College Grads Buried in Student Loan Debt, but Unwilling to Give Up Luxuries

LMAO thats funny. yet so true. More parents do need to tighten that rope with their kids, I bet there would be less idiots in college wasting mommy and daddy's hard earned money protesting and partying. Such a waste of money and time. Get your education and then change the world.

 

These are just electives, right? My daughter takes mechanical engineering courses and then for fun she gets to choose an elective like sailing, etc.

 

what that doesn't say though is if they have already cut those items to almost nothing, asking them to cut something they have already cut to the bare mins woudl of course get a no response

there should be a public college option for our young....

and they should be able to refinance their loans
.

 

you can. It's based on how much you make. Unless, of course, you define "refinance" to mean "not have to pay it back"....... then no

 

I think many would benefit, not ever one was a slacker in high school

I never made it to college, could not afford it, my family could not afford it, but I was lucky and made enough to put my children through college and not leave them any debt

for my children college was free, as I paid for it, they were A students, it really depends on the person....



.

 

I'm in university, doing prep year for an MA in Political Science. I'm going part time, because I like my job and I'm just learning for learning's sake, it's fun and I'm not willing to take on debt.

There are no loans involved and I'm going to a public university, but it's still overpriced. At $650 per class or $6500 per year for tuition and lost opportunity cost is just ridiculous for what you get, and it's more or less inexpensive . In the 1980s and 1990s governments punted funding issues into the future by changing government funding into private loans and allowing tuitions to balloon.

All I see is that many degrees are markers for professionals to tell each other that they are part of the smart people club. This is a pretty good podcast on the subject. http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2014/04/bryan_caplan_on.html

I do feel bad for kids at school today. Education is a great economic leveller. Cutting loans would eventually put deflationary pressure on tuition costs, opening up opportunities for those shut out, but it would do nothing for the future and current students and recent grads.

 

I disagree with that. You're 18y/o, you're an adult.

 

Should an 18-year-old be allowed to sell themselves into debt slavery?

 

So you're going to make excurses for that then??? They're a adult at 18. They are responsible for their own actions ok? If they don't research their job field/outcome, ways to reduce their student loan or their need for a student loan...... that is on them.

 

True but then again a Womens Studys degree is worthless no matter how much one paid to obtain it.

 

the jobs are a big thing of the equation... we assume going to college will give them access to higher paying jobs, thats the story we are preached right... clearly thats not shaking out for many, for a number of reasons, one of them being, they don't get degrees that the high paying jobs are in, or they aren't willing to move to where those high paying jobs are... but thats not even the real problem with this theory of college will give them better paying jobs... the real problem is, lets say we get rid of the useless degrees that provide no actualized income benefit, and we make all graduates earn degrees in high paying fields... what happens when we suddenly go from graduating lets say 1 million kids in mixed fields, to 1 million kids in those high income fields, wages in those fields will DROP as a result of a much higher supply and competition for getting those jobs... so suddenly those well paid jobs, will become normal paying jobs that won't have any actualized gains above a job you could get without a degree...

thats the real breaking point of this theory... if we finally actualize the dream that every kid gets to go to college for free, and they all start getting these degrees in high paying fields, suddenly those fields will drop in incomes and now those kids won't even be paying the income taxes we need to cover the "free" education paid for by taxes... so we'll still end up with an ever increasing cost for college, backed up by tax dollars, and now we won't have the tax income to cover the costs and we'll have to raise taxes even more... its basically the death spiral of "success" in this instance... we don't create a better life for them, we end up making it just another failed policy... meanwhile, the kids who never went to free college, will end up having their taxes raised as well despite not going, its a real slap in the face...

I just wish universities went back to being what they were when I went through them... back when $10,000 got you a full degree because they didn't chase prestige like they do now, they chased education... now, $10,000 won't even pay for an entire year, and forget about housing, not included at that price! the true way to make college affordable, is to lower its cost, not guarantee the money, that doesn't solve the problem, it just passes it along for another day and time to be paid... back when I got my degrees, you WORKED through the entire time you were in school, because thats how you made your monthly payments, like rent, to the university... the only kids who didn't work were the ones from wealthy families, but at least it was cheap enough our jobs could afford to barely make it through paid for... that ended once the money was guaranteed and universities wanted to chase prestige like the ivy league... they forgot they were there to serve the public, not the elites...

