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Subscribe to RSSHere’s the good news: Bankers seem pretty confident that most Americans will continue to pay off most of their consumer debt on time.
Here’s the bad news: They’re not nearly as optimistic about Americans’ ability to deal with ballooning student loan debt.
A new quarterly survey of U.S. banks’ risk managers finds that more than six in 10 expect student loan debt delinquencies to increase in the next six months. Only about 13 percent expect delinquencies to decrease.
The survey of 215 risk managers, released Tuesday by the credit risk analysis firm FICO, shows that student loan delinquencies have been worrying bankers for most of the year. Nearly 64 percent of the bankers surveyed in the previous quarter had predicted an increase in student loan delinquencies, and about half were expecting such a rise when the survey was conducted in the first three months of the year.
The survey found that bankers were much more optimistic about Americans’ ability to pay off other types of debt.
About two-thirds of the bankers surveyed said they expected delinquency rates on credit card debt to stay the same or go down in the next six months. About three-fourths were expecting delinquency rates for car loans and residential mortgages to stay flat or go down.
Despite worries about rising student loan debt, it appears Americans are continuing to borrow heavily to fund their education. On Friday, the Federal Reserve reported that consumer credit for things like car and student loans rose by nearly $14 billion in August from July. In total, U.S. consumer credit rose by more than $18 billion in August.
Financial experts have traditionally said that it’s OK to borrow some money to pay for college because the investment should pay off with higher earnings and more stable employment. In recent years, many adults also have flocked back to school in the hopes that more education would give them an edge up in a tight job market that increasingly prizes specialized skills.
But the high cost of college and easy access to student loans have left some Americans deeply burdened by debt.
According to the College Board, for students who received a bachelor's degree in the 2007-08 academic year, the median debt load was about $7,960 for public institutions, $17,040 for private, not-for-profit institutions and $31,190 for-profit institutions. The figures include students who graduated with no debt.
Related:
Student loans, backed by government, crushing families
Economy leaves many returning students disappointed, deep in debt
Loving the job, but hating the student loan debt
Leave a Comment:
"BANKERS" are worried? Are you fukkiing insane/stupid/naive or what?
Really.....worried? Dumbass....
Ten bucks says a bailouts on the way. Ring ring...Hello China?....
Preparing us for yet another bailout aka stimulus package? Bend over America.
obama can add it to our credit card...
This country is on the wrong track.
Really the system needs to be tweaked. There needs to be a list of degrees that the economy actually needs, like engineering, accounting, medicine, IT, etc. Only those degrees can you get loans for.
I went to school when the profs had two coats, (a corduroy and a twead) both had elbow patches. They drove in to campus in a rag top VW or similar car. I live near a university and the profs drive in with very expensive cars, some are renovated beauties, almost rare, others are the $70k and up luxury cars. They drive in from the gated communities of McMansions. Also the ratio of faculty to students has decreased dramatically. Fewer stus per faculty means more money per student is needed to fund it. Although contributions to endowments have been huge in Universities in the last 30 years they have succumbed to the same temptations as governements. They thought the gravey train would last forever and laid in permanent expanding overhead costs. After the crash, they were slow to cut overhead. So they are looking for tuition and fee increases far out of pace with inflation rates. Couple this with students being pushed into colleges despite the declining job prospects at graduation and the debt thing is almost out of control. People have not learned to cope with the idea of graduating with a $50k debt or worse and going into a job of $28k. However, it is their debt. They took it on. This talk of giving them a bailout is wrong. Meet your obligations and our society will get stronger. always get a bailout and we're just going to keep going down.
Years ago bankers knew most after finishing college will get a job and pay off the loans.
Not these days and bankers know it..some get MBA's and still can't get employment!
Blame the loanmakers/SallieMae for loaning tens of thousands of dollars to people who aren't economically viable. Blame students for racking up so much debt banking on finding a job as they exit college. Blame universities for charging $500+ a credit hour for classes. Blame the economy as employers aren't hiring. Blame the competition job seekers face with a 700:1 ratio per job opening. Blame the government for not finding creative ways to encourage employers to hire more people... We're holding hands as we go over the cliff together: We are all to blame.
We have way too many students that are not just using their student loans for school. I borrowed less than 20 thousand and I have 3 college degrees. I worked and only borrowed what it took me to go to school. Students today are using this money to live in nice apartments, cars, parties, and everything else that they want. They treat it like the're getting money from their parents. STOP WASTING MONEY AND GET YOUR EDUCATION!!!!
Debt is evil
For many of the graduates from last spring there really aren't that many decent paying jobs out there, in spite of what the government is saying. This is a mess the banking system created and yes, they should worry.
I Read You: In the fifty's I taught at college with a Masters while working on a Ph.D.and was paid less than a first year elementary school teacher. I intended to become a college professor but refused to starve while trying to get college kids to take education seriously and learn.
After 4 years I said to hell with it, went out and set up my own business, made a major success of it and 25 years later at age 52 I sold my business and retired. If I had remained as a college Professor, I still wouldn't be making more than the $150,000 I paid my General manager back then.
Professors are worth probably twice what they are being paid now.
My first job after graduation in 1991 was a whopping 21 thousand per year. I got a second job until I could get a better paying job. Welcome to the real world!
No bet. Student voters ..... too big to fail.
Bankers worried, bulls...t; the loans are covered with a 80% government buy back, and the banks get the first payments to cover their 20%; they do not want to turn the loans over to the feds, since they take the government guarantee and use it as a statutory deposit with the fed reserve, and borrow back 7 times it's value, called fractional banking.
Next the cost of higher education is out of sight, look at all the on line diploma mills , a scam.
My nephew has been going to college for nearly 20 years. He has gone bankrupt twice, although I don't know what for since he has never owned a house or a new car even. Bankruptcy doesn't clear student loan, unfortunately for him, so who knows how far he is in debt - half a million dollars maybe. But he continues to get student loans so he can continue going to college because for as long as he is taking classes, he doesn't have to pay off his loans. He is in his 40's and I suspect he never intends to pay off these loans, but the banks/school's financial services continue to give him loans. So in the end, it'll be us tax payers who pocket the bill and pay it off for him as well as others who are doing the same and the banks who cater to them.
Yet another Obama triumph...... press young people into massive debt without a job market.......... watch the loans folks...... they will be "forgiven" before long leaving the cost of education on the backs of the tax payers........
