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Generally people with college educations are employed. Once more generally those people with college educations are paying on their loans. This is anecedotally evidenced by the number of people who are on this thread talking about how they are paying their loans. While you seemed to take my post as an excuse to rant you missed the point that if people's loans were forgiven those very people, including many in this thread would be able to put that money they are now paying loans on towards things that would be more beneficial to the economy and that would have a stimulative effect. Once more I did not endorse such an idea, but rather said it would have a stimulative effect that may or may not be worth the cost. You seem to be approaching this with spite and disdain for people who got a college education. It seems your goal is to punish a straw man rather then address the OP.
Are you still in college, by any chance?
I addressed your post and your straw man.
Let me fix/clarify my original response to your post:
No forgiving student loans. Unless the government would be willing to pay back every single parent who paid (in full) for their child's college education also.
Think of that stimulative effect.
All that money parents waste out of pocket on sending their children to college could have bought a fancy car or 5, a larger house, more dinners out at 5 star restaurants, more shopping...more stimulation of the economy.
What disdain for kids who go to college? I went to college. I can see around corners b/c I've been there, done that, and have a clue.
Let me fix/clarify my original response to your post:
No forgiving student loans. Unless the government would be willing to pay back every single parent who paid (in full) for their child's college education also.
Think of that stimulative effect.
All that money parents waste out of pocket on sending their children to college could have bought a fancy car or 5, a larger house, more dinners out at 5 star restaurants, more shopping...more stimulation of the economy.
What disdain for kids who go to college? I went to college. I can see around corners b/c I've been there, done that, and have a clue.
Yes giving money to parents who paid for college would be a stimulative effect. The question is whether it is worth it and to an extent it is since they get tax credits for having dependants in college.
To answer your question I graduated college and have a pathetically small student loan since I received a bunch of scholarships. I could pay it off tomorrow if I wanted to. I was a senior when I made this profile, I am in grad school now, but the stuff I do already has loan forgiveness so I really couldn't care less about expanding it. I tend to think 1. there are certainly jobs for people when they finish college I got a job out of college and I graduated right as the bubble burst. 2. If a person who had more substantial debt from college and was employed got forgiveness it would have a stimulative effect.
Just to be clear I really have no position on this and don't care. Though I will say it is stupid to suggest that there are no jobs, or that people who have liberal arts degrees generally cannot get jobs. I simply believe that if this was done there would be a stimulative effect on the economy. Whether that effect is worth it is up for debate. However much of this thread not about the pros and cons of such a move from an economic perspective, but is instead filled with emotional responses that seem to be targeted at young people.
Last edited by Randomstudent; 09-10-2011 at 11:16 PM..
Yes giving money to parents who paid for college would be a stimulative effect. The question is whether it is worth it and to an extent it is since they get tax credits for having dependants in college.
To answer your question I graduated college and have a pathetically small student loan since I received a bunch of scholarships. I could pay it off tomorrow if I wanted to. I was a senior when I made this profile, I am in grad school now, but the stuff I do already has loan forgiveness so I really couldn't care less about expanding it. I tend to think 1. there are certainly jobs for people when they finish college I got a job out of college and I graduated right as the bubble burst. 2. If a person who had more substantial debt from college and was employed got forgiveness it would have a stimulative effect.
Just to be clear I really have no position on this and don't care. Though I will say it is stupid to suggest that there are no jobs, or that people who have liberal arts degrees generally cannot get jobs. I simply believe that if this was done there would be a stimulative effect on the economy. Whether that effect is worth it is up for debate. However much of this thread not about the pros and cons of such a move from an economic perspective, but is instead filled with emotional responses that seem to be targeted at young people.
I find your "youth" is showing! You advocate forgiving loans which means breaking your word/promise to pay back in order to "stimulate" the economy (which, by the way, would only be a temporary surge) over and above teaching very important principles of life; i.e., taking responsibility for one's actions and having the moral strength to fulfill obligations that one "signs" up for.
