Petition for Student Loan Interest cap removal

[turtlevette]

I don't see why we cant give our own kids a break. We send billions to 3rd world countries, allow illegals to operate freely here, and import Doctors and Engineers from India, China, Russia, Canada on and on and on. I'd rather have my Doctor someone local than from a bung hole 3rd world country.

And why are we allowing all these losers to refinance homes that are underwater with all kinds of incentives. Why that and not this?

I don't get it.

 

[Brybo86]

no one said they want to refinance homes that are under water, that would be your elected official

 

[95busa]

Only way to get through college without parental funding? Try the Army. We have positions available. Might grow you up some and cut out some of your excuses.

 

[hevysrf]

Originally Posted By: Doog
I put myself through college working two jobs and going to school 4 nights a week and studying every night. I didn't watch television for 6 years. I paid for my degrees (3) with after tax dollars what makes you think you should get something free?

Just more entitlements for the "entitlement generation"



What year did did you graduate? What did a year of school cost? What was your yearly income at that time?


My son is on the hook for $32k a year, thats after grants, and scholarships. Seems like he would need $20 per hour, 40 hour a week to meet cost. Not many $20 per hour jobs for high school grads here in NJ, since the Ford and GM plants closed. Like most of his peers, he does 15 class hour a week and at least 3 hours of study for each class hour. Add a full job time and commuting, not enough hours in the week.
I respect your accomplishment, as I also paid for my trade school at a time when 95 % of my classmate were in the "CETA"program of the late 70's. Not only was their tuition paid, they were paid to sit in class.
18 months of HVAC school cost $4500, my job at Toys R Us paid $2.50 per hour, 40 hour week net $80 after tax. Those numbers just don't scale up to modern educations costs. Part of my son's lab work was in a clean room manufacturing micro chips, those types of experiences do not come cheap, but are necessary in the modern world.

 

[rshaw125]

Taxpayer subsidized loans are the problem. They drive College costs higher. Much higher. Washington needs to get out of the business.

 

[RamFan]

Originally Posted By: javacontour
Federally subsidized loans. Now the folks who got the loans and below market rates want to skip out on paying taxes on more of the income used to pay interest.

No thanks.

It's time to stop all these niche deductions, mortgage interest included and let's get everyone, regardless of age or income paying the same tax rates.

That's the only fair solution. Anything else gives some population special treatment.


I'm one of the folks with subsidized federal loans, and even I agree with what you're saying. Flat tax rate without deductions across the board is the only fair way.

 

[Astro14]

It wasn't deductible when I took student loans 30 years ago. 3 year military deferment (which you still can get...just join up...you can see the world!) and then paid them off the next year. I was an officer, but driving a 16 year old Oldsmobile at the time, and living in an inexpensive apartment. No cable. No luxuries. Wouldn't think of buying a coffee...much less some barista-made concoction.

Set your priorities and put paying these off at the top. That's the old school way to do it. And it works...without government help or asking others (taxpayers) to help with an obligation that you willingly took.

 

[RamFan]

Originally Posted By: Doog
Today every body wants a free ride....maybe they should call a Waaaaaaammmbulance...


It wouldn't be a free ride. The loan is being repaid, however the proposal is to alleviate some of the interest pain. I love your argument though,"I made it through school with no loans therefore anyone should, anyone who differs is simply looking for a hand out." I'm sorry but that way of thinking is simply primitive and doesn't contribute a single iota of intelligent information to any conversation. People from all walks of life have a desire to go to school, even those who don't have the desire feel compelled to go as society has decided to associate non degree holders with unmotivated and underachieving.

I'm one of the millions of degree holders who's straddled with debt. I graduated HS with a 3.4 GPA and 4 years later received my bachelor's with a 3.2 GPA. I managed off of student loans and the three jobs I held. The loans paid for my schooling while my minimum wage jobs paid for food, gas, and lodging. I applied for scholarships and was only selected for 1, a whopping $75. I grew up in a military family where money wasn't plentiful so loans and grants became my only option. How are those loans and grants factored? Your parent's income. Not the student's, who in my case was the one paying for the school. My mom retired my senior year of HS where her civilian salary started at $45k and ballooned to $62k over the next 4 years. With each raise she received, my grants were cut and loans increased. How this makes me part of the "entitlement generation" I'll never know, but to each their own.

I hope you have a wonderful day.

 

[millerbl00]

My best advice is don't borrow from the the government no matter what. Its not worth it. Once you owe its almost impossible to pay off.

 

[Astro14]

Nope. I went to college on financial aid and merit scholarships. I didn't grow up rich and I didn't take from my parents.

I took loans. They weren't deductible at all. Further, they were at a higher interest rate than you're paying now. So, frankly, it was harder than it is now.

You've got a lot more breaks than I did....so you're saddled with debt...and your point is? Woe is me? I need the government's help? Life is hard? Cut your expenses, get control of your financial life. Get a second job if you need to.