I love the comment "I was led to believe that a college degree would land me employment". That's the problem with some college graduates, sure, they were intelligent enough to finish a degree program and that's respectable. What about common sense? You really thought that you would get a degree and a career would magically flutter down alighting gently upon your lap? That goes beyond naivity and makes me question the validity of some colleges; how could you possibly have graduated with such a childish mentality. What was your major? Please do not say liberal arts or communications. Did you ever participate in any internships? Did you work while you went to school? Leading up to graduation, did you begin scouting potential companies? How much effort have you put in to finding the job? Have you thought about what you can do to add something to your value? Perhaps practicing typing or learning a new language. The ultimate question is do you ever take responsibilities for your own short-comings? Or, are you always looking for someone else to whom you can shift the blame for the current state of your life? I have little sympathy for you who blame others.
You can't pay if there are no jobs...
Don't blame the cost of an education on professor salaries - because it is not there. I teach adjunct (part-time) because I can't afford to live on what they have offered full-time - so I run my own business and teach two classes per semester primarily for the enjoyment and satisfaction. Ironically I teach Economics so let me tell you why education is so expensive: EASY MONEY!!
When you virtually guarantee a loan to students and tell them a degree is required regardless of the cost then you create the bubble we see. As the demand for education increases (due to easy money), and the supply grows less quickly, then the price increases. I warn each of my classes each semester of the danger of taking out too much in student loans.
Solution? There is really an easy solution: Go through an approval process. Have the student apply for the loan and an advisor sits down with the student estimating the cost of the education, how much of it they can cash flow, and THEN (the most important part) project out the expected marginal increase in income potential.
In other words: Say you could expect to increase your income on average $20,000 a year then over 40 years (and inflation and wage increases) say you can project to make an extra $600,000 (after all calculations of lost income while IN school, etc.). Then borrowing $30,000 makes sense and advisor approves the loan.
But what if you can only make an additional $10,000 a year and want to go to a private college to study Medieval History and plan to get a Masters degree as well costing $100,000? You calculate you CANNOT make enough money to even pay it back!! So advisor denies your approval.
We MUST start being honest with these kids. They don't appreciate or understand what a loan means with a payment that will ultimately be $700 or $800 a month. We need an adult to break it down for them, explain it to them, and tell them "No" when it doesn't make sense - for their own good.
Totally agree with D Jahns... What a great way of saying it! "Banks" need to police there own back yard before yelling about the "Sky is Falling!" Who the hell trusts what banks are saying these days?
G-774053,
So you think that we should blindly follow the word of the Federal Government about debt? I personally think that the bankers have a better handle on the subject...
You also can't refinance student loan debt. Pisses me off. I'm stuck at 7% while today's rates are what, 3-4%?
Mother F'ers.
Keep in mind many of these kids taking on student loan debt are EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD when they go into college. They are ill-equipped to make informed decisions when it comes to finances. They have high hopes of making six figures post-college with their shiny new degree. They get fed a dream and particularly if their parents have never been to college, they get sucked in just as easily. And they convince you that, the more prestigious (and expensive) the college is, the more your degree will be worth, so it makes up for the high cost. And hey, why should only rich kids get to go to the best schools? So they can continue to have all the advantages? Those of you out there who are so judgemental of others and like to look down your nose when other people make mistakes should get off your self-righteous high horses and have a little empathy. I currently pay $4 PER DAY in interest on my student loan. I'm more than happy to pay back what I actually owe, but it's criminal for my government to do this to me, and something has to be done to stop it. When people say they will put off buying homes, buying cars, getting married, starting families, etc., because of student loan debt, that has a huge impact on the economy and hurts us all.
Corporations are sitting on trillions from the last 30 years worth of record profits - but it makes more sense to make an 18 year old with no job go $100k into debt to get job training for these guys doesn't it?
When banks made the loans, they bankers made sure that the borrowers could repay the debt before making the loans.
Now that the government has deleted the 'middleman banks', the government approves just about anyone, and the taxpayers are on the hook for the bad loans - and pretty soon they Democrats will be clamoring for 'debt forgiveness' for the irresponsible students that made bad decisions.
This seems to be a pattern with Democrats - rewarding bad behavior.
This is the 4th article about student loan debt in two months. A poorly veiled attempt to prepare Americans for the assumption of all outstanding student loan debt in exchange for some bogus community service while adding another trillion dollars to the US debt.
So who is this person or company who "make(s)" an 18 year old go into debt. Also how did you arrive at the 100K amount since the article for colleges amounts were much less?
Sorry your posting doesn't make much sense.
Paying back may not be easy for me. But that possibility is also in the hands of the Banking institutions. My case is different. I went to school with only 20% intent to work for others. I needed expanded knowledge to start my own advanced business in engineering technology. If the banking industry do not lend for business development then ...oops.
You are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts. The average student debt for a graduating senior is $23,186 (finaid.org), about the price of a new car. The degree presumably adds to your lifetime earnings (although, check the average lifetime earnings for a carpenter compared to a college graduate). The car decreases in value the moment you drive it off the lot. And yet you hear the cries rising to the heavens about student loans, but not about car loans.
I don't know why the banks are worried. People can't escape student loans, ever.
It's an all win situation for the banks. They'll get your assets if you can't pay.
Powerful lobbying at work!
you have to admit dave, that it would do worlds more for the economy than handing it to a bunch of wealth banking people who will just immediately put it into their own interests and accounts, right?
Part of the problem is too many kids going for business, psychology, arts etc etc... in other words, totally useless degrees in today's market.
Study the hard sciences, computer technology, or check a trade school for HVAC, electronics, or even plumbing! There are jobs out there, but not many qualified people.
there goes obamas student voters!
My wife is a tenured full professor at a major state university and I watch the situation with dismay.
1) High schools tout "advanced placement" courses that poorly teach college subjects when their students are reaching college without the ability to do the work. The students can't do the work, but flunking them is not allowed.
2) The emphasis on football, drinking and frats and sororities is bizarre. My wife works in a building without hot water or potable cold water, no air conditioning, and mold and mildew all over the peeling walls. But the university builds multi-million dollar frat houses and leases them to the frats for $1.
3) The amount of cheating the goes on in college is amazing. Students openly use cell phones during tests and "collaborate" on homework and plagarize what is supposed to be original work. Rather than being seen as a bad thing, cheating is now seen as a viable alternative method to succeed.
4) Students get parking lots with wide spaces so they can park while drunk. Faculty and staff are expected to pay $450 a year to hike in and take a bus.
5) The football coach gets around $10.5 million a year. The university chips in $15-16 million a year to have a full Title IX sports program so the football people can offer the maximum number of scholarships.
6) "Student athletes" are taught and tested by special mentors and proctors and their grades (always As and Bs) just magically pop up in the online grade books of professors who have never even seen them except on TV. At a nearby college, they won a BCS championship on the back of a "star" who moved to the school to avoid felony theft charges, but had a 3.2 GPA. But at the NFL field day, he had to have his Wonderlich Test administered orally because he was functionally illiterate. Fights and rapes are routinely covered up to protect "student athletes", all of whom will drop the school in an instant if the NFL calls.
