Are people taking student loans really this dumb?

[John Parks]

Sure, way worse than bombing another country without evidence causing a backlash that downed a plane, killing 176 people. Did she specifically say she would do it without approval?

SheepStar

 

[Irvrobinson]

Sure, way worse than bombing another country without evidence causing a backlash that downed a plane, killing 176 people. Did she specifically say she would do it without approval?

SheepStar

Yes, Warren specifically said the tactic was conceived to bypass Congress. "We can't afford to wait", she said.

As for the bullshit about the Soleimani action "causing" Iranians to accidentally shoot down a passenger jet, that is ridiculous. No one could have predicted Iran's incompetence, which is likely what it was, since it wasn't a plane full of US citizens. So is the assertion of a lack of evidence. The action was little different than when the US chased down Bin Laden.

I really get disliking Trump, but twisting the facts around to fit your assertion makes you no better than him.

 

[panteragstk]

Sure, way worse than bombing another country without evidence causing a backlash that downed a plane, killing 176 people. Did she specifically say she would do it without approval?

SheepStar

I wasn't even trying to compare what she said to anyone else. It's obvious the idiot in charge has done all sorts that are out of bounds, no need to bring that into this discussion.

It popped up on my news articles to read and someone mentioned it on here.

Forbes is a decent source. Hard to find anything without bias.

 

[Alex2507]

We are being bombarded constantly how busy we are doing other things, why not get this merchant to do things for you so you can spend more time with family.

Having a light switch cover plate replaced for you is going to suck up more time in making phone calls and answering the door than two 1/2" long #6-32tpi screws could ever take.

My personal favorite was having a lawyer who owns multiple condos call me up to go replace a light bulb for one of his tenants who as it turns out works for Verizon wireless and sold me the first iPhone I ever bought for myself. The tenant had to show me some really basic phone stuff but in my defense, changing a light bulb didn't require a password.

 

[Swerd]

My personal favorite was having a lawyer who owns multiple condos call me up to go replace a light bulb for one of his tenants who as it turns out works for Verizon wireless and sold me the first iPhone I ever bought for myself. The tenant had to show me some really basic phone stuff but in my defense, changing a light bulb didn't require a password.

Reminds me of those old jokes…
How many (name any group you want to insult) does it take to change a light bulb?

Let's say Republicans… How many Republicans does it take to change a light bulb?

Only two. One to call an electrician, and one to mix martinis.

 

[Sheep]

Yes, Warren specifically said the tactic was conceived to bypass Congress. "We can't afford to wait", she said.

As for the bullshit about the Soleimani action "causing" Iranians to accidentally shoot down a passenger jet, that is ridiculous. No one could have predicted Iran's incompetence, which is likely what it was, since it wasn't a plane full of US citizens. So is the assertion of a lack of evidence. The action was little different than when the US chased down Bin Laden.

I really get disliking Trump, but twisting the facts around to fit your assertion makes you no better than him.

Rather than going to Congress to pass a new higher education law, Warren says in a plan released Tuesday that she’s found a way for her administration to wipe away up to $50,000 in debt for 95 percent of student loan borrowers in the United States, about 42 million people, by using provisions of the Higher Education Act, which gives the education secretary the “authority to begin to compromise and modify federal student loans.”

Seems there is a way to do this up to a certain amount without needing congressional approval.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Seems there is a way to do this up to a certain amount without needing congressional approval.

Maybe. Apparently, the laws about federal tuition loans do give the Secretary of Education the power to grant forgiveness under some circumstances. The question is whether or not the law grants the SoE the power to forgive a trillion dollars of loans without congressional approval. Almost certainly the question would get tied up in the courts for a long time, regardless of which outcome you prefer. One thing is for sure, Warren probably lost support of all other Democratic members of Congress by making this assertion, which I suppose is moot after her Medicare for All fiasco.

 

[Irvrobinson]

A few more examples from CNBC. I think they really are just coming up with especially illogical examples. Tens of thousands of dollars of debt for low-paying jobs and English degrees. Or are many more people this stupid?

The student debt squeeze: A look at 3 people's budgets

A handful of people with student debt, from a copy writer in Morehead, Kentucky, to an English professor in Yakima, Washington, provided CNBC with a snapshot of their budgets.

www.cnbc.com

 

[SithZedi]

Am glad you are in your dream university. Take advantage of all of the opportunities it offers, even if they don't fit into your immediate interests.

A rule of thumb I give prospective borrowers (also mentioned throughout this thread): Amount of loan vs. your major, job earning potential, and your projected spending after college, i.e., apartment rental, home ownership, (where, and cost of living), travel, partying, hobbies and a kick ass audio system. Business borrowers do the same calculation, basically.

If I may, do your homework on professors before signing up to a class. A bad professor can kill a good subject, a good professor can make a bad subject worth your time. What's your major and what do you want to do?

 

[WRXFan]

Am glad you are in your dream university. Take advantage of all of the opportunities it offers, even if they don't fit into your immediate interests.

A rule of thumb I give prospective borrowers (also mentioned throughout this thread): Amount of loan vs. your major, job earning potential, and your projected spending after college, i.e., apartment rental, home ownership, (where, and cost of living), travel, partying, hobbies and a kick ass audio system. Business borrowers do the same calculation, basically.

