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0 pointsejb9994y ago0 comments

>>IMO 30k in student debt is very manageable, currently have the thing paid down to like $12k and I like knowing I can reach into savings at any time and wipe out this debt if need be.

Absolutely - $30K in debt is completely reasonable imo; if after 4 years in college you have not improved your job prospects enough to cover that payment, then you probably didn't work very hard, or didn't pick a marketable major.

Most of these 'college debt is out of control' stories being pushed in the press, are usually focusing on outliers - i.e. people that borrowed $250K for multiple useless majors and now work at Starbucks because they chose badly. Public policy shouldn't be based on edge cases like this; not do we want to reward people for making bad decisions.

Last I read, the median college debt that people owe is less than $20K, and should be more than manageable for most people.

If we want to fix the college debt problem, focus on getting the college costs down - anything that tries to make it easier to pay for, without controlling the cost side of the equation, will almost certainly cause the cost to go up even faster then before.

0 comments

valeness4y ago

Assuming 20k in debt is more than manageable for most people really says more about you than it does others who can't pay that back.

The OP said he could just "reach into savings" and whip out 12k. That is an INCREDIBLY privileged position to be in and I would urge you both to re-evaluate your perspective.

People taking care of their sick mother, or paying for expensive medication for chronic illnesses, or living in a poor job market area, or have poor credit due to narcissistic parents taking out loans in their name, battling mental illness, or are paying child support, etc; are not "edge cases". They make up a considerable number of people who are struggling with the compounded failures of the system layered over of them.

It was Margaret Mead who said something to the effect that "The earliest sign of true civilization, was that of a healed femur." This was said because a femur is not something that can be healed without assistance from someone else to bandage you, care for you, and fetch food for you.

What is the point of civilized society and public policy if not to ensure that "edge cases" are treated as equitably as the general public? Why do you not have the same mentality when somebody breaks a leg? Why should society care for the outcomes of poor decision making: for example, such as playing contact sports, that results in a broken leg?

Also please quit spewing the nonsense of "didn't choose a marketable major". I see this a lot with STEM grads, shitting on the arts, and then turning around and watching DUNE on HBOMax. Everybody enjoys the work of "non-marketable" majors, but nobody wants to pay for it.

ericd4y ago

People are obviously willing to pay some price for the arts, but perhaps not enough to support all the people who want to work in them at a very high standard of living. It's generally not been a very well compensated field throughout history for a reason.

Goronmon4y ago

That's quite the story you've created for yourself. I'm sure it makes it easy to dismiss the issue out of hand.

ejb999OP4y ago

Not a story at all - check for yourself what the median student debt is - people who owe $250K are outliers, not the average college graduate.

Pushing these $250K horror stories, is self serving to people who want all loans forgiven - even for those people who owe much less, and who can easily afford to make payments; of course people who owe money, would prefer to get let off the hook, who wouldn't.

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