7) Most of the student loans (around 80%) are attributable to fly-by-night "schools" that are little more than scams.
The list goes on and on, but a great deal of the student loan issue could be solved with just a few very simple fixes: a) Make sure that only qualified applicants are taken. There is no sense in accepting people who can't do the work. b) Stop all sports subsidies by the universities. No more paying for women's golf so that the football people can have another scholarship. Make sports a separate for-profit corporation unaffiliated with the school. Student athletes must take regular classes and pass the same tests and meet the same acceptance requirements. c) Get rid of frats and sororities. They can move off campus and also be for-profit organizations not affiliated with the schools. d) Give NO taxpayer assistance to students at fly-by-night schools who do not meet the standards of a college or university.
These steps would dramatically reduce both student loans and the defaults on student loans that are given out. It is truly amazing how much money is spent on activities that only distract from the academic focus that is the primary reason for the existence of colleges and universities.
You didn't even refute my facts
Kids at 18-30 have basically one option, they either go deeply into debt in the slim chance of staying middle or upper class or they avoid college and statistically face 80% chance of being low income the rest of their life. Of course they are going to go into debt, whatever debt they have to if they think it is the only option.
Meanwhile corporations are sitting on at least 2 trillion and not hiring, not paying taxes, and not reinvesting into skills or training programs. Why should we be expected to shoulder tens of thousands of dollars in debt so we can get one of their $15/hr no benefits jobs?
This bubble is going to pop like it or not.
chris 749...: good point, i have a good friend, who is one of the best entertainment lawyers in the country, we have lunch once a month; he tells me some of the football, basketball etc, athletes who graduated, can not even read a standard contract, he has to read it to them and have them sign a statement that he read and explained the contract to them, problem is some can not even read the statement.
The only solution is to have free education, but Heaven forbid everyone actually becomes intelligent in this country. Having 12 years of basic education, 8 of which are mandatory, is sorry and explains ignorance. Canada is "socialist and gay" but has the highest percentage of adults with graduate degrees in the world.
Immigrants come to America with higher education and better work ethic and Americans would rather ship them out than become competitive. Stereotypical fat, lazy American strikes again. Higher education shouldn't be for the affluent, which is Obama's main point. Bankers, the capitalistic and opportunistic SOB's that they are, decided to capitalize on this and decided to give out loans like $$ was growing on trees (can we say housing bubble part deux?). Colleges increase tuition rates and at the same time increase enrollment for what, more construction for expansion???? Certainly not for better staff, but that is arguable.
Point is, I agree that loans should be given to students with specific majors in mind, or for undecided, only get 2 years of loans and no more until a qualifying major is decided. Statistically, not everyone can get scholarships nor can everyone be a millionaire, but everyone SHOULD have the option of getting a secondary education.
@knightofdespair,
Why is the only option to go into debt. How about work and save money at one of those low paying jobs that you hate so much and get either a college degree, or go into business for yourself. I do not understand how these people have "only one option".
Also, I must have missed the part where everyone is guaranteed a place in middle or upper class. Please explain how someone is trapped in a lower class for the rest of their lives. Life is hard, that's for sure, which is why some people are successful and others aren't. There are no guarantees.
Can I GET A NURSING HOME LOAN???
By the time I die it should be at least,as,large as the average student loan . . then the TAXPAYERS CAN PAY IT OFF! Makes just as much sense doesn't it??
OBAMA/BIDEN 2012 . . KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE . . YOU PAYING for ME!!!!
Spellchecker great point. No guarantees but opportunity...............as you said no one is "trapped in a lower class".
HandsoffmyMedicare...your attitude is what's wrong with this country....got your hand out for a hand out...on the backs of anyone else except your own selfish a$$. You are a 47%er....just wantin that free ride...who doesn't give a crap about your fellow American.... fr...n freeloader....Wonder what people like you are going to do when there isn't anyone left to free load off of, cause when you finally bleed the rest of us dry..all that is left is the ones with the castles. And you will be outside the wall trying to get milk from a rock...so keep believing you are privileged until you starve to death....jerk
Why, when you wear big boy pants! If you borrowed the money, you pay it back, period!
I like the way you think.
So if you wear a tutu you don't have to? Excellent! I think I just found the solution to the student loan problem.
I do not think anyone has a problem with paying debt, the problem is the system devalues money and creates job scarcity by having politicians screwing with our economy. This ploy is designed to blame everything on the consumer instead of looking in the corruption and illegal banking practices of the banks. There is no problem with paying debt the bible states to pay debt but not charge usery. Usery is illegal but thanks to goys likevoting for more goys to do the bidding of the House of Esau, they get away with it. If the decent jobs exist and did not have a tax hike loving President, student debt would be no problem dealing with. Not everyone is FORTUNATE as you my friend.
Absolutely...I started college at 46 years old and will be paying off my student loan debt into my late 70s...that's okay with me. I soooo very much appreciated the fact that I could go to college later in life...I even did a study abroad experience...I don't have a well-paying job, but it is a job I love and I believe firmly in higher education...just NOT those for-profit institutions that have NO value whatsoever...they should be banned OR federally funded loans should not be allowed for those places...another case of the politicians with their hands out to their lobbyists.
Now that President Obama has eliminated the ability of the banks to make money off of these guaranteed loans, they start to complain about them. The banks were perfectly happy to be making the 4.25% on these loans, which carry absolutely zero risk of default.
Remember, it is virtually impossible to get out of paying these loans back. You have to have a sudden, irreversible catastrophe happen to get out of paying back your student loan.
That is why the banks are complaining. The President took away their ability to make huge money off of poor and middle class students.
Same thing with insurance companies and Obamacare. They now realize the government is taking away their ability to make free money off the elderly.
You're oversimplifying it -
1) the job quality is simply not there... your average straight out of college job pays 10-20% less than it did 20 years ago adjusted for inflation
2) the interest on these loans is hundreds of dollars a month by itself.. hard to pay back a loan that doubles every 10 years and costs half of your income.
Bottom line is the jobs simply don't exist for most of this debt to be paid back - you can whine and bitch and scream about these guys paying half what they make for life all you want, it isn't going to happen. Until jobs start paying a fair wage this debt is unpayable.
"Fair wage" being....?
If that is what you believe. Then don't take on the debt...............DUH.
@dirp #2.5: Banks don't care about the money they are no longer loaning out for students. This is about the loans that the banks issued prior to President Obama eliminating them from the process. Banks have a fiduciary responsibility to the share holders to inform them of the performance of outstanding loans. They report on all loans in all categories.
@knightofdespair: The jobs are out there. The US allows millions of H1B immigrants into the country every year because they cannot find qualified US workers. The problem is that the majority of college students study in a discipline that has no demand or is already saturated with more qualified candidates.
