Posted on 06/28/2018 9:04:06 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
If one wants prices to rise, get the government involved. If you doubt that, then explain the roaring inflation in health care and college, where government is deeply entrenched. For years, government has thrown money at higher education, and it has made attending college more and more expensive. One of the main ways government pumps money into colleges is indirect: the guarantee of student loans. Be that as it may, when one takes out any kind of loan, one needs to be clear about what happens if one can't pay it back. You see, in bankruptcy court, student loan debt is treated differently from other types of debt.
On June 18, Forbes ran "Can Student Loans Now Be Discharged in Bankruptcy?" by Zack Friedman. This is a must-read article for anyone considering going into debt to attend college. Friedman answers the question of his headline thus: "normally, student loans are not dischargeable." Student debt can be discharged in a bankruptcy, but one must prove "undue hardship." Bankruptcy usually leaves one with a ruined credit score and still owing one's student debt. (The prospective student might also look into this article on bankruptcy at Student Loan Hero.)
Recently, I reported on the PROSPER Act, a bill that has stalled out in Congress. One of the provisions of the PROSPER Act is to end student loan forgiveness. Student loan forgiveness is not bankruptcy; it's much nicer than bankruptcy.
On March 27, FiveThirtyEight ran "Student Loans Are Too Expensive to Forgive" by Amanda Palleschi. The article gives us a rundown on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF), which gives loan forgiveness to graduates employed by government and non-profits, including to lawyers. PROSPER would eliminate such loan forgiveness.
The feds can't afford student loan forgiveness. If the taxpayer is going to pay the salaries of government employees, he shouldn't be compelled to pay their college loans as well.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
I’m surprised Trump is not on this issue of the cost of higher-education.
Its a huge bubble waiting to be popped
He would have all the moral authority in the world to speak against it
The entire middle class would support a political campaign against it
Its a target-rich environment of elitists, insiders and hypocrites
Its a huge support base for his opposition.
My 19 year old son just got accepted into an plumbing apprenticeship program. He starts with only a HS education and is starting at $12.90 per hour, the cost of his associates in applied science is paid for and in 3 years, he will have his AAS, no school debt, and will be testing for his Journeyman’s in plumbing and likely will be making $24 to $26 per hour.
If he stays on and works for his masters licence in plumbing, he will get a Bachelors in Applied Science, already have a job, will be making around $42 per hour (median income) ..... and no school loans and will be 25 years old.
Compare that to a Bachelors graduating at 22 or 23 and $80K in debt.
Awesome.
My 18 year old just got his CDL license. Once he returns from a summer volunteer gig, he has a job lined up. I think starting pay is about $40K a year. His class was $4,000 but the school told him about a grant that paid $3,000 of it.
At the same time, another son is a recently minted engineer. His first job starts Monday at $65K a year. He’s got some debt, but it’s manageable and should be paid off in a year or two. About half of it is Mom and Dad Savings and Loan and interest free.
I know a lot on here disagree, but I actually think student loans should be able to be discharged entirely like any unsecured debt and the US govt should not lend any money to students who are attending schools that have a 10% charge off rate. That would force schools to 1) make sure the kids they take will stay in for the 4-5 years 2) They actually take legit classes (ie engineer/business, not ethic studies) 3) work hard on job placement 4) help keep costs down of the school program - higher the cost, the more likely the a kid will have it discharged.
...and if your son is smart, he will save money like there’s no tomorrow, and put his savings (after a rainy-day fund that is untouchable) into rental real estate. That’ll give him passive income that he can’t be fired or laid-off from, something that most people don’t have. By the time he is 35, he should be able to own either half a dozen to a dozen houses, or else a small apartment complex.
I think Trump has talked about vocational schools. A good coding bootcamp of about 16 weeks costs about 10 - 20K.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.