Student Loan Thread

[mac5155]

Wait...the first part mentions nothing about entering public service to get the loans forgiven. Maybe I missed something, but it looks like if you entere public service it goes from 10 to 5 years? So they are looking at forgiving all federal loans, regardless of the job?

I think I am missing something important here. What would stop someone who can afford school from just not paying for any of it out of pocket and just getting loans for as much as they can, thus getting more forgiven in the long run?

Well, I think that the lenders would be more reluctant to give out asinine loans (see the housing bubble/burst) and thus limiting the huge loans. But this is the gov't we're talking about. So who knows.

[shafnutz05]

Wait...the first part mentions nothing about entering public service to get the loans forgiven. Maybe I missed something, but it looks like if you entere public service it goes from 10 to 5 years? So they are looking at forgiving all federal loans, regardless of the job?

I think I am missing something important here. What would stop someone who can afford school from just not paying for any of it out of pocket and just getting loans for as much as they can, thus getting more forgiven in the long run?

I believe there is a cap on FUTURE payers.

However, current payers can just finish out the "10/10" or "5/5' commitment, regardless of how much they racked up.

[Idoit40fans]

So you want kids to get $60K educations to go work public service jobs that are going to pay $40K a year maybe? It seems like some sort of compromise is needed here, either the government hires a bunch of unqualified people to work public sector jobs, or you give people some sort of incentive to accept lower compensation (as it is obvious that cutting the cost of government means paying these workers in the $40K range and cutting their pension and insurance benefits).

When I graduated college, I was getting paid in the neighborhood of $37k/year. I don't want this to turn into an argument about teacher pay/benefits, but I don't like how that group is always singled out as the only group that faces initial economic hardship.

wow...7k a year more than i made when i graduated and went into the teaching field

I'm not 100% informed on this to be honest, but how much doest it cost to go to like a CalU or IUP nowadays? I know CCAC is cheap, but I can't imagine a CCAC degree being worth much in any field nowadays.

Can you even get a bachelors degree there?

[columbia]

Who is going to pay for this largess?

[mac5155]

If I become a volunteer firefighter are my loans forgiven after 5 years? Cause if so sign me up.

[Letang Is The Truth]

So Cal is $12K a year. So one of the least expensive schools costs $48K. Again, asking someone to pay $48K to go to school to go into a field that only pays 30-40K doesnt make sense.

I'm not sure what you are getting at here. The loan is not To be paid in one year. Physicians incur 200-300k in debts to sometimes make 150k

[shafnutz05]

Who is going to pay for this largess?

This is the elephant in the room. The end of the bill claims that it will be funded by the drawbacks in Iraq and Afghanistan, but I'm extremely skeptical of that. Regardless, why can't we just use the savings and put them towards the national debt? Why do we have to find other places to spend it?

[JeffDFD]

Wait...the first part mentions nothing about entering public service to get the loans forgiven. Maybe I missed something, but it looks like if you entere public service it goes from 10 to 5 years? So they are looking at forgiving all federal loans, regardless of the job?

I think I am missing something important here. What would stop someone who can afford school from just not paying for any of it out of pocket and just getting loans for as much as they can, thus getting more forgiven in the long run?

I believe there is a cap on FUTURE payers.

However, current payers can just finish out the "10/10" or "5/5' commitment, regardless of how much they racked up.

Hmm, my wife has some decent loans that I have been paying down responsibly...how long and what are the chances that this goes into effect? Maybe its about time I cut that down to the minimum allowed payment and let the government pay for it!

[pittsoccer33]

this is called buying your vote. more handouts with printed money.

[Troy Loney]

Wait...the first part mentions nothing about entering public service to get the loans forgiven. Maybe I missed something, but it looks like if you entere public service it goes from 10 to 5 years? So they are looking at forgiving all federal loans, regardless of the job?

I think I am missing something important here. What would stop someone who can afford school from just not paying for any of it out of pocket and just getting loans for as much as they can, thus getting more forgiven in the long run?

I believe there is a cap on FUTURE payers.

However, current payers can just finish out the "10/10" or "5/5' commitment, regardless of how much they racked up.

I think you still have to pay 10% of your income towards student loans. I have a good bit of student loan debt after getting my masters, but the repayment is still less than 10% of my income.

[Troy Loney]

So Cal is $12K a year. So one of the least expensive schools costs $48K. Again, asking someone to pay $48K to go to school to go into a field that only pays 30-40K doesnt make sense.

