Poor decisions based on poor available options and even poorer information from people and institutions of poor character. As an aside -- The fact that liberals are saying stuff like this gives me little to no hope for 2020. "Hey under-employed schmucks with negative net worth! It's ur own damn fault. LOL!" -- DNC's new slogan
What will people do with that money? What about the non-affluent that are the working poor but still saddled by debt? Here is the thing though, now that Bernie has pushed the discussion left (in 2016) now every candidate has to have an affordable education plan. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-poli...s-free-college-for-all-2020-student-loan-debt The article above summarizes the plans, all less extreme than Bernie.
Bernie doing a great job pushing conversation into the mainstream but the honest answer is a bill like this wouldn’t even make it out of committee. If Dems are worried about seeming too “socialist” to conservative Dem voters then they need to go out there and don’t be afraid to disagree with Bernie and come with facts. Mostly speaking to Biden here who will most likely be representing the moderate Dem voters the next 12 months. I don’t have a problem with primary aspirational bills but it’s just gotta be clear to the American voters the reality of it, and that the goal is to have a conversation to move public opinion rather than allowing the MSM and the right to create the false narrative that Bernie just passed a bill to eliminate student debt tomorrow or something. Most Americans are pretty stupid when it comes to the legislative process. Biden and co. have to inform those voters what this means in reality or it will stoke unnecessary fear of the “S” word. The boogeyman of 2019.
Presumably spend it. That same economic argument could be made for any type of debt though. Why not have the federal government pay for all debts (auto, home and credit card etc..) and have the 1% pay for it? Then people will put that mortgage payment into the economy! I could get on board with measures to help alleviate this crisis but I don't think it should saddle the federal government with a new $1.6 trillion debt. Which, you know, someone has to pay for.
I'm in the throes of paying back nearly $90,000 in student debt as we speak. No undergraduate debt whatsoever, all acquired during law school. Luckily I have a decent job and am steadily paying roughly $600 per month for the next 20+ years. Obviously I would love to eliminate this debt. I would almost immediately become a homeowner (not feasible at the moment). I would generate additional sales and property tax for the state as I would have more income freed up for consumer purchasing. Economists will have to a deep dive into the ramifications of this bill, but of course I'm all for it.
Warren has a plan to pay for it by generating 3 trillion dollars in revenue by incorporating a wealth tax to any wealth exceeding 50 million dollars.
Sorry, I'm referring specifically to the bailout. His larger package proposal has even more costs, and comes with a whole host of new problems. Primarily, it dramatically exacerbates the underlying problem: the cost of higher education. The growing consensus is that the top reason that education costs are out of control is our financing system - the wide availability of student loans means that schools can keep raising prices and know that loans are available to pay for them. There's no market pressure to contain costs. This only worsens that. Wow. This is the ultimate governing-from-the-ivory-tower BS that people hate about elite liberalism. People make real-world choices that aren't ideal based on the realities of life. A lot of people who go to trade schools do so for a whole host of reasons based. The idea that they weren't suited for college or something better or made the choice to forgo their dreams so "tough luck" is exactly the kind of elitist thinking that turns people to Republicans. People want rules and then can make rational economic decisions for themselves based on those rules. What these proposals do is upend all those rules and tell the people that made those difficult but rational decisions to forgo college or take lesser routes in life that they are getting screwed over. You have a whole generation of disaffected young people that are likely to be democrats for life, and somehow, crazy extremists are trying to do the one thing that will split that group and turn half of them back to the GOP.
Of course you'd be for it - who wouldn't be for something that gives them $90,000 for free while someone else pays for it?
And ends up with the party having to push policies that everyone knows are bad for the country because they pushed themselves into a corner where anything less became unacceptable to the grassroots.
