Tuesday, April 06, 2021

Spare Me Your Sob Stories

Talk on the left is of "forgiving" student loan debt.  The problem with such terminology is that the debt wouldn't be forgiven, it would just be paid by other people--you and me, instead of the people who incurred the debt.  

Isn't it funny that, according to the left, people who are 18 (or older!) cannot know enough to make decisions about getting into debt and should be relieved of such burdens, but simultaneously we must listen to teenagers about global warming and perhaps even lower the voting age to 16?  We should let children decide they want to cut off body parts to change sex/gender?  The hypocrisy is stunning.

I have no interest in reading sob stories from people who willingly and voluntarily entered into debt.  If some were actually swindled or defrauded, that would be a different story; but absent that presumably small proportion, the rest have no excuse.  Adults live up to their responsibilities, they don't expect free rides from the taxpayers.  They pay their debts.

And the politicians who talk of "forgiving" these student loans are guilty of nothing more than trying to buy votes with the public's money.

4 comments:

Auntie Ann said...

The left frequently slaps in the face people who are responsible.

Legal immigrants have to go through years of hoops, making absolutely sure they literally dot every "i" and cross every "t", paperwork, interviews, tests, etc., or they're booted. Meanwhile, anyone who can sneak across the border gets lauded.

Students who are responsible, do their homework, and study hard, are shunted aside in favor of more privileged groups.

Right now, as restaurants are trying to reopen, they're having trouble finding workers, because potential staff are making more money from the government and under-the-table work. Why be responsible, when you can do as well or better on the government dole; or, do a bit worse but have your hours free to do what you want or take a cash-pay job.

Similarly, you can find graphs online showing that until you get paid upwards of $40k, you are better off on assistance. You would literally lose more with a pay bump than you would gain. The Clintonian welfare reforms preferencing work were just wiped out by the Biden "covid" "stimulus".

Victor Davis Hanson has written extensively about what is happening in rural California, where there seems to be two sets of regulations. If you are in a privileged class, you can do unlicensed dumping, have feral dogs running around, have illegal power lines, etc., and face no fines or inspectors in otherwise heavily regulated Cal.

In Los Angeles we are building housing for the homeless costing $600k+ per unit. Meanwhile, many families live with multiple generations together while struggling to pay the rent.

Also in L.A., if you are an unlicensed driver and would have your car towed and impounded, then you're in luck! That doesn't apply to you! Only licensed drivers can get their cars towed for violations.

The list of this kind of thing is endless.

ObieJuan said...

During Obama's "cash for clunkers" ($4500 rebate) program, I was in the market for a Toyota Camry. Prior to the program, I could find one for 22K with some room to negotiate. During the program, I couldn't find one for less than 28K, and was told there was no room to negotiate.

The same is true with the ease with which students can get student loans, and the forgiveness of student loans. With the freed up money availiable, colleges will respond by simply raising their tuition and fees (as they've done in the past) and exacerbating the problem.

Government is NOT a good steward of our money. I guess we'll never learn.

Pseudotsuga said...

Basically, most college degrees ARE actually swindles, in the long run. Most majors have a horrible return on investment, and nearly all colleges have inflated their prices terribly (mostly because they can, and because Federal Student Loan Money is easy cash). The mantra of "every child goes to college" and "good jobs require college degrees" are the lie which needs punishment.

That being said, forgiving student loan debt on the federal level is indeed a cash transfer to a voter base. I would favor, instead, that the COLLEGE alone, many with their sweet endowment funds, be liable for that student debt. That would correct the market pretty quickly.

Ellen K said...

My own kids are fighting about this. My daughter, who has become liberal, says there's no other way to save the economy. Of course she paid off her loans and her attitude is "I'm done, so what does it matter." Meanwhile both of my boys are furious at this attitude. The oldest worked multiple crummy jobs to pay off his loans. The other didn't finish college because he simply hated college. He's now a general manager of a large bike company. I don't understand why the Left thinks this money is going to magically appear without any sort of accounting down the line. There will be higher taxes. And it will hurt many of the same folks who never had a chance to go to college. The mantra "All kids should go to college" is simply wrong. I've seen far too many marginal students enroll in college only to party, run up debt and end up deferring payment for years. Two of our friens are dealing with just this situation with their kids who are in their late 20's and still live at home! Paying off deferred payments for loans that should never have been issued is not MY PROBLEM. Maybe it's time colleges created their own loan and grant systems-Harvard and University of Texas have literally billions in the bank. Maybe stop paying coaches and honorary profs six figure salaries and bring tuition back into reality.