 

Debt slavery???

So in your mind should an 18 year old purchase a car or a house?

 

Bull(*)(*)(*)(*). It's a failure of society to adequately prepare our young people, by training them on contract law, and how the market place works.

YOU people want to blame the individual, but the system is designed to be predatory while using personal responsibility as a flaccid hashtag to exculpate the rich entrenched interests for the lies and deception they are selling the public, the government included.

Also, the arbitrary nature of "18, adult" is about as idiotic as the stupid, judeo Christian influenced prohibition of alcohol until "21". Just another excuse to control and exert pressure on the public at large.

 

actually it does say they aren't willing to cut expenses eating out, they could eat in for less, it says they aren't willing to cut entertainment expenses, it says they aren't willing to cut clothing extras... it literally says everything they are unwilling to sacrifice, luxuries... not necessities... thats the whole point, they aren't willing to sacrifice to pay for their education, they EXPECT someone else to pay for it, they expect YOU to pay for it... its the entitlement created thats finally coming home to roost...

I agree they should be able to refinance loans... however you realize if we make these "regular" loans, they likely wouldn't be 3-4% loans... they would be 8-10% loans... I think they should be able to file bankruptcy, to help control this excessive lending for public universities... but that'll just shift the burden, from the students, to parents who co-sign for loans, the banks won't care who they sack and saddle with the debt, so that wouldn't solve the problem either ultimately... we need to solve the problem, not pass the buck... making it free won't solve the problem of runaway costs, allowing them to refinance won't solve that problem, having cosigners won't solve that problem... we need to finally once and for all, stop allowing public universities to chase prestige instead of education... when some have 3-4 swimming pools, golf courses, etc etc, they are not in it for "education" anymore, they want prestige as if they are an elite ivy league university full of wealthy individuals who can afford that...

 

it may mean they don't spend that much eating out to begin with, maybe $10 a month and they are not willing to cut that exspense, now if they were spending $100 a month, maybe they should look closer at it

fact is, if your working 40+ hours a week, you should be able to spend $10 a month eating out if you want

do not have to make them regular loans, just make them refinanced as student loans

those schools chasing prestige are trying to attract the rich peoples children... those schools are not really designed for the average person, those you have to be rich first

not sure why we tie sports to education.... maybe some of the profits from sports should fund education.....

.

.

 

Just only a few centuries ago, the average lifespan of a person was only 35-45.. So 18 year olds were considered "middle aged".

People have it too easy now a days. College for a lot of people is now a luxury that stupid people use only as a buffer towards reality. A way for them to delay real life while hoping "other people" pay for their debt while dabbing in stupid SJW issues...

 

This is one area where I think that too much access has 'soured the milk' so to speak.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-09/why-is-college-tuition-rising-blame-student-loans-fed-says

http://www.wsj.com/articles/federal-aids-role-in-driving-up-tuitions-gains-credence-1438538582

But, on the flipside, businesses need to stop requiring every single worker to have some sort of post secondary. I saw a joke meme about 'Business requires 10 years of experience and a post secondary education for entry level position' and while it's specifically outlandish, the sentiment is real.

 

couldn't make it through a unrelated topic without finding a way to bash religion, could you?

 

you're not sure why we tie sports to education? because they are prestige chasing! the very problem causing the cost of education to skyrocket... kids will bring this "guaranteed" money or "free" money to the school that gives them the most amenities and prestige, not realizing thats what they are paying for, instead of EDUCATION... we need laws preventing schools from spending all these dollars on this prestige... we need to go back to what universities were back in my day, EDUCATORS not the country clubs they have become as a result of all the guaranteed and free money... they've completely lost the entire mission they were originally charged with carrying out...

and the reason why they lost sight of that mission, because liberals wanted a little more now, and a little more now, and a little more now... and again and again and again we caved in and kept giving them more and giving students easier and easier money to allow this to snowball into the (*)(*)(*)(*)storm it has become today... and now they (*)(*)(*)(*)(*) about not being able to afford it... GEE I WONDER HOW THE (*)(*)(*)(*) IT HAPPENED... (this topic really angers me since I know how cheap education could be if we stopped placating the professors and students and got back to education being the primary goal)

any university, where a student can't get their pre-reqs the FIRST year of enrollment, should have a MASSIVE penalty to their state and federal dollars until they rectify that problem... so they can't milk students an entire years worth of wasted education on all those silly filler courses they have that offer no career benefit... its just to milk guaranteed loans... its one big sham... education should cost a THIRD of what it does today, but we're all spoiled brats chasing prestige instead... our own damn fault...