The difference between this and auto debt or any other debt is that you are investing in the future of the country. The people are the strongest resource a country can have. Plenty of Americans are going overseas for their education and if this trend continues we are going to see a brain drain effect on our country, some would argue that's already the case. I know it was a record high of American students going abroad in like 2013, I wonder if even now it is higher. Even still, I doubt we are in brain drain territory but we are certainly headed there. Also, we continue to find money to bail out big businesses, banks, and the military, but I think it is about time that we start investing in the actual people of the country. Everyone always flips their lid when it comes to helping out people in the country but are for bailouts for big corporations with the promise of more jobs.
That's just not true. The educations are already had. The debt is already accrued. alleviating someone of a $50,000 student loan debt would give them $50,000 to spend in the economy. alleviating someone of a $50,000 mortgage would give them $50,000 to spend in the economy.
How is that elitism? That some people don't need college? That's not an insult to anyone and people only assume its an insult because people assume that if you go to college that makes you 'smart' or 'intelligent' when it does nothing of the sort. If someone is going to a trade school it is SAFE to assume that they have given up on their collegiate dreams...maybe their dream was to be a car mechanic though? It's not tough luck at all because you can make a better salary graduating from a trade school than a college degree you do nothing with. If your dream was to be a doctor and then you gave up on that dream what am I supposed to say to that? They also gave up on that dream for a reason, right? It is because either they could not cut it (it wasn't for them for whatever reason) or they couldn't afford it and the threat of 100k+ debt didn't seem worth it to them...we can't help people that give up on their dreams because they found out they couldn't achieve them...but we can help those people that feel they can't reach their dreams because of financial roadblocks. Also, you are speaking for them, plenty of these same young people are the biggest supporters of bills and ideas like these.
So here’s what I’d like to see: -Deferred payment period of at least 1 year post graduation signed into law. (this was a big one for me. Most people cannot chase their dream job because of the need to immediately have to snag a job that pays enough to afford rent, auto, and SL payments). -one-time loan consolidation period (get private loans off market in one big swoop. Govt gets back money invested here) -Variable interest rates to be heavily regulated with strict conditions or banned completely -SL Debt qualifier for low income households. Lets say 50 billion dollars (only one of two areas where we actually spend federal dollars that the treasury does not get back in 4 to 5 year). -Community College investment. Open up more campuses in Urban areas for local education (eliminating room and board costs of 4 year colleges) with grants for tuition waiver programs (say maintain passing grades and tuition is waived... or something like that). Lets say 50 billion invested here. How do you pay for it: Repeal Trump tax cut. Keeping some elements but reinstating millionaire, billionaire, and some of the corporate tax breaks. I don't think it will bring back all of the 1.5 trillion dollars, but reforming this tax sham should bring back at least 500 billion into the treasury. A program like this might have a budget of 150 billion. Which I think is a good investment, but I think the most important thing will be investing the legislative effort to shore up the infrastructure around college, and debt. Opening up avenues for consolidation under a federal loan with low fixed interest, and putting a better system in place for chasing the job you really want will be huge breakthroughs for the future. I think of it like pre-existing conditions with the ACA which set market precedent through law rather than a free for all which is what is needed more than anything. And I think a bill like this could actually get bipartisan support if Mitch McConnell isn't Senate Majority leader where he blocks any bills that make any sense.
Eh, they wouldn't have the debt if they didn't go to college. It's still basically an investment. Besides, this plan is not just about eliminating current debt but making it debt free in the future. Speaking of, imagining having a 50k student loan debt and a 50k debt elsewhere. Getting rid of one allows this person to get rid of the other and then they can go on to pour a lot more money into the economy.
I love how we go from no regulation for education straight to socialized education. There is no rational middle ground for many people.
So just because people don't agree with Bernies plan they are now conservatives? This type of thinking got Trump elected and will get him reelected.
No, they're conservatives because they act like conservatives, ask conservative questions, have conservative priorities, etc. That is what got Trump elected. Liberals being afraid of their own shadow and adopting quasi-conservative positions. They abandoned their populist roots and the working class, and so droves of people either stayed home or switched from Obama to Trump.
