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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?


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Ah, so Department of Ed should be profiting more than $40 billion from student loans?

The hypocrisy of conservatives makes me chuckle.

The cost of money is not free.

The hypocrisy of clowns who do not understand basic business tenants is hilarious.
 
Government has no business nationalizing the student loan industry. If your daughter didn't want the government charging her interest, then she shouldn't have signed up for it's money at an agreed upon rate.

This is a stupid argument. The question is not whether this person should have taken the loan, the question is whether or not the interests rates are too high. If you can't talk about the question then shut up.
 
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This is a stupid argument. The question is not whether this person should have taken the loan, the question is whether or not the interests rates are too high. If you can't talk about the question then shut up.

No, actually, he has a point. When is a rate too high? Is it when the lender makes a profit? Or is it when the borrower walks away from signing on the dotted line? I would argue that the rate is not too high if the borrower agrees to pay it. The government seems to have cornered the market on initial loans, because students generally don't avail themselves of private loans until they've exhausted their eligibility for the cheaper government direct loans.
 
I would argue that the rate is not too high if the borrower agrees to pay it.

Your argument is unacceptable for the following reasons:

1. It ignores the possibility that the borrower may be under pressure from social, economic, or violent coercion.

2. It ignores that borrowers may have been subjected to deceptive lending practices.

3. It ignores the fact that monopolies have substantial power to set rates and erode the principles of freedom that are supposed to be associated with free markets.

As such, because it thus renders the concepts justice and fairness sterile, it should be rejected to the pile of useless, rubbish ideas by the discerning mind.
 
Go elsewhere for money.

Unless you're a rare talent like Lebron James or Bill Gates you are going to most likely need a college education to get anywhere in the 21st century. I don't like it, but that's reality.


And no, it's not a democracy, it's a democratic republic. We elect people to do what we, in general, want.

democracy: a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.

Democracy is the broader term. You can say democratic republic to get more specific, but saying we're not a democracy is plain wrong.
 
The don't buy clothes? Or the means to make clothes? Or food? You cannot avoid sales taxes unless you live in a tent in the woods.

Then live in a tent in the woods. Makes as much sense in this century as it is to expect success with no college education.
 
Unless you're a rare talent like Lebron James or Bill Gates you are going to most likely need a college education to get anywhere in the 21st century. I don't like it, but that's reality.




democracy: a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.

Democracy is the broader term. You can say democratic republic to get more specific, but saying we're not a democracy is plain wrong.

Given the excessive cost of some colleges, and rising student debt, this is becoming less true.

There are other ways.

https://www.google.com/search?q=non-college+opportunities&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
 
Then live in a tent in the woods. Makes as much sense in this century as it is to expect success with no college education.

That is correct. A college education has become almost an prerequisite for obtaining employment that pays a living wage in this country. It is ridiculous to think otherwise.
 
That is correct. A college education has become almost an prerequisite for obtaining employment that pays a living wage in this country. It is ridiculous to think otherwise.

Sometimes I think people are just nuts. After years and years and years of young people being told that a college education is of primary importance to their future, a whopping one third of Americans between 25-29 years old now have a bachelor's degree.

Record numbers earning college degree - CBS News

That means that two thirds of those in that age group, which should have the highest college graduation of any group, DON'T have a degree.

What should these people do ? Kill themselves ? Or should the society plan for the CERTAINTY that everyone is not going to have such a degree. Wouldn't that make more sense ?
 
Then live in a tent in the woods. Makes as much sense in this century as it is to expect success with no college education.

Not the point. The point again is that taking a Federally subsidized student is not required to go to college. Paying sales tax is required and avoiding buying things that are subject to sales is a practical impossibility for virtually everyone in this country.
 
Sometimes I think people are just nuts. After years and years and years of young people being told that a college education is of primary importance to their future, a whopping one third of Americans between 25-29 years old now have a bachelor's degree.

Record numbers earning college degree - CBS News

That means that two thirds of those in that age group, which should have the highest college graduation of any group, DON'T have a degree.

What should these people do ? Kill themselves ? Or should the society plan for the CERTAINTY that everyone is not going to have such a degree. Wouldn't that make more sense ?
Society should expect and demand that people are going to take care of themselves first and foremost. If and when bad times hit, like they do to a lot of people, that's when the safety nets should kick in, but not as a means to provide a lifestyle.
 
Absolutely. They aren't forgiven with bankruptcy, can be taken out of federal tax returns and if deliquint the government can remove professional licenses. If anyone making an income pays back their loans the gov is going to profit from the 6%+ interest rates. If I take out the 20 year repayment plan they'll make almost double what I took out.

