[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by HockeyIlliterate

There is a world of difference between having taxpayers fund public schools and having them pay for college student loan forgiveness.

You're right, there is. The reality is there was a generation of students that caught in the escalation of costs that made education ridiculously expensive. The inflation that made it that way was driven by the private institutions and regulations were non-existent to check this loading of debt on students. There is a lot that has to change in education, but solving this problem is not just an education problem, but also an inhibitor to the economic health of the nation.

Student loan forgiveness is a complete non-starter for me. It rewards a certain group of people who happened to graduate at the “right” time, it ignores the underlying structural issues and reasons of why there is so much student loan debt in the first place, and is a complete handout to mostly white, middle class, families.

You're correct to a certain extent, it does reward those who were in the system at a given time. It would focus on those who were unfairly targeted by not only predatory private loans, but also the unregulated practices of the feds who were forced to try and keep up with the spirally costs create by the private institutions.

Plus, let’s be selfishly honest. No one paid for my student loans other than me. Yeah, it kinda sucked, but there is absolutely no reason why others can’t do the same.

Yeah, you got yours, so #### everyone else. Amiright?

Originally Posted by HockeyIlliterate

Of course, some colleges are already publicly funded and students that attend those schools tend to have less student loan debt than those that go to private colleges.

First, it would help if you would contrast the difference between colleges and universities, and then the public system and the private system. You're applying the same brush to them all, which is a failure in your discussion of the issue. The issue affects the various types of institutions differently.

Why should the student that spent $50k at a private university get their loans completely forgiven while the student who spent $20k at State U to get the same degree essentially get penalized for their more economical choice?

Because they wouldn't. Loan forgiveness is not intended to help those with privately held loans, only those that are government backed would be forgiven. Those that made the choice to go to college or public universities, and only those that took advantage of qualified loan programs would gain any benefit. Even those that consolidated their private FFEL loans into government backed loans would not gain full benefit.

Or, more pointedly, why should society fund programs for people that are essentially lifestyle or personal decisions?

I dunno. Why did we bailout the banks? Why did we bailout Wall Street? Why did we give $4 TRILLION to the top 1%? Why did society fund a massive transfer of wealth to people who do nothing but profiteer at society's expense? Explain away please.

Why should society fun student debt forgiveness? Because the vast majority of students who carry debt have a significant load caused by the shenanigans that took place as a result of the for-profit institutions and the rapid unchecked inflation that took place. It created a bubble that has yet to burst, and the only way to fix this problem is to do a massive reset of the system, similar to what happened to the market when the banks were bailed out. So why would this investment (and it is an investment) be worth it for the country?

Elimination of this debt will inject vast amounts of money back into the economy. The proof is in the unexpected rebound in the economy, a large part of caused by the suspension of student loan payments. Those suspended payments weren't weaseled away into savings or investments, like what happened with the $4 TRILLION gift to the top 1%, this money went right back into the economy to keep families afloat and buy things these people could not normally afford as a result of the money dedicated to student loan payments. The United States is driven on spending. The only way to play for programs now is through taxes on spending, so the primary goal is to keep that spending going. Since most people with student debt have said they would take that money and turn it into a major purchase, like a house or car, that is significant money going back into the economy. That increases demand for products and services and in turn generates new jobs, new tax revenues, and and new funds for programs like medicare and social security. The benefit from giving 42 million Americans a leg up great outweighs the gift we gave to a couple million rich pricks.

I get the arguments in favor of publicly funded education and day care and maternity leave and so on.

But I don’t appreciate the inherent inequality of that funding.

Inequity in funding? I don't understand this line of thinking. Our goal is to lift society and our country up. You do that by making big investments that improve the lot for the most people. You're not gifting money to individuals, you're investing in the future of the country. Those people who went to school and got educated are going to be the future leaders of the institutions (private and public) that make America what it is. Their success will make our future successful. We hold them back, we hold ourselves back. You can't be myopic and look at this from the perspective of helping individuals. You have to look at this as a massive lift that will improve the lives of communities, states, and the country as a whole. Get this huge block of 42 million Americans spending and really watch the economy take off. Trickledown economics was a massive failure, now try investing in the middle class and see the power of the spending block in action.

It would make more sense to me if the government just gave everyone $X amount of money and let them spend it as they desired, whether on child care (for those who wish to have kids) or, say, on wine and steak and vacations for those that are childless (or even by those who do have kids, if they so desired).

That would be one way to look at it. It's bad fiscal policy and doesn't solve a problem, but it is one way to look at it. I get it though. You want yours. You're lucky you went to school when a Pell Grant paid for the majority of a year's schooling, and not a fraction of a semester. For those who went to school during the for-profiteering that took place over the past 15-20 years, its a different story, especially those who have recent debt. Something needs to be done for mainstreet in the country, and student debt is a great place to start.