The former weakens every person who pursues that category wherein the latter strengthens every person who stands by their moral obligation to take responsibility for their actions, which will, in turn, produce a far better life for that person.
I find your "youth" is showing! You advocate forgiving loans which means breaking your word/promise to pay back in order to "stimulate" the economy (which, by the way, would only be a temporary surge) over and above teaching very important principles of life; i.e., taking responsibility for one's actions and having the moral strength to fulfill obligations that one "signs" up for.
The former weakens every person who pursues that category wherein the latter strengthens every person who stands by their moral obligation to take responsibility for their actions, which will, in turn, produce a far better life for that person.
I find your inability to read is showing. I never once advocated forgiving loans, save for the public service forgiveness that already exists. I said I have no opinion on it and said I think it will have a stimulative effect, but I don't know if it is worth the cost. Furthermore you like many other posters seem to not care so much about the economic prospects as you do about the social engineering prospects. Its not the government's job to teach people moral strength and responsibility.
Last edited by Randomstudent; 09-11-2011 at 12:16 PM..
So I'm seeing this make the rounds on Facebook -- sign a petition to forgive all student loan debt, which is somewhere around $900B.
Who the F do these deadbeats think they are?
I had no one pay for my college and I worked graveyard to get through.
No way.
Pay your bills you lazy cows. (referring to these petitioners and not the OP)
I can only see making payments on the debt as deductible against your income.
Maybe you earned 100k and paid 15k back in loans this year.
Make the 15k non taxable and let the income be based on the other 85k.
Also only allow that kind of deduction the first 7 years so the debt gets paid.
I think it's an interesting idea and that's all it is at this point. Fact of the matter is that there isn't a single idea out there that makes everyone happy. Whether it's forgiving student loans, raising taxes, lowering taxes, stimulus spending etc, you are never going to get 100% agreement. With that said, I think there validity to this idea and it helping the economy. I'm still fairly young and I know many people that I went to college with who are holding off buying a house or a car or even moving out of their parent's basement because they still owe $70,000 in loans. Some people are posting that people need to be responsible for the loans they have. My point is that people are doing exactly that and are not pumping money into the economy in other ways.
My point is that people are doing exactly that and are not pumping money into the economy in other ways.
I think that is an illogical conclusion to draw.
The money WAS 'pumped into the economy' when it was originally borrowed. It paid salaries for teachers, administrators, staff, and was put into the local economy near the school.
The money WAS 'pumped into the economy' when it was originally borrowed. It paid salaries for teachers, administrators, staff, and was put into the local economy near the school.
But it was a debt that needs to be returned to the taxpayer.
If these people wanted grants, they should have applied for such everywhere. They instead got a loan.
I find your inability to read is showing. I never once advocated forgiving loans, save for the public service forgiveness that already exists. I said I have no opinion on it and said I think it will have a stimulative effect, but I don't know if it is worth the cost. Furthermore you like many other posters seem to not care so much about the economic prospects as you do about the social engineering prospects. Its not the government's job to teach people moral strength and responsibility.
If I misunderstood you, my apologies are extended.
However, your are correct in your statement "Its not the government's job to teach people moral strength and responsibility." On the flip side, it is ALSO NOT THE GOVERNMENT'S JOB to create escape valves which teach people to ignore their responsibilities which in turn weakens their morality.
The government needs to stay out of social engineering on all fronts...PERIOD! The economy will right itself when government gets out of the way!
But it was a debt that needs to be returned to the taxpayer.
If these people wanted grants, they should have applied for such everywhere. They instead got a loan.
The vast majority of those students would be paying that debt back for 40-50 yrs, in their contributions to income taxes and productivity.
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You advocate forgiving loans which means breaking your word/promise to pay back in order to "stimulate" the economy (which, by the way, would only be a temporary surge) over and above teaching very important principles of life; i.e., taking responsibility for one's actions and having the moral strength to fulfill obligations that one "signs" up for. 