I was raised to take responsibility for the situation, to be accountable for the decisions that I made, and to not ask for help when I was capable of handling it. That's what it meant to be a grown up...but I was raised in a different time I guess...

 

[95busa]

I like the argument though.....Get a degree with federally subsidized funds. Get a better job and reap the benefits of the degree. Then don't pay your fair share of taxes because of the opportunity to better yourself you sought out and reaped the benefits of with public funds assisting. I like it! If you have a problem with personal responsibility it sounds great!

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: Dominic
Federal student loans are about the ONLY way for a person to get through 4-10 years of college when there is no parental funding. They are barely enough to pay for many colleges, and the loan rates are not competitive with rates for anything else on the market (autos, homes). Thanks to the government, there is no competition in the student loan sector, which means students are strapped with debt at 6.8% and higher rates that they then must pay back currently with after-tax dollars. Ripoff or not, it adds insult to injury when school tuition rates are rising at 7-10% per year... most students are graduating without a job, and will be poor for many years if they decided to live the dream of getting an education and hopefully land a better paying higher skilled job.

Perhaps people are stupid to try, but if SOME of the interest can be paid back with pre-taxed income, why can't ALL of it be paid back with pre-tax income like the federally backed mortgages? You'll hear nary a person want to take away that deduction (as was mentioned above).

I am simply trying to help support putting dollars back into the pockets of those willing to further themselves through getting an education, perhaps with debt because they had no other means to attend school. I figure it's far better to support the educated needy than the ones without any gumption, effort, initiative, or skill.

Sorry if I offended anyone here with that kind of thinking.


There is an alternative: serve your country. Sure, you'll be paid little, but you'll get to live in a tent, eat MREs, spend years overseas and have people try to kill you.

Didn't say it would be easy.

But you would get the GI bill, which will cover your degree completely. And you'll have experience that makes you a very marketable employee...

Serve, sacrifice, plan, work.

Are these things so foreign to everyone that they don't see the alternatives?

 

[dlundblad]

College kids frustrate me at times. With the most I've seen, either their parents do all the funding (and they don't know the value of a dollar) or they think they should get schooling for free. Just like welfare. I know I just made a huge generalization, but I am speaking from experience.

Meanwhile here I am working 2 jobs anding paying my student loans each month.

 

[redhat]

I went to college and graduated a few years ago, while I could technically say that my parents didn't pay for my schooling, I had a place to live, food to eat, shower, place to wash my clothes, place to fix my car, tools, etc. (man can this list go on), way more important and valuable IMO. I'm appreciative of all of that very much. Their money was tight, and I didn't expect or want them to take more money out of the equity to pay my way. I went to school full time and worked a few hours shy of full-time at a pizzeria for a few years before and a year after college (even about a half a year overlapping with my IT job).

Money then was tight but I paid what needed to be paid during my time and did take out student loans. I was fortunate to get a decent job and am happy where I'm at now.

Today, money is still tight, expensive car repairs on previous vehicles have allowed me to accumulate some credit card balances that I'm working at along with student loans. But... my bills are paid, I'm fed, healthy, and if my calculations are correct, in a couple years I'll be in decent shape.

 

[supton]

I didn't think I could hack boot camp, so I didn't bother with that. Four years was also an interminably long time. Borrowed for all four years instead. Paid off in like 10 (mine and the wife's). I didn't know anyone who was working their way though college so it never occurred to me to do that. Probably a good thing anyhow, it would have taken 8 years to accomplish my degree (actually, I wouldn't have made it in reality--nearly flunked out the first year as it was, high school did no prepare me for college, and I have my doubts that after 4 years of service I'd be in any better shape).

I do not look forward to what my kids will face. At the risk of being political: this is what happens when the gov gets involved, and wants to level the playing field. Once everyone can go because the money is there, then cost rises to meet demand. Same thing happened in the housing market. Cripes, given the low interest rates of late I wonder what the future issues will be from low interest auto loans.

I'm not a big fan of deductions and credits. Yes, I like keeping my money; I like paying less in taxes. But I like what my taxes do for me, well at least what they ought to be doing (apart from corruption and waste). Just a big shell game, trying to figure out who to give perks to.

If you ask me, deduct all or deduct none. I don't get why there is a cap in the first place.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: turtlevette
I don't see why we cant give our own kids a break. We send billions to 3rd world countries, allow illegals to operate freely here, and import Doctors and Engineers from India, China, Russia, Canada on and on and on. I'd rather have my Doctor someone local than from a bung hole 3rd world country.

And why are we allowing all these losers to refinance homes that are underwater with all kinds of incentives. Why that and not this?

I don't get it.



