Biden forgives Student Loans - right or wrong?

Politics and Social Issues
1

Well, I am sure you have all heard the news - Biden forgave some student loans which will cost the US taxpayer an estimated 300 billion dollars

I can see both sides being in the wrong here

First, I am a liberal but I do see the merit in the Cons objections - why should only these loans be forgiven but not others? What if a family takes a loan to save the life of a loved one who needs surgery? There are families who are homeless because they missed a mortgage payment - how about forgiving those loans & payments?
And a while ago Nancy Pelosi was confronted by a Father who said he did all the right things - his daughters went to Community college the first 2 years. His family went without vacations, expensive things, all to save money. He worked two jobs, his kids worked also - and now the guy looks like a fool

Now over to the Cons side - they pray to a God who forgives EVERYTHING!
Obviously most of the people who took these loans regret their choices - they are REPENTANT!
So, if God can forgive, why can’t Biden do the same?
God is saying no need to do the right thing, no need to pay back your creditors, you can take a nice loan, use it and all you have to is repent and you are good
Well, these people have met all those conditions
Morality it seems takes a beating when it meets religion

And another thing - Cons put down welfare recipients - say it is wrong to depend on welfare, one must find work, stand on our own two feet, make a honest living!
All good morals and ethics
But then you dream of living it up in Heaven sponging off God? For eternity?
Is it not wrong to mooch off God and live in Welfare Heaven?
Every time I have asked theists what does one DO in Heaven? Can you describe a DAY? ONE DAY? They run away!
Some say, “we won’t be bored” - well, that is not what I was asking - as soon as they realize that I was asking about work - how they pay their way in Heaven - they run!
Whatever happened to moral, ethical people?
Even they don’t speak up

2

It’s not going to wipe out my student loan debt. My original loans totaled $40,000. I got Income based repayment plan, but the interest doubled what I owed and now I owe $50,000, even though 1/2 of them are paid off. So the $10,000 is a dent and the NAACP is right- more needs to be forgiven, if it’s going to help student loan borrowers. Then again greedy corporation are like, we’re still going to get our money even if we have to raise prices. Doesn’t seem to matter with their greed.

3

Completely wrong but typical. The fairest thing they could have done would be to let the schools/lenders go without reimbursement.

4

I am sorry but no one forced you to take the loan - you were an adult making this decision. I agree that some corporations charge high rates of interest and that should be looked into - I can’t believe that outfits like Rent-a-center is allowed to operate in this country
You promised to pay back the money that you borrowed & now you are shifting that promise to the rest of us - the US taxpayer
And you have not answered the question - why should your loan be forgiven while others who took out similar loans based on hardship or otherwise still have to pay back theirs?

5

I’m not actually complaining. I’m trying to inform people, it’s not going to do anything, at least for some people. So IMHO, it’s neither right or wrong, because it doesn’t do anything. So your reply was not necessary.

6

That’s not right - that word forgiven - to me it is a dirty word, at least in this instance - I am old now - but in my younger days I bet on a stock that was what I thought was a sure thing - well, that did not pan out & I was left with a huge debt. It took me about 10 years of frugal living to pay it all back
I understand that for some these loans are so huge that they can never be paid back but then I have also heard of students who rack up these debts and lived the good party life & now we have to pay back their mistakes? Doesn’t sound right to me

7

20 years and I’m still paying. I expect to pay until I die. Oh well. Such is life.

Mine wasn’t as huge as some, but the interest is what got me. I’ll be paying the interest until death. An education is all I will have, but they can’t foreclose on it. That said, my credit is good. BTW, Rent-a-Center takes the furniture or appliance back if one doesn’t pay. My younger son did that, couldn’t pay, so they took their furniture back.

8

Yes that is the real problem - the high interest rates - and Biden has not solved it - so in the future we will have this problem again & again
I think most people if they had to choose between forgiveness of the loan or a path to pay it back that wouldn’t seriously affect their way of living, would choose to do the right thing and choose the latter
After all that huge expense - the salary that some of these jobs pay is nothing!
And some graduate with subjects like philosophy and find there are no jobs in those fields

9

Would rather see the rich get another tax cut?

2 Likes
10

And that’s why I say it’s not going to do anything or help anyone. Now you’re starting to understand what I am saying.

And now you get it.

