"I mean, all we were doing was breaking the law, ya know?"
Seattle: Protester carrying sign
"College loan repayment--
Indentured servitude."2
"I mean, you owe it to me, ya know?"
Uh, yeah. We know.
1WGN-TV Chicago, 10/24/11
2Any left-of-center press recently, e.g., Huffington Post.
6 comments:
My husband's daughter and her husband were visiting over this past weekend. We were talking about this "occupy" thing (about which I know nothing except they don't have any good songs) and the economy and they said that forgiving student loans would certainly boost the economy by boosting spendable income (their combined student loan repayment is approx. $850 per month).
My husband and I pointed out to them that if all student loan repayments were cancelled then where would the money for MORE student loans come from. It did give them pause. They had never thought that their loans came from other students re-paying their loans.
Does anyone think before they open their mouths? (rhetorical question that...)
Grace, good for you and Hubby. Young people sometimes need to be pointed in the direction of logical thought. It is true that a college degree costs way too much, and it is true that the loan repayment can be quite onerous. Yet youngsters might consider that paying several hundred dollars a month on a loan is cheaper in the long run than working without the degree which got them the $80K job.
I was able to work my way through college, and I think it is a shame that that really isn't even possible anymore.
I'm baffled on the loan repayment thing. I mean, I paid mine back--why shouldn't they have to??
If their loans are too burdensome, why didn't they figure it out earlier on and go to community college for a couple of years? Or maybe find a college they could afford?
Why doesn't anyone feel like they have to pay their way anymore??? CRAZY!
Lin, "baffled" is the state in which I am living these days!
Yes, unfortunately my step-daughter and her husband do not have 80k salary jobs. She is an American history teacher - working part-time because that's all that was available and she was lucky to get it - especially right out of college - BA, no Masters. She also works 2 nights a week as a home health aide. Her husband is an architect - got licensed 2 years ago - has been laid off twice. Both worked their butts off to pay for as much of their education as possible before turning to loans to pay for the rest.
Sooo - I think they are really good "kids" (she's 27, he's 30) - they never asked for help from us - even paid for their own wedding - yadda yadda yadda
But still - they never thought where the money for their loans was coming from.
Grace, seems as though you really do have some good kids there. It is all too true that (1) $80K jobs are pretty scarce and 2) jobs for qualified young people are scarce, period. We have a couple of fiftyish kids whose jobs were "swept" and they are struggling with the realities of making their own jobs. Not easy, and heaven forbid they fall ill, for there is no insurance.
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