By granting loans to students and Plus loans to parents without stipulations on what their field of study sets them up for failure if they graduate. Loans should come with performance terms.
The decades of coddling our children by giving everyone a trophy for participating has ballooned into college graduates who think they are entitled to $40,000 starting jobs simply because they possess a stupid, worthless piece of paper (in most cases).
I love how people act people just refuse to pay back loans.... Believe me we would love to pay them back if there was jobs to earn money to pay them back with.
When the amount owed increases faster than your income, it doesn't matter what if you want to or not, it is not going to get paid back simple math.
And there was a time people went into college when the economy was good, people were using degrees to get high paying jobs, it isn't their fault they didn't predict the economic collapse 4 years in advance. They did everything they were supposed too, the mat just got pulled out from under them.
Is it the young bucks fault the economy got screwed by the previous generation...? I think not...
Is it fair that it is this new generation carrying the bulk of debt and suppression of this economic downturn?... no way... but we are certainly the ones that are going to have to fix it, because it isn't going to fix itself, and it certainly isn't going to be fixed by the generation that is in power.
Minimum wage indexed to inflation/purchasing power would be $22/hr now in most areas. If companies had distributed profits evenly across the board instead of it all going to management over the last 40 years most workers would be making double or triple what they are now with the same exact profits, productivity, and product price. College entry level jobs are paying 20% less than they were before the recession, yet they still think someone is going to pay half what they make for decades on a loan.
Not going to happen.
@ Mire......whaaaaaaaaaa, whaaaaaaaaaaaaa, (gasp for more air), whaaaaaaaaa, whaaaaaaaa, whaaaaaaaaaa, "It's NOT FAIR", whaaaaaaa, (gasp for more air), whaaaaaaaa, It's NOT FAIR, whaaaaaaaaa, whaaaaaaa, "I DESERVE a great job because I was stupid and borrowed too much", whaaaaaa, whaaaaaa, (gasp for more air), "It's NOT FAIR", whaaaaaaa, whaaaaa, "It's NOT MY FAULT", whaaaaa.
You think minimum wage should be $22 an hour. Just like the OWS protesters demanded, as well as wanting ALL their debt wiped out. Well, wouldn't THAT be grand. Ever hear that word INFLATION???
Yeah, it would be so nice to pay $14 for a tube of toothpaste and how much for the fuu-foo coffee drink????
@Jac
Nice debating skills, so do you have anything intelligent to add, or are you just here to show everyone you are not intelligent enough to refute my points?
I myself worked threw school, but it is not unreasonable to expect a better paying job with a college degree when that is exactly what the previous generation got.
You think people flipping burgers and washing dishes and floors should make $22/hr? Yeah, all the restaurants would certainly flourish if that were forced on them.
But even better, you think people can live on $44k/yr in many parts of the country?
Obviously an Obama supporter.
Did you note this on your resume Mire? I think I know why you can't find a job. Too funny !!!
I love it when people show their ignorance by speaking on things they know absolutely nothing about, I have a job... not one that pays well but I got one.
Get called entitled when we realize mathematically we will never be able to pay down debt because we are not making enough money to keep up with ballooning interest and principle.
Get called entitled when we want the job we were expected to get by us and lenders to be able to pay off these loans...
So what exactly are we supposed to do... just grin and take it and accept our generation will be the economically lost one? Sorry if we are not contempt just deal with it... We want a actual solution from the previous generation that broke the economy...
I recently graduated and found a decent job in my field where the entry level pay is enough for me to make timely monthly payments. I don't contribute much to consumerism, but that's ok, right? I'm not obligated to stimulate the economy as much as I am to eat, drive to work, and to keep from defaulting. Let's just say I'll be making Christmas gifts rather than buying them this year.... =[
You shouldn't "expect" anything. A job is never guaranteed, no matter what you "expected" all your life. It's no different for this generation than it was for any previous generation.
The problem is that the "expectations" of this generation have been skewed when all the kids got trophies just for participating. Kids then "expected" trophies just like they're now "expecting" jobs.
I wouldn't expect anything, if i wasn't expected to get that good job to be able to pay these loans back...
I am lucky because all of mine were federal and I think Obama's deal was fair, you pay what you have in excess of your income for 20 years. (10 if you are a teacher). The people that didn't qualify for such loans and had to go private are the ones in a no win situation.
Is it so wrong that we want the same opportunities that our parents grew up with?
If that makes me entitled then yeah, I expected the previous generation to maintain Americas prosperity, I expected them to make wise choices on who they put in office instead of focusing on non-issues like gay marriage, abortion, if the president or not is Muslim or born here, who did or didn't inhale, legitimate rape, and the firing of big bird.
I guess I expect to much for people to maintain rational thinking in a time of crisis and talk about solutions instead of finger pointing.
How is NOT having to pay back student loans after 20 years (10 if you're in civil service, not just teachers) encouraging responsible behavior? This is just telling kids to defer them as long as possible and if they're successful at doing so long enough they'll be forgiven. Then more taxpayers have to cover for more defaulted loans.
Every generation has to deal with the competitive forces they've belonged to, this generation is no different. What is different is now this generation believes they're OWED a living and OWED a loan they shouldn't have to pay back. What's next? If you can't pay off your mortgage in 30 years like you agreed, you get to stay in your house for free? If you can't pay off your car in five years, you get to keep the car?
This is how Obama wants our country to think...to hell with personal responsibility as long as no one's feelings get hurt.
Nice going there Mire. When someone challenges your rantings, just call them ignorant. That will make you look so much more intelligent. NOT. Look kid, you can't spell, use proper grammar, or form a coherent sentence to save yourself. Yet, you expect more pay and a better job. Nice.
For the record, I graduated at the height of our last really major recession in 1982. Yes, I know to kids like you that must seem like a century ago. But let me tell you, there were NO JOBS available to recent college graduates with no relevant work experience. If you had a gap of even a few months of not working, it was the kiss of death in job hunting. It was much harder to find jobs. Remember, there were no personal computers or Internet. You had to use a typewriter to type a resume and each cover letter one by one without making a typing error. But we did what we needed to do. I worked two low paying jobs, lived with as many as five roommates in crappy housing, drove a bomb of a rice burner, never ate or drank out, spent little on groceries or anything else that wasn't absolutely needed. You see, way back then, we understood the difference between needs and wants. My future spouse, who graduated then too, did the very same thing. As the economy slowly got a bit better, we kept working 2 jobs and paid off our sizable student loans EARLY. (There was no help from Mummy or Daddy.) Then we started to SAVE aggressively, while continuing to keep our expenses low. We worked our way into better jobs, but they are ordinary middle class jobs. Nothing was "expected" as you say. We studied our butts off to learn the finer points of successful investing. Today, our net worth is over 2 million. And no, that doesn't make us rich. So get off your whining pony and then come back and call me ignorant.