Not to mention after 75k income (I believe) your interest on the loans are no longer tax deductible. I believe they view them as a form of revenue for the government, not necessarily a public service to students.

These are loans guaranteed by the govt, not govt money. Most student loans are with financial institutions who charge the interest.
 
Society should expect and demand that people are going to take care of themselves first and foremost. If and when bad times hit, like they do to a lot of people, that's when the safety nets should kick in, but not as a means to provide a lifestyle.

When two thirds of the people do NOT have a college degree, for it to be taken as gospel that only people with a college degree should be entitled to a "living wage" is insanity. It's just insane.

I think the country is losing it's mind.

Dystopia here we come.
 
That is correct. A college education has become almost an prerequisite for obtaining employment that pays a living wage in this country. It is ridiculous to think otherwise.


i have 150 employees now

less than 20 have a degree of any sort

our average wage in 2014 was 65k....and the owner isnt included in that number

there are MANY jobs and careers that dont require a college degree

all of the trades
many sales positions, except in things like pharma
retail
many medical technical positions
many computer related positions
etc, etc, etc

you may need certification, or training....but a degree? nope

lots of lucrative jobs.....

are they easy? hell no.....but if you are talented you can make bank
 
Unless you're a rare talent like Lebron James or Bill Gates you are going to most likely need a college education to get anywhere in the 21st century. I don't like it, but that's reality.

And nobody has said any differently, why are you libertarians incapable of reading simple English? I keep saying GO SOMEWHERE ELSE FOR THE MONEY and you don't seem to be able to parse that, you think I'm saying not to go to school at all.

Rent a clue.
 
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.

Get a CDL and then you can work part time for yellow or Ruan or the transit system making 20 dollars an hour plus bennies and no college debt is nessecary.
 
The interest rates are too high. Again my daughter's student loan interest rate IS MORE THAT DOUBLE the interest rate on her car loan.

Yeah, the tow truck can't repo the credits she earned. They're lending her money for a good they can't put a lien on, and you're telling me the interest rate is high? Duh
 
:shrug: I would disagree - you don't have to go to debt to get through college. Med School or Law School, maybe, but undergrad? Nope. There are a bunch of ways to increase your money inflow while also decreasing your outgo around college. Do community college for two years, for one example, prior to taking those classes to an in-state public university and graduate under their name, but at a significantly reduced cost.

The Bible says nothing positive about taking on debt, and quite a bit against it. If I can recommend a guy who spends a lot of time teaching biblical principles as they relate to money.



Well, in order to do so, I joined the military. Which, on top of my education, set me up for a career. I was willing to sacrifice to get what I wanted.


:( I'm sorry your daughter feels stuck and overwhelmed. It's the first major hurdle for my generation and the ones slightly after us, and it does suck (like starting life with a third of a mortgage, but no house). But she isn't anywhere that she didn't put herself.

I like dave ramseys money teachings, I can't stand the political and religious rants though......

That said I have followed his system in his book "total money makeover" and the principles have served me well, I set budgets save money, and don't take out debt. I am almost done with the 6 month emergency fund and I will be eligible to start my 401(k) and employee profit sharing for investing with my employer soon
 
Yeah, the tow truck can't repo the credits she earned. They're lending her money for a good they can't put a lien on, and you're telling me the interest rate is high? Duh

What a weak, uninformed post. Although lenders can recover unpaid funds through vehicle repossession, the government has a much more powerful tool at its disposal in the form of wage garnishment. As a result, recovery rates for auto loans range from 40 to 60 percent. Nothing compared to the amazing recovery rates of student loans of 90 percent. Therefore, if anything, the interest should be lower for a student loan.


https://books.google.com/books?id=Yi0GLMgnP0AC&pg=PT425&lpg=PT425&dq=auto+loan+%22recovery+rates%22&source=bl&ots=1XYKOdPlTD&sig=qIaV2m9PskLxOqwEKlFQfcn8IBU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=wlMwVYqgBKjnsASdzoBw&ved=0CFYQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=auto%20loan%20%22recovery%20rates%22&f=false
 
The don't buy clothes? Or the means to make clothes? Or food? You cannot avoid sales taxes unless you live in a tent in the woods.

Hardcore. No sales tax.
 
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If I'm a lender, I don't care what the borrower's story is. I only care about one thing: Will he pay the money back? Now, if the lender is the federal government and it wishes to engineer social policy, I can think of other, more efficient ways to do this. Personally, I think we're turning out too many psych and marketing majors and not enough engineers and yet the Department of Education treats each graduate the same regarding his or her ability to repay the debt. Meanwhile, private investors are more than happy to offer better terms to lower-risk prospects.

Private lenders have greater risks than the government.
 
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