I'm not sure what you are getting at here. The loan is not To be paid in one year. Physicians incur 200-300k in debts to sometimes make 150k

Yeah, but 150K for ~40 years (and that 150 probably gets higher right?) is a lot different than $40K for 40 years.

[shafnutz05]

10% of your discretionary income. That's an important distinction.

[mac5155]

I'm paying down private loans with excess federal funds I'm getting towards my masters. Not because of this but because the interest rate is about half of what the private loans were, plus these are subsidized (no interest until repayment begins).

[columbia]

Who is going to pay for this largess?

This is the elephant in the room. The end of the bill claims that it will be funded by the drawbacks in Iraq and Afghanistan, but I'm extremely skeptical of that. Regardless, why can't we just use the savings and put them towards the national debt? Why do we have to find other places to spend it?

At some point, the gravy train has to stop:

Public K-12: Of course I'm a supporter.
Public community colleges and universities: Of course I'm a supporter, though they increasingly rely on tuition and donations

Public forgiveness of student loan debt, because someone made a poor choice or couldn't understand interest rates: Ummm, no.

[Letang Is The Truth]

Teachers And nurses should make more money

Nurses?! I have been in the medical staffing field for five years. Nurses are hardly starving.

In terms of absolute magnitude, maybe maybe not, not the average ICU nurse in Pittsburgh makes around 26.50 and hour or so. Thinking about the acuity and responsibility that most of these nurses take, they essentially function as mid level practitioners. The scope of nursing is continually increased to curb salary costs of hospitalists, intensivists, and mid levels, but RN compensation is not reflective of the responsibility they currently have

Worth noting that RN wages in Pittsburgh are fairly low compared to the national average due to saturation with new nurses entering the field but the point stands

[mac5155]

10% of your discretionary income. That's an important distinction.

So, just go get a car you cant afford and a house you cant afford and pay $10 a month on your student loans

[mac5155]

Who is going to pay for this largess?

This is the elephant in the room. The end of the bill claims that it will be funded by the drawbacks in Iraq and Afghanistan, but I'm extremely skeptical of that. Regardless, why can't we just use the savings and put them towards the national debt? Why do we have to find other places to spend it?

At some point, the gravy train has to stop:

Public K-12: Of course I'm a supporter.
Public community colleges and universities: Of course I'm a supporter, though they increasingly rely on tuition and donations

Public forgiveness of student loan debt, because someone made a poor choice or couldn't understand interest rates: Ummm, no.

not to make this entirely political but.. Public welfare because someone made a poor choice or couldnt understand not to do drugs? Ummm, no.

[shafnutz05]

Worth noting that RN wages in Pittsburgh are fairly low compared to the national average due to saturation with new nurses entering the field but the point stands

I think this is an issue in a lot of areas. A lot of students went to nursing school during the huge demand period about five years or so ago, and now the job market is saturated.

[Troy Loney]

10% of your discretionary income. That's an important distinction.

Oh, what do they consider discretionary income?

[shafnutz05]

At the end of the day, a legal agreement was signed with the terms clearly dictated. This is the same issue I have with home loan forgiveness. You can't just arbitrarily "forgive" billions upon billions of dollars in debt without it having economic consequences.

[JeffDFD]

10% of your discretionary income. That's an important distinction.

Oh, what do they consider discretionary income?

Gross income minus taxes and necessities (mortgage, food, bills, etc)

[mac5155]

10% of your discretionary income. That's an important distinction.

Oh, what do they consider discretionary income?

Gross income minus taxes and necessities (mortgage, food, bills, etc)

So those who don't have a house pay more? NOT FAIR!!

[Mongoose87]

If there's one thing this country needs, it's more federal debt.

[JeffDFD]

10% of your discretionary income. That's an important distinction.

Oh, what do they consider discretionary income?

Gross income minus taxes and necessities (mortgage, food, bills, etc)

So those who don't have a house pay more? NOT FAIR!!

Subtract rent instead of mortgage, but yeah, you get the idea. Make it so you have more expenses = pay less.

I guess that is where the idea comes that something like this would boost the economy (at least temporarily) - thus, creating another bubble.

[shafnutz05]

I think the most alarming aspect of this is the fact that every future student is going to be able to immediately rule out $46,000 in loans. $46,000 x every single student that goes to college in the future. Jesus.

Edit: I know you have to enroll in the program, but what possible incentive would you have to not enroll in the program?