Jax A - EXCELLENT post #2.21. The problem is the "I'm entitled" class which Mire is firmly a part of, will never understand or get what you and I are talking about.
Dave20121: the issue is not reporting the debt defaults, the article was discussing the bankers "growing more worried" about the defaults.
There is ZERO worry by the banks about the defaults. The banks make the same amount of money, guaranteed by the US government, whether or not there is a default.
The banks are attempting to bring this issue up in the hope that they can reverse the earlier decision to take away their free money stream.
@ Gtouch,
I agree 100%. I know many people need loans, but I have never taken out a loan for anything. I always saved money by saving and paying cash, even a new vehicle. Not only do you not have to worry about people taking your stuff because you lost your job, but the money saved in interest is beyond huge.
@Jax and Jac,
Terrific posts, and dead on ballz accurate. (thank you Marissa Tomei)
Christ try and keep up with your conversations. Do you need a degree for flipping burgers? Your critical thinking is in the dumps. Is that you in your avatar?
I need A NURSING HOME LOAN!!! Will someone PLEASE,SUBSIDIZE THAT?!!!!
OBAMA/BIDEN 2012 . . . KEEP THE DREAM (and Me) ALIVE . . YOU PAYING for ME!!!
...
All student debt should be forgiven - beginning with the debt of the disadvantaged.
The president is correct.
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Obama / Biden in 2012.
...
Hah. Say what you really mean. Minorities' debts should be paid off.
Nothing moral in your statement....If you take out a loan, then pay your debt. The govt backed loans is what is causing the tuition to skyrocket.
Time for govt to quit ruining peoples lives. They messed up the mortgages. Now, they've messed up the loans. Simple...The govt should no longer back student loans and let the financial people make the decisions.
And the "disadvantaged" should have their mortgages forgiven.... and their auto loans... and all their credit card debt. In fact, the "disadvantaged" should just be given everything on the taxpayer's dime.
And you're an Obama supporter....shocking!!
Ridiculous comment...who will pay for that...our economy is in the hopper now...besides, why should we all have to be saddled with debt from for-profit institutions that have NO value?
We've paid the banksters trillions. Why can't we forgive students of a measly trillion?
YES everything should be free. We should not have to pay for anything. Yes our government creates all of our money. We should be able to just sit around and the government will take care of us. THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT HAVE ANY MONEY!!!!!! WE THE WORKING PEOPLE SUPPLY THAT MONEY!!! YOU AND OUR PRESIDENT APPREANTLY HAS NEVER HAD A REAL JOB AND PAID TAXES!! YOU BOTH ARE IDIOTS!!!!!
Another dumb-ass comment from the ignorant, entitlement class. They are so stupid they actually believe that "free" things exist.
I think you should think about who is "disadvantaged." My son was accepted to Princeton, but we can't afford to send him at $56,000/year while trying to save for retirement (because we won't get any Social Security or Medicare) and pay our huge tax bill. While the "disadvantaged" can go for free. Where else can you get a luxury item (i.e. Ivy league education) based on your parents' hard work and income. Let's see, soon it will be....hey, I want this Lamborghini...well, sir, how much do your parents' earn?....Okay...you "disadvantaged" guy, you pay NOTHING...while you, son of parents who worked their asses off their whole lives to try to raise a family in the right way...you pay $250,000.00. This ridiculous behavior of punishing the hardworking, law-abiding, tax paying citizens who through their own personal sacrifice have made a good living, to pay for the children of the "disadvantaged" (i.e. some who didn't sacrifice, work hard, make good grades, live a clean life) has GOT TO STOP!!!
the president is wrong. there are student out there that sacrifice sleep to get a good education. they take out loan and repay their loans. there are student out there that take out loan and all they do is party every night at campus. they expect the government to pay for their party and probably for their abortion also if they get pregnant in one of those party.
You could "forgive" the debt of the underprivileged & it would not help them one bit.............. teach financial responsibility in GRADE SCHOOL
Little book called "The Richest Man in Babylon" would be a great start for anyone wishing to change their futures
I am tired, pay off all my debts. At 60 why not? time we old folks get a free ride, been paying in to these "entitlements" most of my life, where's my free stuff?
Bama Biden will surely listen, he promised change...already lost hope
really why should people that did not borrow or did not go to college pay for someones education? the debt might be forgiven for the student but the taxpayers will pick up the debt from the gov.the banks will want their money back plus interest thats what they do
Because a well-educated populace is the foundation of a democracy. When our children are educated, it benefits us all. Duh. This winner take all mentality in our country is what has to stop. It's primitive, unenlightened, and will lead to our demise.
Bankruptcy lawyer ---> that way. I can rack up $150,000 in gambling debt and wipe it away easy peasy but I go to school and I'm %*)$ed for life.
nothing new here-1200374
And how much have YOU borrowed that YOU can't repay?
Personally, I'm getting tired of bailouts and handouts.
Get off your ass and work. I work too hard to stay ahead. I'm tired of dragging deadbeats and slugs along behind me.
This is not a person that supports Obama..just saying
No one is stupid enough to want to forgive student loan debt.....no one
The issue is that much like banks giving away money drove up the housing bubble, they are doing it with student loans and kids are wanting to live on the money instead of getting a job and taking out just enough to pay for school and books...nothing else.
Lived in a college town (WIU)...was looking at winter boots and was told by the shoe store manager, better grab them now....the college kids money comes in next week and they will be gone. Is this what student loan money was meant to be for?????
Well, except this guy "nothing new here" to whom you're responding, you know, the guy who said, and I quote:
...and all the people in OWS. In fact, "student loan forgiveness" is one of their oh-so-noble "goals."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Wall_Street
Possibly the stupidest posting I'll see today.
You want to take money from me (and other responsible Americans who paid for their college/paid their debts) to give to someone else who WON'T pay a loan back?
You better come to my porch with a gun, pal. You'll be met with one for sure.
1. stop the war in afghanistan, close some military bases. 2. cut military spending by 33%, streamline and trim up our military. 3. forgive student loan debt and provide free education for the first 3 years of college. 4. provide government incentives to start new business and grants to fund new technology. 5. tripple NASA's budget 6. sit back and watch the rewards flood in after the first 3 to 5 years
Yes, let's embed a further sense of entitlement in our country while adding more to our already exponentially exploding debt. It's worked so well in the past.
no, jax, thats why we cut our military budget 33% to pay for education in this country, in order to make us competitive again. people in germany aren't any more or less "entitled" than anyone else and they have free 2ndary education... we have to try new things if we want things to change. doing the same damned old tired things over and over again is what got us here. continuing doing those things and expect results and you have the very deffinition of insanity. we HAVE TO CHANGE
Why is the government encouraging anyone to go into debt? Government sponsored loans are the reason tuition is going up and college is so expensive.