If I may, do your homework on professors before signing up to a class. A bad professor can kill a good subject, a good professor can make a bad subject worth your time. What's your major and what do you want to do?

You very correctly said that a lot depends on the professor. At my university, a professor taught part of the lectures on C++. Despite the fact that I really liked this subject, but due to poor teaching, I had no motivation (Unfortunately, a lot depends on the teacher.

 

[Mikado463]

but due to poor teaching, I had no motivation (Unfortunately, a lot depends on the teacher.

and as someone who is married to an educator I can tell you, a lot depends on the parenting as well

 

[Hobbit]

Or are these articles written just to highlight some really dumb examples?

How student debt came to define people's lives

Student loans have become a defining feature of American life. Over the past decade, these loans have made it harder for people to purchase houses, start businesses and families, save or invest.

www.cnbc.com

Two examples from the article:

A woman who got a doctorate in "naturopathic" medicine and a masters in acupuncture eight years ago, and still owes nearly $500K. We should spend tax dollars on forgiveness for this silliness?

Or the woman who earned an unspecified degree from Purdue, has $43K in education debt, and now works for a non-profit making $30K per year, or about $14/hour. I wonder how she thought she'd repay $43K on $14/hour. That's over 3,000 hours of work at her before-tax wage.

I'm still thinking the best alternative is to let these borrowers declare bankruptcy, and allow student loans to be discharged like other debts (current law says student loans transcend bankruptcy), screwing the lenders, not the taxpayers. Some of these borrowers do appear to be unbelievably stupid, but these lenders appear to be predators.

I'm not going to question people's motives on what degree they want or what they want to do with their lives. I know plenty of people who have made it through medical or law school with minimal to no student debt. The link doesn't work anymore, but there's a poster child for any cause.

I ended up with ~$10k of student loans at a ridiculous 8+%. In perspective, my first home loan (the house I was living in when I went to college) around that same time was 10.5%. That was after rates dropped a few percent! As soon as I graduated, I started creative financing taking advantage of offers to roll over debt at 0% for a fixed time and paid off my loans in a little over a year.

What I do question is if there should be a cap on the amount of student loans one can take? $500k in student loans seems a bit excessive to me regardless of the degree.

 

[DamarisVosmus]

Educational loans with state support help to get a quality higher education and a good job. Students and alumni talk about it, but I am confused by the fact that many people take out loans and wait for the state program to zero out their debt.

 

[justindickens]

People who take out student loans are not stupid. Most people want to become qualified specialists in order to have a prestigious job in the future.

 

[KristiaPalmer]

People who take out student loans are not stupid. Most people want to become qualified specialists in order to have a prestigious job in the future.

Student loans are taken out of desperation, as few people can pay at least $40,000 a year for tuition.

 

[highfigh]

Student loans are taken out of desperation, as few people can pay at least $40,000 a year for tuition.

If they can't afford the tuition, they should be realistic and consider going to different schools, starting at a lower cost school and looking into financial aid so they can go to the more expensive school. Many colleges and universities have scholarship & financial aid programs that reduce the annual cost by a large percentage, but people need to find out about them. If they'll make enough to pay off excessively high loans, fine, but the rest are just not looking at this sensibly.

If someone wants to study some kind of fringe topic, they can do it on their own time as electives- there's absolutely no reason that these classes and topics need to be a college major and almost none of these will land a job for a student. Students are being told "Sure, you can be anything you want", as if they're the child who can't make a good choice if their life depends on it, but their parents want them to be happy.

 

[tculverjames]

Or are these articles written just to highlight some really dumb examples?



Two examples from the article:

A woman who got a doctorate in "naturopathic" medicine and a masters in acupuncture eight years ago, and still owes nearly $500K. We should spend tax dollars on forgiveness for this silliness?

Or the woman who earned an unspecified degree from Purdue, has $43K in education debt, and now works for a non-profit making $30K per year, or about $14/hour. I wonder how she thought she'd repay $43K on $14/hour. That's over 3,000 hours of work at her before-tax wage.

I'm still thinking the best alternative is to let these borrowers declare bankruptcy, and allow student loans to be discharged like other debts PAG IBIG Housing Loan Pasalo (current law says student loans transcend bankruptcy), screwing the lenders, not the taxpayers. Some of these borrowers do appear to be unbelievably stupid, but these lenders appear to be predators.

So I did the math today, it looks like, for the next 10 years, I will be paying about 650 dollars a month towards my student loan debt.

 

[Mikado463]

So I did the math today, it looks like, for the next 10 years, I will be paying about 650 dollars a month towards my student loan debt.

Hopefully your education landed you a good job with a bright future !

 

[davidscott]

Easy fix for this. Spend a few years in the armed forces after high school. Free money for college and real-world experience. A win win for you and our country. It worked for me.

 

[Trell]

This is actually quite simple to achieve, simply not everyone is ready to sacrifice a few years of their life to live in one of those barracks.

I’d say that’s more to such a decision than just the prospect of living in barracks.