 

I do not think they should be able to become legally obligated to the same extent as a more mature adult, no. Maybe they should be allowed to take out a loan, but it should be under different legal terms designed to provide more protection to them (like maybe only have to give up 15% of each paycheck in the event they default).

 

Do 18 year olds get 15% of a vote??? If not, then they must be 100% responsible for their actions...

 

These attacks on college students that blame them for their plight are so disgusting and misguided... It is the older generations who need to look in the mirror and think about how their decisions led to our poor economic prospects, degree inflation, and cultural decline. The percentage of a person's income that goes into those "luxuries" is minuscule relative to the cost of living. The amount of money they could save by eliminating everything they love doing is minuscule, which is why they aren't saving and not giving up their pleasures.

I'm sorry to take a dump on the older people here, but young people have every right to be furious about what's going on, considering how easy you guys had it, and you might want to be careful about pointing the finger at the young.

 

They have a point. You can't take the education away, you take away their houses, cars, and other goods. This was always the danger of placing a debt concept on education, there is no viable punishment if the debt is ignored, short of debtor prisons and such...

 

Dude, the older folks complaining about the young should be ashamed of themselves. They had it so easy relative to our current generation that it's a complete joke for them to be complaining about anything. They either didn't have to get a degree at all or paid pennies on the dollar for their degrees (competition was also nothing compared to what it is now). They also weren't competing with as many immigrants and weren't competing with Chinese peasants. Their entry-level jobs were stepping stones; now they are final destinations. The older generation, almost by definition, supported all of the cronyism and consequent inflation that you see, primarily in the cost of living. They made a killing by flipping properties with artificially inflated values (thanks to zoning laws), they ruined higher education, ruined healthcare, and every other component in the cost of living. They outsourced the jobs, opened up the borders, and have destroyed the prospects of every child not fortunate enough to benefit from some form of nepotism or parental support.

They act as if young people are blowing exorbitant sums on a lavish lifestyle, when the reality is that these people don't even make enough to spend large sums on entertainment. After the cost of living, people have little left. Certainly not enough to "save" money or "invest." When asked if they are willing to give up drinks after work on Friday, of course they say "NO."

What a joke. People who were able to pay their tuition by working at McDonalds 15 hours a week don't have a clue what's going on. People who could pay cash for a reliable vehicle don't have a clue what is going on. People who paid cash to see their doctors don't have a clue what is going on. A great number of these people complaining about the habits of the young wouldn't make it at all in the current economy.

They would be better of using their influence to fix the country and return it to how it operated before they screwed it up. They lived off the fruits of their parents (the Greatest Generation) and then proceeded to wreck the future of those who came later. Now they are trying to blame us for their failures...What a (*)(*)(*)(*)-show this country has become.

 

Could not have said it better. Bravo.

Would like to add - property values artificially driving up the cost of living is absolutely insane. How many times have we heard proponents of "cutting property taxes" go silent when asked if they would lower the rent they charge to accommodate the reduction in personal expense?

All of the time. Every time.

The older generation have set up an impossible machine. Entry level is a minimum wage job. Go to school full time. Pay it down. When earning 7.50 an hour.

Let's look at that for a moment. 7.5 an hour is 300 a week at 40 hours a week. Less taxes and SS, and you're taking home around... 240 a week. That's 480 a pay bi-weekly. Now, afford a $600 a month rent. Down to $360. Cell phone bill at a minimum. $30. $330 left. Car payment practically takes the rest. Affordable used cars are almost a thing of the past.

It's impossible for a lot of folks.