Well all of that should not occur either. But we have our priorities in the wrong places. Some try to pitch it as the 1% vs the 99%, or wealth redistribution, or whatever else. Its not. Its just that weve used a short-sighted intent to get everything done the cheapest way we can, even if it means selling out our fellow countrymen in a treacherous manner to get some widget or junk cheap, and depress wages for others through legal or illegal competiton.

Im no fan of the petition, as I said before, but those ARE major challenges that do face the current population. As was said above, not many $20/hr jobs since the auto plants closed. That kind of thing is a mirror of our major issue that now we dont produce anything, much of the innovation and opportunity will be AFTER the training is complete and the student can go and run with it, so going and being a minimum wage retail wage slave that cant pay the bills now that in state tuition is even tens of thousands of dollars a year.

Military, sure, but many of those jobs dont pay that great, and the spots for officers arent as plentiful and will be dropping more and more.

There is a fundamental issue with college prices going out of control, and that is a rate that is obviously rising far faster than the minimum wage is (or would if they made it $15/hr or whatever the ff workers wanted), what peoples' saving rates are, etc.

Everyone I know who had college loans has either paid them off or nearly has. That's before or at the 10 year mark roughly. All with jobs, some have changed jobs, but everyone gainfully employed and putting the priorities in the right places.

Too many degrees in things that the "market" wont support (even if it is due to our own poor consumption and other activities) is an issue...

 

[javacontour]

Why do we have to subsidize those things as well?

I don't think anyone is saying let's keep those and "shaft" the students.

I clearly said let's stop ALL the subsidies, and let people make choices on the merits, not the tax breaks, incentives, etc.

If it's a good idea, it's a good idea without federal subsidies. If it needs to be subsidized, is it really a good idea?

Originally Posted By: turtlevette
I don't see why we cant give our own kids a break. We send billions to 3rd world countries, allow illegals to operate freely here, and import Doctors and Engineers from India, China, Russia, Canada on and on and on. I'd rather have my Doctor someone local than from a bung hole 3rd world country.

And why are we allowing all these losers to refinance homes that are underwater with all kinds of incentives. Why that and not this?

I don't get it.

 

[javacontour]

I agree, college costs are going up at a rate higher than inflation.

There are many factors fueling the rise. One is a large pool of money borrowed, often at below market rates.

I've long said that it should be the schools loaning the money, not the federal government. If they believe in their education product and their ability to find their graduates jobs, let them put their money on the line.

That way, the schools are responsible for the money the loan and their graduates outcomes, not the taxpayer.

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: turtlevette
I don't see why we cant give our own kids a break. We send billions to 3rd world countries, allow illegals to operate freely here, and import Doctors and Engineers from India, China, Russia, Canada on and on and on. I'd rather have my Doctor someone local than from a bung hole 3rd world country.

And why are we allowing all these losers to refinance homes that are underwater with all kinds of incentives. Why that and not this?

I don't get it.



Well all of that should not occur either. But we have our priorities in the wrong places. Some try to pitch it as the 1% vs the 99%, or wealth redistribution, or whatever else. Its not. Its just that weve used a short-sighted intent to get everything done the cheapest way we can, even if it means selling out our fellow countrymen in a treacherous manner to get some widget or junk cheap, and depress wages for others through legal or illegal competiton.

Im no fan of the petition, as I said before, but those ARE major challenges that do face the current population. As was said above, not many $20/hr jobs since the auto plants closed. That kind of thing is a mirror of our major issue that now we dont produce anything, much of the innovation and opportunity will be AFTER the training is complete and the student can go and run with it, so going and being a minimum wage retail wage slave that cant pay the bills now that in state tuition is even tens of thousands of dollars a year.

Military, sure, but many of those jobs dont pay that great, and the spots for officers arent as plentiful and will be dropping more and more.

There is a fundamental issue with college prices going out of control, and that is a rate that is obviously rising far faster than the minimum wage is (or would if they made it $15/hr or whatever the ff workers wanted), what peoples' saving rates are, etc.

Everyone I know who had college loans has either paid them off or nearly has. That's before or at the 10 year mark roughly. All with jobs, some have changed jobs, but everyone gainfully employed and putting the priorities in the right places.

Too many degrees in things that the "market" wont support (even if it is due to our own poor consumption and other activities) is an issue...

 

[supton]

What would it be like if students had to get their own loans?

I don't recall ever sitting down to contemplate what I'd rack up in loans vs what my earning potential would be after I got my degree (and mind you, should I have assumed I was going to graduate? not everyone does). I realize that was a shortcoming on my part, but do kids today run those sorts of numbers? I just assumed I had to go, in order to have a better income; loans were just assumed. It's what everyone does.

I don't think people run the math, nor are encouraged to do so.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: javacontour
I've long said that it should be the schools loaning the money, not the federal government. If they believe in their education product and their ability to find their graduates jobs, let them put their money on the line.

That way, the schools are responsible for the money the loan and their graduates outcomes, not the taxpayer.



That's an interesting idea.