Or in my case, because I could not go on and get a Masters, my BS in Psychology isn’t worth much. I got BS and should have got more of it and maybe Piled high and Deep, but I didn’t and couldn’t… which, if I had the information I needed to make a better informed decision as to what field that not only interested me, but would also lead to something for a divorced single woman with children and no help from the ex. I have a sheep skin, but that’s all it is. Now, if I had gotten a BS in computer science or veterinary science (vet assistant, maybe) it might have been a better choice. However, the loan shark interest rates and having to fight them on going after my second husband for repayment (yes, that happened) because it’s not his bill needs to go. My second husband and I have to file separate tax returns and keep our finances separate in order for them not to attempt to get money from him for my student loans. I give him money to help pay for electricity, water, etc. It’s a nightmare without being married and it gets worse if you marry.

Or little to no jobs in the field unless one gets more of it and maybe even Piled high and Deep. However, I wouldn’t say it was a complete waste of time. I enjoy learning, so there is that, but it didn’t do much to get me any further financially and there’s no shared pot of money for my husband and me, like many married couples seem to have, but in a way, not sharing financially like most couples and paying him like a roommate for my share of household bills does have some advantages too.

11

I don’t live in USA. Theses are mere thoughts. not scientific statements. I may be wrong.

As I see the situation:

universities fees are exaggerated, banks lend without checking, actual salaries are lower than expected salaries, ex-students may not repay until they retire, and then they can’t?

When my daughter studied in IESEG, one of the top ten French business schools and of the 40 top world business schools paid the daily expenses and my wife paid the tuitions, nowadays 11 000 $ a year. She earns 32 000 $ a year net of charges (explained below).

The truth is that the prices of universities, especially of the ivy league are hyper-inflated !

And i feel that they are exaggerated, when you put them in a relationship with the salaries paid to most post graduates.

Now, it seems to me that the US banking system allows people not to reimburse the contracted loans. And that explains why retiring people have big amounts of unrepaid students loans.

The whole system is mad and built to allow universities and banks to make a maximum of profits, especially when there is no inflation.

Now some one who earns 50 000 $ a year for 40 years should be able to repay capital and interests of his student loans if the amount is reasonable, for instance 50 000 $. If he does not, it is his choice. In France, he would not be able to choose not to repay it.

[https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/05/it-costs-78200-to-go-to-harvardheres-what-students-actually-pay.html#:~:text=Harvard%20University’s%20main%20campus%20in%20Cambridge%2C%20MA.&text=According%20to%20Harvard’s%20website%2C%20tuition,of%20billed%20costs%20of%20%2469%2C607.]

[College grads expect $103,880 in first job, real salary is almost half]

In Europe, there is a difference between the gross salary and the net salary, represented by social and health contributions and pension contributions.

In France, the net salary is 77% of the gross salary and, for average incomes, the State deducts 15% of the net salary. The salary net of charges and taxes therefore represents 65% of the gross salary.

But the employer also pays a welfare state contribution.

For a gross annual salary of $35,000, the total employer cost is $39,550, the net annual salary is $23,484 and the annual income net of tax is $22,176.

1 Like
12

All property owners pay school taxes regardless if they have children in school.

If there is such a thing as a justifiable social service it is education. Well educated children add to the economic welfare of the Nation as a whole.

My problem is that the educational system itself is worse than mediocre.
Tax payer support for a good education is an investment. Tax payer support for a poor education is a waste.

Note that in a Capitalist system corporations always try to suppress wages in order to increase profits. moreover, high unemployment keeps wages low and is beneficial to business!
Ain’t that a hoot!

13

Pretty much hit it.
Cost of college has skyrocketed since I went
It was constantly pushed as part of “The American Dream” - how else are you going to afford that house in the 'burbs with a white picket fence, a dog and 2.3 children?
But a college degree is no longer (was it ever?) a guarantee for job - within or outside your field of study.

No one ever said life was fair.
Some people take advantage of opportunities, while others never get the opportunity.

14

And I don’t see how it can increase inflation.
It’s not printing money to flood back into the economy.

It’s just a footnote on the ever-increasing, never to be paid off, national debt (one way or another, however you shuffle the cards)

15

The prices are hyperinflated, especially when the interest rate is loan shark rates. Add to that, wages are not what they should be. Federal minimum wage hasn’t gone up in years. If employees are lucky, they get paid $14/hour even though minimum is still 7.50/hour (last I knew. It’s still really low regardless).