I think its the only way students could get loans. I'm not saying its excusable or justifiable. Just sayin'. Although banks are now lazy and get students to put down cosigners without checking credit histories.
@alan_static: The dirty little secret is that the rising cost of tuition allows the universities to subsidize more students through scholarships and grants. If people were only paying for their own education, the costs would be half of way they are. Other contributing factors are the never ending access to student loans. The schools get their money, the banks are guaranteed their money and students and their parents are too ignorant to understand that the job market has advanced over the past generation and that any degree doesn't equal a high paying job.
Students who went to college with the expectation that they were going to get a high paying job just because they obtained a degree in music appreciation or some other worthless discipline are products of the ignornance of their surroundings.
They have no need to worry. Student loans can not be written off in bankruptcy. So, they'll get to own more houses and stuff like that when the defaults hit. They can turn around and sell those houses for profit. Wait a minute, bankers helped kill the housing market, so the homes will never sell for the prices they could have 5 years ago. Maybe they should be a little worried. Their hens have come home to roost. There's gonna be alot of crap to shovel after this latest mess. But it's still okay because the fed will always bail them out since they're too big to fail. So maybe they don't have to worry.
Theyre worried because a lot of those that arent paying, are getting older and older. You cant discharge it in bankruptcy yes, but you can still just not pay it. The question is....are those not paying it also on govt aid and do they deduct your student loan payments from your aid as they would your paycheck....hrmm...
So what you're saying is they'll get the money no matter what. Once again I ask why are they worried?
No what Im saying is a lot of defaulters are approaching the age where statistically speaking theyll die. The debt is discharged at death. Billions in receivables dissapearing from the bank rolls....not pretty.
Really? Billions in student loans were given to people who are now on the brink of death? LMAO Good old southern education I see.
Shellie maybe you should learn to read sometime. We know how to in the South. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865560235/Defaults-on-student-loans-skyrocket-among-senior-citizens.html?pg=all
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/19/student-loan-delinquency-rate-fortysomethings_n_1684192.html
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-07-12/business/ct-biz-0712-student-debt-20120712_1_student-loan-debt-average-student-older-borrowers
"15.5 percent of outstanding student loan debt is owed by people 50 and older"
FYI 15.5% of 1 trillion is 155 billion owed by people 50 years old or older. Hows that for a "Southern Education"?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303812904577295930047604846.html
They will garnish your wages if you don't pay. There's no way out.
Student loans USED to be able to be discharged in bankruptcy. Then congressmen realized that there are no assets to seize for collateral. So much for trying to get educated around here.
With the economy being so rocky is the main reason why I am hesitant in going to back to school...a risk much too large for me to gamble..I don't want to be in debt with massive student loans. It sucks as I truly do want to go back.
Yes, you borrow the money, you pay it back. Most have hopes that once they graduate, that shiny degree will land them a great paying job and paying back the student loan with loan IR's will be a breeze. Very far from the case these days and then you get stuck making ends meat and not able to pay.
Judging by your post, you really NEED to go back to school.
Why, Shellie? What was wrong with what Dee said? She doesn't want to take on a big debt? That's bad, somehow? Or is it because she said if you take out a loan you have to pay it back...or that there are no guarantees of a job after graduation?
Explain your condescending insult...what exactly was "uneducated" about her comment?
scary to take on debt these days for education....better make sure it is a field that is worth while...liberal arts will get in OWS.
Shellie is just in a bad mood today.
Shellie has the typical lib MO--lambast anyone who presents a logical case laced with facts--just look at her last two posts. Projecting out her own inadequacies on others!
Jax,
I think Shellie was referring to Dee's questionable command of the English language; i.e., meat vs. meet, etc. I don't think she was commenting on the substance of the post.
Wow, good thing Shellie is here to insult people for mis-spelling words in their posts...that certainly contributes a whole lot of value.
While my loan payment is manageable for now, I expect that to change in a couple of years. Due to a disability, I can no longer work as an engineer, so my income is not what it used to be. Was I stupid to not pay more towards it when my salary was higher? Yep, I sure was, but I can't go back and change that now. I can only hope my disability doesn't get worse so I can continue to pay more than the monthly minimum to get my $52k from engineering school paid off before I'm 40 (that's 6years from now).
While I agree that if you borrow the money, you need to pay it back, I also feel that there needs to be more leeway to treat a student loan very similar to any other loan. You should be able to re-finance it if interest rates go down, or consolidate it with other debt to get it paid off faster. Its ridiculous that you can be stuck with an 8% interest rate for 25 years, regardless of your credit rating. This is the reason people are defaulting - the gov't isn't giving the flexibility needed to get the loans paid off.
Disability, that sucks. What kind of engineering?
Industrial engineering. I worked quite a bit in e-commerce and logistics.
Would you say engineering is a bad field to get into?
Well, that's a loaded question Alan_static. It all depends on what your passion is. For some engineering isn't a bad field. It does pay well (for the most part), you get to use and are exposed to lots of different technologies, and you get to solve problems that make people's jobs or businesses better. But you also better be able to manage people, and put up with bad management (or people who don't want to listen to your ideas). If you love solving problems, and using different technologies to solve those problems, or if you love building things, then engineering is for you. You just have to get past those pesky 'weed out' courses to get to the real meat and potatoes.
I fell out of love with engineering before my disability, so the only thing I miss from those days are the really good salaries and benefits. But with those salaries comes the stress and corporate BS. I don't regret choosing engineering, as it provided me a lot of training and transferable skills that I 'm using in a different field. But if I had it to chose all over again, I don't think I would have chosen it as a career.
@KyEngineer: The corporate BS is everywhere. Really not much different than high school, but with greater consequences.
Doing something you love is a consideration. But, the factors have to be weighed with the costs to obtain the education and/or skills with the demand and pay for that skill.
Your situation is very unfortunate. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavours.
Ky, I'm curious: what disability would make you unable to carry out engineering related job functions?
I ask because I'm a mechanical engineer, and short of blindness/losing both hands or brain damage, I would still be able to do my job just fine. From your posts, unless they were dictated, I don't think any of those apply to you.
Not trying to be mean here, just genuinely curious.
Remydon, I have MS, which has affected me cognitively. I no longer have the critical thinking skills necessary to do my job as an IE effectively. Physically, I have issues walking around 1MIL sqft warehouses, which is sometimes needed when doing some projects.
These banks just want a bailout.
So does the morons that took out $100K in student loans for a liberal arts degree from the most expensive school in the country.
What kind of moron bank would give someone $100k for a liberal arts degree?
