the day, attended night classes and taken longer with less debt along the way
f. she could have used dantes, clep, seminars, and a/p courses to make her credits needed lower
g. she could have gotten better grades that led to scholarships, grants, etc while in high school


there are countless things she COULD have done to lessen the amount of debt she accrued while attending college

she signed the loan paperwork, and now she has to pay them back

choices.....all choices
 
MildSteel said:
You are the one that is here bitching (again) about someone making the observation that the interest rates that the government is charging are too high. In case you don't understand, it's like this, since the government took over $15,000 of my money from my paycheck last year in the form of federal income tax, I have the right to voice my opinion on what those interest rates should be. Get it?
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sure you do

and we have the right to tell you that you are out of your mind

you dont like the rate, refinance it

banks will refinance student loans.....shorter terms and lower rates means higher payments though

but you just care about the rate, right?
 
The answer to this is "no", just like the answer is to most of your ridiculous biased, propogandizing, reality twisting polls. The two things in question are markedly different...but don't let that stop your crusade of propoganda
 
MildSteel said:
What is moronic is ignoring that the average student indebtedness is over $28000 for students today. Students who recently graduated like my daughter face the task of repaying student loan debt. Of course people who are either too old or wealthy think that this topic is irrelevant. But to the many students facing this task, it is essentially a tax that is eroding the middle class.
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Are you suggesting I'm old/insanely wealthy?

I'm a high school sophomore.

Do your **** and apply for a scholarship. If you take loans (take other people's money) then god-damn you will pay them back with any interest included. That's how loans work. You don't get free money.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
Explain to your daughter the basic difference between secured and unsecured loans. Next discuss what would be a proper interest rate for an unsecured loan; perhaps by using a store credit card's interest rate as a baseline. While many view a student loan as investment a 'sure thing', perhaps a dose of reality is in order - explain to your daughter that the on time degree completion rate for college is far below that for HS which does not require any promise to repay a lender.
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What is in order is an understanding that the loans are not for the sake of making a profit in that manner that private lending institutions make loans. Rather they are to facilitate higher education. As such, the interest rates are too high.

That said, I notice your avatar. You should see what the tuition rates are for UT Austin these days. Factor in room and board, and those are some hefty costs.
 
Zyphlin said:
The answer to this is "no", just like the answer is to most of your ridiculous biased, propogandizing, reality twisting polls. The two things in question are markedly different...but don't let that stop your crusade of propoganda
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:2rofll:

That was as pathetic an attempt at twisted propaganda as could be made.
 
gdgyva said:
sure you do

and we have the right to tell you that you are out of your mind
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Oh! I am out of my mind am I? Interesting you should make such an infantile statement.
 
MildSteel said:
It is not that I am confused, rather it is that your understanding is shallow. Not only that but you likely have a personal grudge that you bring to the discussion. But that aside, one way that the government gets revenue is from taxing its citizens. Therefore, if the government is profiting from such loans, they can be viewed effectively as a tax.
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Well, no. While taxing is one way that the government brings in revenue, it is not the only way. A student loan is not a tax. Tax means something other than interest from a loan.
 
MildSteel said:
Perhaps it is time to stop being so callous about the practical situation that many young graduates face, and think about what will help, instead of eroding middle class purchasing power. What you have ignored is that real wages have stagnated in recent years. Therefore adding the burden of excessive interest rates does not help the middle class, but hurts it. The resulting decline in middle class purchasing power does not help the broader economy. Like I said, people who are too old and wealthy will likely be insensitive to this issue. However it is quite a significant challenge that young people must face today.
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It is a situation those young people can control. Don't want to pay for a student loan, do not get one. There are in fact other options. Complaining you have to pay for a service is kinda sad.
 
Redress said:
Tax and loan are two entirely different things. If I was to make a list of the top 1000 issues facing the middle class today, student loan rates would not even make the list.
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Student Loans would. And since they are large, their rates tag along.

It is a situation those young people can control. Don't want to pay for a student loan, do not get one. There are in fact other options. Complaining you have to pay for a service is kinda sad.
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As even this administration has admitted, the federal interference in the student loan business has been spiking tuition costs upwards. I think there is a cause for complaint, there.

But, broadly, yeah. Don't want to pay on a student loan (and you shouldn't)? Don't take one out.
 
cpwill said:
Student Loans would. And since they are large, their rates tag along.



As even this administration has admitted, the federal interference in the student loan business has been spiking tuition costs upwards. I think there is a cause for complaint, there.

But, broadly, yeah. Don't want to pay on a student loan (and you shouldn't)? Don't take one out.
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It would be more of an issue if the GI Bill was not attainable by just about any one for a reasonable outlay of time. With that and still other options available, college is attainable by pretty much any one.
 
MildSteel said:
You are the one that is here bitching (again) about someone making the observation that the interest rates that the government is charging are too high. In case you don't understand, it's like this, since the government took over $15,000 of my money from my paycheck last year in the form of federal income tax, I have the right to voice my opinion on what those interest rates should be. Get it?
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Saying the interest rate's too high and calling it a tax are two different things. The rate may well be too high but it is not, by any reasonable definition of the term a "tax". For one thing taxes are compulsory, you are not obligated to take a government backed student loan.
 
Redress said:
It would be more of an issue if the GI Bill was not attainable by just about any one for a reasonable outlay of time. With that and still other options available, college is attainable by pretty much any one.
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I agree, part of this depends on what the student is after.
If they just want a degree, that can be had fairly cheaply.
(I think In Texas a person could get a BS degree for under for under about $25 K)
If a person wants the college experience, with dorms and living away from home,
the price goes up, a lot.
 
Redress said:
It would be more of an issue if the GI Bill was not attainable by just about any one for a reasonable outlay of time. With that and still other options available, college is attainable by pretty much any one.
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True enough. The average person can still get through college, they just have to work at it (maybe that's the problem?)

Which doesn't mean that the federal government should be making it harder by jacking up college costs.



What percentage of student loans are non-performing? Seems a rather relevant figure to the OP.
 
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