It’s not quite like that, but close. One still have to at least make payment arrangements if they can’t pay the full monthly amount. Let’s say one grosses (before taxes) $700 every 2 weeks or $1400. After taxes and medical insurance (mandatory to have paid around tax time), it maybe around $600 every 2 weeks or $1200, every 2 weeks. With food, rent/mortgage, and utilities one can’t pay $400 or $500/month towards the loan, especially if they have a family of at least 2 kids. So… in comes Income Based Repayment Plans (IBRP). They still have to pay something on the loan, but loan shark interest rates still apply, so the amount owed still increases. So by the time one retires, it is possible that the person paid off the loan and is still paying the interest on those loans. People can’t get out from under the loans due to the massive loan shark interest rates.

I don’t and have never made anywhere near $103,880, not even on my first job. That is propaganda. As it says, real salary is almost half and in some cases, less than half. I haven’t even made $50,000. My first job after college was $2000/month and that was 17 years ago. What I make now is less than that. Greedy corporations run the U.S. and they don’t want to pay employees more.

I don’t either. I see that as greedy corporations making threats because they want their money, all of it with outrages interest. They don’t want any of us to have money, which sort of puts a crimp in sales if we don’t have anything to buy with.

16

Long term occasional reader. 1st time poster. First current observation , at least Van posts some relevant and useful topics for working people.

17

welcome otto,
Yes, vanamali makes some good points.

IMO, any government action that will help in combating inflation is a good thing.
Moreover, the recent tax installation of a minimum tax on very profitable businesses that paid very little if any taxes are mostly offsetting any new expenditures.

In a socio-economic system such as the US, the maintenance of a general balance between the distribution of social benefits and fair allocation of taxation on freedom of economic expansion can only be achieved by government action.

It has been proven that unrestricted capitalism does not practice self-regulation. By its very nature unregulated capitalism seeks to maximize profit, regardless of its impact on the general economy.

Trade and economic commercialism are man-made practices and must be controlled by man. Nature does not have remedies to combat local industrial excesses, except with global regulatory responses, such as AGW.

It is clear that the status quo cannot be maintained without reaping severe consequences as global warming and climate disturbances are becoming more pronounced every year.

18

That’s not a government loan. The cost of medical care is a different issue.

and now the guy looks like a fool

We all make choices. There’s something broken about college costs and how we pay for them. There isn’t some simple solution.

And you have not answered the question - why should your loan be forgiven while others who took out similar loans based on hardship or otherwise still have to pay back theirs?

You asked a lot of questions and made a lot of points, so, not fair to focus back on one of them as if there is some avoidance going on. Anyway, The program is trying to focus on low income people, those who tried to better themselves, but are now trapped in debt. Maybe, we should be asking if it’s fair that a bank gets back 2 or 3 times what it loaned out?

I have also heard of students who rack up these debts and lived the good party life & now we have to pay back their mistakes?

that’s anecdotal, so, not evidence. My bet is that is not most people, more likely a small percentage. Those who tried to improve their life and contribute to this world should not have to suffer consequences because of those partiers.

19

Thanks otto. I’m not sure what you’re saying though. There is some agreement here with some of vanamali’s post, so I don’t see him as an outlier on this forum. And the program is geared toward helping working people, so not sure why you included that. Sounds like we have some agreement here, something we can build on.

20

During the COVID pandemic, a lot of financial assistance was given to people who were financially strapped . Moreover, mortgage lenders were prohibited from foreclosing on home loans for an extended period. Unemployment benefits were extended for a considerable length of time.

As to healthcare insurance, I totally agree with a single payer program such as practiced in Europe and Canada, where full coverage is provided to every qualified resident, and based on ability to pay.

The healthcare system in the US is the costliest in the world and oddly enough it isn’t the best by any means.

American men and women could only look forward to a life expectancy of 76.4 and 81.2 years, respectively, compared with the 78.6 and 83.4 years of their peers abroad. Feb 9, 2016
https://www.cnn.com/2016/02/09/health/american-life-expectancy-shorter-than-europeans#

But Biden just got a Bill through Congress allowing the government to negotiate prices on medicines and setting limits on maximum costs.
This will have an enormous impact on diabetics, who may pay as much as $300 p/mo just for insulin, let alone the additional cost of medicines to mitigate the damage this terrible disease does to the rest of the body.