The same kind of moron bank that would give a cocktail waitress making $20k/yr a $375k loan for a house?
Banks don't hold the student loans anymore..... the TAXPAYER does......
A bank that was being pressured by the Liberal/Socialist Regime that wants to give everybody "a fair and even playing field". Just like the mrotgage meltdown. Folks, there is not a "free lunch". Sooner or later, you have to pay the piper! The best solution is to turn this economy around by putting someone in office that understands a free market economy and can create real jobs, instead of someone who wants to give everything to those who cannot be responsible enough to pay back the loan.
The difference being that the bank created the loans from thin air on both yet one of them can be walked away from if you have medical or job problems yet the other one is stuck with you for life, despite most degrees being completely worthless if not used within a couple years of graduation.
I know, right? People SHOULD be able to take out loans and not have to pay them back, huh?
Maybe it would be better if people borrowed responsibly? Nah, that's crazy talk.
You're missing the point - with interest they will never pay it back because the balance doubles every 10 years. Unless they pay 1/2 or more of what they make for over 10 years in a row they will never pay this debt off, even if they are paying something.
Bankruptcy exists for a legitimate reason... There are ways people can accumulate debt that simply cannot be repayed, and legally there should be no difference whether it came about because of housing, medical, or education.
I think a large part of the problem is young adults go to college, don't have a job or any form of employment history, and expect to graduate and make 60,000+ per year. That is just unrealistic. They also rack up tens of thousands of dollars in debt for useless degrees that have no job prospects. A Bachelors Degree in World History or Basket Weaving will get you nowhere and will just be a waste of money. It is common sense that you will not be able to pay back $100,000 in loans if you make minimum wage!
Yes, I had to take out loans to fund my education, but I will pay back every penny of what I borrowed. I am also working full time while going to school so I can get a head start on paying them back now. I don't expect anyone to pay those loans for me, nor will I ever become delinquent on any of them. If people thought things out properly, we wouldn't be in the economic mess that we are in now.
I'm sure everyone that has defaulted on their loan thought the exact same way you are. No one takes out a loan with the intent to NOT pay it back (well, there could be, but certainly, they are the exception, not the rule).
Going to school as an alternative to unemployment is a stupid thing to do. Signing loan papers on the speculation that jobs will be there when you graduate is a stupid thing to do (if there aren't any jobs out there now, do you think things are going to open up in 4 years?).
Colleges and universities are mostly to blame for this mess....charging what they charge simply to attend their schools is outrageous. Even community colleges aren't cheap, and there's something horribly wrong with that system. It needs to change; if a learned society is something that we as Americans value, then higher education must be accessible to anyone that wants it....not just those that can get their parents to co-sign their loan papers.
So you can either still have no job in 4 years or at least work on a degree and maybe open up a few more options. The real problem is technology and outsourcing took away 50 million middle class jobs that simply aren't coming back. The guys at the top are still making tons of profits but the portion of people at the bottom who can find a job are much less.
Dont worry our Blessed Dear Leader will forgive them. How bout lowering the cost of tuition instead. Everyone has to cut back, uninversities should too. Isnt it great you can go to college now and become a waitress when you graduate! Well worth that huge expenditure. Thank you Mr. President.
Do I hear an 'exturnal locus of control' ???
Jim....I'm not exactly sure how the President has anything to do with waitresses with degrees.
Probably has more to do with there not being any jobs out there once one graduates..? I know....maybe Mitt would LOVE to 'create' some jobs (maybe at Bain Capital?) and hire all these poor unfortunate graduates?
If you want to 'blame' anyone, blame Big Business....for lining their pockets rather than create jobs that will sustain a family's life. Obama has nothing to do with that.
Obama does have something to do with what Jim said, he said Obama wants to forgive student loans. Which he does. He wants to forgive loans after 20 years (10 years if you're in civil service!), regardless of what's left on them. That actually encourages kids NOT to pay back their loans.
You can't blame big business for not creating jobs their companies either don't need nor can they sustain. Businesses are just that... businesses, not charities. They don't exist to create jobs for people, they exist to make money. If they start creating jobs they don't need, they lose money until they go "out of business".... at which point, everyone loses.
Jet--"If you want to 'blame' anyone, blame Big Business....for lining their pockets rather than create jobs that will sustain a family's life".
Business is not created to provide jobs. Their purpose is to find a need, fill it with a product or service, hire people to serve the customers, and to make a PROFIT. The jobs will occur as a function of the needs to serve the customers, not as a Public Service. When you have an administration that do not understand that basic tenet, you get a deteriorating job market. Live in the real world for a while and not your "idealistic" dream world.
So....where do jobs come from, if 'business' does not 'create' them? Four years ago, when George Dubya bailed out big businesses (because they were too big to fail, to save all those jobs of the American people), he conveniently forgot to put any strings attached - like fixing the mess their 'free market' fallacies created.
The higher-ups bailed out themselves and their lifestyles - and cut jobs. If they did not cut jobs, then they lowered their own 'cost' to hire employees - things like retirement, pensions, health insurance, etc. went out the window. Do you actually think those CEOs cut their own salaries? Oh hell no! They preserved their own lifestyles and hung their employees out to dry....all the while bemoaning them to 'cut corners' and 'live within their means'....thats pretty hard to do if you're already living paycheck to paycheck. One medical crisis and you're sunk. Thats ok, though...you get fired and they might hire someone to take your place.
Trickle down economics don't work, never have, never will....unless you're talking about the money that trickles down into the 1%er's pockets from the governent...then it works just fine.
Lets look at it this way - where is the American people's payback from the government's 'investment' of tax dollars to corporations? Where are the jobs, where are they? Thats right....they didn't create diddly squat - they only preserved their own lavish lifestyles.
Too big to fail? No way. Let them fail. They aren't contributing to our wealth anyway.
Jet, trickle up poverty doesn't work, and neither does trickle-down government. You can't force companies to hire people they don't need. That shouldn't be a difficult concept.
Just like you can't force people to buy something from the private sector, unless it's Obama forcing you to buy insurance...oops.
And yet 50 million adults in the USA cannot find good paying work. We can SHAPE policies that encourage them to hire more, and do things to curb outsourcing which sucks money out of the country. Ultimately without rebuilding our middle class we are doomed to complete economic collapse - the writing is on the wall.
I went to a very good school and got a job equal to my education. My concern is that there are alot of students taking out debt to study stupid things. $15K to study hair and nail art? Ballet degrees? Really? How many Medieval French Poetry majors has your company hired lately? I think these students need to reap what they sew. If you major in drama but dont get that soap opera part then you need to suck it up and enjoy the consequences of your bad choices. Dont even get me started on the "less than smart" dropping out of engineering or law or medicine not because they are short of money but because they cant cut it. Keep your dreams realistic and your finances comparable (dont bite off more than you can chew and get the most bang for the buck!)
