There is no logic at all behind the "pay off my student loans for me" argument, especially since I have no doubt that there is significant overlap between the "I didn't understand what I was getting into when I took out loans as an adult and now can't pay off my debts" crowd and the "12-year olds are mature enough to decide what sex they want to be" crowd.
You'd think FoxNews would be the last place you'd hear sympathy for the "pay off my loans for me" crowd, but you'd be wrong:
The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down the Biden administration's $400 billion student loan bailout in response to a legal challenge by Job Creators Network Foundation. This ruling sets the stage for long-overdue bipartisan action to address the underlying reason for this debt crisis: unaccountable colleges that have raised tuition by more than double the inflation rate over the last generation...
Broader reforms such as requiring colleges to take over some responsibility for making student loans will incentivize them to ensure students don't take on too much debt and graduate with skills to succeed. Talk about a win-win.
Win-win? Uh, no.
Universities are not job training sites, they're institutions of higher learning. No one is going to make a lot of money with a degree in Medieval Uzbeki Film Studies, but if someone wants to study it and a university is capable of teaching it, why not?
There are plenty of degrees out there that don't lead to many high-paying jobs, Aggrieved Victim Studies being one such field. Still, that doesn't mean that the courses shouldn't be offered if they're academically rigorous and someone wants to take them. It's not a university's place to determine what any individual might earn or to say "no, you can't afford that course/major."
Yes, tuition has increased much faster than inflation over the last couple decades. But let's be honest, a good part of that happens at public universities--in other words, government institutions. And who do most people get student loans from? Government! Notice a similarity there?
Perhaps government should get out of the student loan business, and put lending money back in the hands of institutions that know about lending money. If that means a poor black kid can't get a loan to go to USC to study art, well, a poor white kid won't be able to get a loan to go to USC to study art, either! No one has a right to go to USC, any more than they have a right to fly first class or a right to own a Tesla. I have to believe that my proposed policy would exert a downward pressure on tuition, as I can't see at all how it could possibly be inflationary.
I do think that incoming students should better understand loans and interest, and should probably have some idea of how much they'll earn to determine how much they'll be able to pay. I can't understand how any adult could take out such loans without that information, but apparently many have done so!
Under the status quo, where the federal government backs all student loans, there's little check on such college profligacy. Yet smart reforms can reverse runaway college tuition and spending.
Recent legislation introduced by Senate Republicans helps get to the root of the problem by imposing student loan transparency and eliminating inflationary Graduate PLUS loans, but more needs to be done.
That seems far more reasonable than holding colleges and universities "accountable" for loans they aren't even making:
Biden can’t forgive student loan debt, so it’s time for Congress to hold colleges accountable
Let's now take a trip to the other side of the media's ideological spectrum, to CNN:
For my whole adult life, debt and financial hardship has dictated my path, first through a cycle of generational poverty and now in the form of student debt. With Friday’s Supreme Court decision, it looks as if I have many years ahead of student loan repayment. It could take, quite literally, the rest of my working life before my student loans are paid off.
Why did you assume such loans? Why is it my responsibility, along with the 2/3 of Americans who don't even have a degree, to pay off loans that you voluntary took out? There is no logic in such an appeal, only emotion--which is what most leftie arguments are based on. Note the title of this article:
Opinion: It’s hard to break free of generational poverty. The Supreme Court just made it harder
After college, I took a position as a teacher at a non-profit preschool in my community, where I was employed for the first decade of my working life. I then got a job as a classroom teacher and eventually moved into the role of studio arts teacher at the same school.
The school where I worked was an incredible community of dedicated and innovative educators, hardworking, curious children and committed families. I felt lucky to be working with them. As a community, we came together to problem-solve around societal issues like the abysmally low pay for teachers, the lack of government support for early childhood education and insufficient health care options for school staff.
Attitudes about early childhood education are such that most workers in the field know they will never be paid what they truly deserve.
So she took on debt she didn't understand (but should have), and instead of prioritizing paying off that debt, she went to work in a "non-profit preschool" knowing about the low pay. Sorry, Rachel, you can follow your bliss, but you're not entitled to do so on my dime.
The rest of her article is in the same vein--no logic or principle to what she says, just "pay off my loans so I can envision a better financial future for myself in spite of my choices". I'm not as hard-hearted as I sound, I do have sympathy for her plight, but I don't accept any moral or financial responsibility for that plight.
Let me share with you my own experience from 40 years ago. I was estranged from my mother, and my dad made just enough to support his family but not enough to put me through college even at the relative bargain it was compared to today. I was accepted into three of the four schools I applied to (I never received a nomination to the Air Force Academy), but in 1983 there were no scholarships for a poor, smart, white kid. I was arrogant and hadn't even applied for an ROTC scholarship. I had to give up on UCLA and Purdue. West Point offered me early admission in November but I turned it down because it was my last choice and I was still counting on Air Force; come March, West Point was the only school I had any chance of attending. Doors were closing fast in the spring and I ended up with only 2 options: either West Point offers me regular admission, or I enlist in the Army and go to school later on the GI Bill. It was a big day, in Mrs. Gordon's 4th period class, when I got a note from the office: "Call home, thick envelope from West Point."
As you can see, I made some bad decisions, too. But nowhere in those decisions was there a thought that someone owed me anything I hadn't earned, I made plans that would allow me to get an education despite my financial situation. Of course, no one should have to join the military in order to go to college, but it's certainly one option. Going to a community college would be another. Getting a job that has higher education benefits (a la Starbucks and the University of Arizona) is another. My point is this: take responsibility for yourself. Make good decisions. Accept the consequences of your actions.
Mine is the dad-like, toughlove approach that conservatives tend to favor. Anyone want to guess Rachel's political leanings?
3 comments:
My story is similar to yours, but without any sort of forethought or plan. With six siblings, I was a poor kid, but didn't know it. I did know that after high school, I'd want a place to live and food.
Forty years ago, nobody took much time explaining to a smart kid what was to be done. I don't know how people figured it out, but I certainly had no idea. I joined the Navy and was slated to enter the nuke program, but didn't pass the physical. Then I entered the apprentice program to be a carpenter, but that really sucked. My older brother was going to college, so figured I'd do that. I had no major in mind, but being a forest ranger seemed fun.
After six weeks, I switched to mechanical engineering, studied my ass off, got a bachelors, went on for a masters, then got a job that paid buckets of money.
My dad paid tuition, along with room and board for my brother and I, but the stress was real.
That's the part that people are missing. Stress is a good motivator and decisions have consequences. Many people think that if they feel strongly enough about something, their decisions shouldn't have consequences. It doesn't seem fair that if you are an asshole at work, you get fired. If you take on a huge amount of debt, you don't reach financial security. If you are in a riot, you may get hurt or land in jail. If you dress and act like a freak, people think you're a freak. If you major in grievance studies, nobody wants to hire you.
Anonymous, when you post something about what I've written, I'll consider posting it. Until then, no.
Post a Comment