4635

I think the subtext is that if “your child just decided they, at this time, [do] not want to go to college” then they are disadvantaged compared to a college graduate. And progressives generally are not happy when the disadvantaged subsidize those with more privilege.

4636

I can understand that argument. I think it might hold water if we don’t do something about tuition costs in general, or if we go whole hog.

Is freezing interest on student loans possible?

4637

Agreed. That was a great argument against regressive taxation but I don’t know what it has to do with student loan debt.

4638

Absolutely.

For what it’s worth, I agree that eliminating student debt is not a good policy. There are just too many downsides and moral hazards.

Take that same money and pay for a whole generation of kids to get a post-graduate education instead. Or use it for tons of other stuff.

4639

Just freezing interest would reduce a lot of angst, I think. Because then you see every dollar paid actually reduce the total balance.

4640

I would be all for that. I don’t think the federal government should make a profit off student loans.

4642

The vast majority of our quite high property taxes goes to funding the local public schools.
With this logic, I should stop paying them since I’ve never had kids.

4643

Totally different logic. Your logic is forward-looking, while repaying student debt is backward looking.

Right now everyone pays for public schools and everyone’s kids have access to those schools. Theoretically equal opportunity.

Repaying student debt will generally benefit people who are already more wealthy than average, and will be subsidized by the poor with nothing to show for it.

It just feels like the wrong group to be focusing on.

4644

Yeah you’re right, realized that after I posted it.

(I’m thinking more along the lines of extending K-12 to K-16)

4645

Another concept I’d be in favor of. Giving everyone a free post-graduate education through community schools is a noble goal and one that would offer equal opportunity to all.

4646

If we did that (which I am in favor of), then I think so sort of debt relief would be in order.

Some sort is vague, because I don’t have a clear idea of what it would be or why. Like, 10,000 seemed okay to me, while 50,000 seemed like a lot. I have no justification for feeling this way.

4647

Yeah, possibly. A grand bargain where we institute free community college for all, but also wipe out either all or some portion of the debt currently held could make sense. Very pricey though, so if it were a choice of one or the other I’d choose the former.

4648

Even in countries where universities do not charge tuition, most people do not get a college degree. For example, in Germany tuition is free but only 25-30% of the population goes to college. That’s about the same as in the US.

I think part of the reason is that college isn’t “free” even when you don’t pay tuition, because students must find some way to support themselves. Tuition fees may be zero, but university is still a full-time unpaid commitment.

All in all, I think US progressives would be better off devoting resources to our fundamentally broken primary/secondary education system.

4649

Yep, broadly agree as someone who absolutely would benefit from federal loan forgiveness.

I think one thing that might make sense, though, would be to expand subsidized loan programs to offer buyouts of non-subsidized loans. We struggled for years until finally paying off all of the usurious loans earlier this year. The remaining balance, while still large in absolute terms, is a small monthly payment with a quite-low interest rate (2%, off the top of my head, which is below typical 3% inflation) because it’s all in subsidized loans.

Just buying up shitty private loans could make a massive, massive difference for a lot of people without triggering “mah taxes r payin fer what now!??!” at the same level.

4650

But you used to be a kid, right?

4651

That clip may be out of context. She was asked a question like “isn’t loan forgiveness unfair to those who paid them” and was saying "yeah, so? Plenty of things are similarity “unfair”. That’s how I took it when I watched the conference.

The actual big news on the subject was Pelosi saying Biden can’t unilaterally forgive 50k of debt and it would take congress to do it.

4652

I thought that went without saying.

4653

Some folks on the left believe otherwise, and I’ve heard the 10k figure being bandied around, but unsure if that is legitimate

4654

I would gladly welcome a program offering early retirement with SS/Medicare benefits in order to get out of the workforce to let these college grads get jobs to pay off their debts. Sure, it’s a pipe dream and it’s dumb, but this is my headworld. I make the rules.

4655

That is a good policy idea.