My company is looking to hire at least three people who've studied Ancient Asian Lesbian Unicorn Studies at $300k/yr...what, your company isn't??
Jax that was great!!
I want to study Lesbians. The lipstick ones anyway. Who offers that degree?
i have a masters in Recreational Gynecology from the University of Michigan.. it doesn't pay well but does come in "handy" and it only cost $1 a time
Hilarious! I'm still laughing!
If you 'gamble' on affording anything by pushing payments into the future, that is a potential receipe for financial disastor.
My philosphy which has ALWAYS worked for me...."You get a bill, you pay the bill" (period).
Make sure you remember that when you get cancer and it costs $1,000,000 which insurance will refuse to pay most of. No bankruptcy - you can't do that with student loans remember?
So what if it costs you $2000/month for the rest of your life, you think the banker is going to lose sleep over it?
There is a very strong mythology out there that says if you go to school you can get a great job. People with lots of real world experiance know it's not as cut and dry as that but a lot of young people buy it hook line and sinker.
Out of me and my 6 friends all six of them went to college. All of them have a large amount of debt and one of them was financialy ruined. Only one of them used his degree for any length of time and now he's unemployed. None of them got their money's worth.
I didn't go to college I went to nursing school. I'm not using that education either but at least my lone is small.
Like I tell my sons; "Make sure there is a job market for the degree you intend to get. Otherwise you will get it and go work at a gas station like the pot smoking drop outs."
Is everybody ready for the next domestic crisis because here it comes.
Print more money.
The two biggest debt problems in our country have seen the most seismic idealogical shifts over the past decade.
1) It used to be the price of a house never went down.
2) It used to be almost "given" that a college education was the only practical path to financial success and security in life.
Housing was way over priced money was flowing way too easily drove up prices. Loaned to the wrong people. I blame the government and banks for this. Politicians and Bankers colluding I suspect. (we could debate for hours the reasons) Housing has come down to more reasonable levels that more people can afford. College is way overpriced also. You want a Harvard education that will cost you the price of a house in some areas approx $200,000. Not everyone is suited for college and I wish they would stop pushing that. There are other alternatives that are far cheaper.
Sorry Jim...your 'theory' doesn't hold water....housing is down, but banks aren't lending - so where is the 'recovery'? The price of a house might be 1/10th of what it was, but unless one pays cash, one can't buy. Most people must sell their existing house to buy another to see a substantial enough down payment to even GET a loan. So....housing prices are a moot point.
Banks are holding a vast amount of properties at the moment. Thats money in their pockets. Banks took government bailout money, promised to do something about the mess on their end of the deal, and did nothing. Lack of government regulation (thanks Big-Business Friendly Republican Presidents) allowed predatory lending practices to happen....banks don't hold all of the responsibility. Government then gave trillions of dollars to these institutions, and they in turn, gave nothing.
The era of big money to big institutions (like schools, etc) is ending. College tuitions are overinflated just like housing prices and lending. Banks are just taking advantage of people again.
Let the government forgive all the loans....it might teach banks that they don't have any business loaning 100K to someone on a signature alone.
Well, that would probably set back contract law a couple of hundred years. The government has no business setting aside contracts between private parties. Keep in mind that not all student loans are government backed.
Jet ..Thank Bill Clinton for signing Glass-Stegal repeal and his Treasury Secretary (Former Goldman Sachs Co-Chairman) Robert Rubin immediately heads to Citigroup Bank right after that and as Sandy Weill's lieutenant. Weill of Citigroup lobbied Clinton personally for repeal. Hmm
Student loan debt makes a great case for stronger gun control laws. The size of the weapons pointed to the heads of these people forcing them to take out huge student loans, it must be enormous.
The real question in my mind is why is college so expensive? What makes a class at a private school worth more than that of a community college? Is it the potential promise of a better job? Because it says "Miskatonic U" over the door?
I don't think there is a problem with the loan system. Kids can't pay for college, and even if their middle income parents set aside money no one has really recovered from the 2008 crash unless they had an appreciable amount to start with and haven't touched it.
I would focus in on why is tuition and housing so expensive, and why there is such a wide variation in costs any why there aren't more alternatives to an expensive education?
Why do we have student loans? Because someone has to pay the school. If you are poor and have no money, there are grants and need based scholarships available. If you are weathly, it isn't a burden to send your kids to school. If you are somewhere in the middle, your son or daughter is going to be paying for those loans for years to come.
Tuition is expensive because students are subsidizing other student's tuition (higher income paying 'full price' are paying more than full price). There has been a lot of student protests on campuses around the country very recently.
Administrators, professors, etc are lining their pockets with all that 'free money'....students are paying the price for their lavish lifestyles and salaries.
Cut costs, cut salaries and pensions/insurance....then lower tuition to a point where the 'average' person can actually afford higher education.
Jet, costs are high because the government has lowered the standards and requirements for student loans (easy money). When the demand goes up, the price increases. The students are willing to pay more for amenities, so the colleges add more amenities, increasing the costs. Have you been to a college lately? Some are more lavish than city and country clubs. Typical government intrusion, creating a false economy, e.g., housing bubble.
Reason should prevail. It doesn't. You are so right.
Why should bankers be worried at all, they'll collect defaulted loan debts from taxpayers in bailouts. Tha student loan debt crisis doesn't compare to the national debt which will expode even more if the Spread The Wealth in Chief Obama gets another 4 more years.
This is another case where the middle class who pays most of the taxes gets screwed. If you are poor, the government wants to pay your tuition and if you are rich you dont need any help. If are in the middle, you dont get squat. However you cant live a middle class life unless you have a 4 year degree or study a trade like auto mechanics, plumbing, etc.,
I have always stated that a student loan should consist of nothing more than books and tuition, which should be paid directly to the school by the government. It would be better for the student in the long run because their student loan debt would not be as great to pay off. The problem you have is that many, many students pay their rent, party, eat, buy gas, etc., with student loan money and by the time they graduate they owe an enourmous sum of money which has been collecting interest since day one. It is always easy to get the money and not think how you are going to repay it until much later, but then when the piper calls many students wonder what they did with all that money that they now owe.
Buddym-you are so right on. Watch Judge Judy deal with hundreds of plaintiffs and defendants who brag about how they spend their so-called student loans. While another segment is carrying placards and signs stuffing the drawers of the president who supposedly resolved this problem last July before the idiot congress went on recess. Its aniother Carnival of the Animals led by a jackass.
yupikesk...I think Judge Judy would be great as president. I DVR every episode. I love it when she starts tearing into deadbeats by starting out one of her sentences by saying "It's nice to know my tax dollars are going to....(insert entitlement program here)...."