Sanders to propose canceling entire $1.6 trillion in US student loan debt

It's not outrageously difficult to get a Harvard scholarship, even for overseas students. As long as your kid is a hard worker, holding steady in the top 5% (smart isn't necessary), and presents a good all round package, they'll get in.

 

Because you're balls-out insane? And/or your parents are reprehensibly irresponsible and don't give a flying farcas whether you're able to support yourself.

 

Harvards bursaries are incredibly generous.

 

They should not, the parents are "rich" The kids were not typical foolish kids but the brightest that were there. Plus those guys are not having any trouble getting jobs. Recruiters come on campus in March, by the end of spring break most kids who are looking for a job already have job offers. Those kids don't get offers for 35,000 unless they do humanitarian, teach for america, go to central america or Africa. So paying the 58,000 in federal loans which is the most you can take for undergrads should not be to difficult.

 

It is unbelievable how welcoming the ivies are. My son had the same dorms, fair access to the most coveted teachers and research opportunities. Whenever we went on Campus we were treated as if we were donors- lunches access to thier advisors. My other son went for engineering at a state U (As I did) and it was like going to the registry of motor vehicles.

 

Because that is a starting wage. The kids that we hired as mech eng grads only got 55,000 to start and that is in Mass which has the highest per capita salary. Every year they got about a 7% bump til they got to 70 and then it was the reg 2-4% per year until you got a promotion.

Edit that was 5 years ago, so the new hires are probably closer to 60 now.

 

Time to understand the difference between govt. deficit spending, and 'deficit spending' (eg via credit card) by households.

The govt, as issuer of the currency, has no purely financial constraints (the constraints are the nation's available real resources), and could in fact write off (pay off creditors) much of its present $20 trillion debt, with minimal effect on the economy, since US debt is mostly owned by US citizens. Households, as users of the currency, of course must earn money to be able to pay back debt (and pay taxes to the govt). Neoliberal macroeconomic orthodoxy has much to answer for, in aiding and abetting this confusion (ie, govt. debt subject to same processes as private sector debt) among the general population.

In case you want to understand the possibilities open to sovereign currency issuing governments, here is a good introduction to MMT.

https://www.themacrotourist.com/posts/2019/01/23/mmt/

Hence elimination of student debt, along with implementation of other GND policies, is enabled by understanding MMT:

www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/wp_931.pdf

"Advocates of the Green New Deal (GND) strive to change the way that we approach a variety of problems facing society: climate change and destruction of our natural environment, rising inequality, and an economy that leaves too many with inadequate access to food, shelter, healthcare, and affordable education. They see these problems as linked, and so insist on tackling them with an array of programs that have hitherto been seen as disconnected: a carbon neutral energy policy and reversing climate change; universal single-payer healthcare; student debt relief and free public college; prison reform; ending “forever wars”; increasing care for the young, sick, and old; and the job guarantee."

 

But they have a right to a four year day camp where they can learn useless crap

 

And you have to work your ass off to repay it

 

As opposed to becoming unthinking consumers and producers of useless crap like Coca-Cola and all the other crap generated via the profit motive alone.

 

That's a rather long diatribe. You could've just said "I don't understand basic economics and think the government can print money without consequences "

 

Nope people need to get degrees that business can actually use and thus draw wages that can afford to pay back the loans.

 

I get that, but I was thinking of kids who won't ever get more than $50k on the qualifications they graduate with. EG, a doctor starts at about $90k, but very quickly reaches $200k. A social worker starts (assuming they can even get a job, which is actually unlikely) starts at probably $30k if they're lucky, and will never make more than about $80k (and few will ever get that).

So clearly, a person borrowing $50k+ to go to college has no business doing a degree in Social Work.

 

In terms of govt funding, I agree wholeheartedly. No taxpayers should be funding vanity courses. Tax dollars should be strictly used for VOCATIONAL education .. that which leads directly to a full time, stable, reasonably well paid job.

Having said that, I do think universities should continue to offer Arts/Humanities for those who can afford such luxuries and indulgences. There are plenty of older people, already qualified for work, who enjoy returning to school to study some 'passion'. And of course there are always going to be children of privilege whose parents not only pay for education, but also have so much money Junior doesn't necessarily ever need to work for a living. These are the only kids who should be taking vanity courses, obviously. If you're going to need to work for a living, you have no business doing so. It's an outrageous imposition on hard working tax payers (who didn't indulge such vanity), to expect them to pick up your slack.

 

You'd last two seconds flat against the leading economists in the MMT field.

The govt already "prints money without consequences" - and private banks already create money "out of thin air".

The point is to implement policy which utilises all available labour (ie zero involuntary underemployment), at constant prices.

Neoliberalists just want to keep as much of that money for themselves - while the nation's resources are not fully utilised.

If you are game to reduce your ignorance about money:

 

I didnt say they couldnt print money I said they couldn't do it without consequences ie inflation

 

I don't recall Bernie proposing that we pay for this with tax hikes on the poor.

Sanders is paying for this by taxing Wall Street not you.

 

Good idea. A refund for tax payer funded billions donated to rescue Wall St from the Global Financial Crisis they inflicted on us all.

 

He sure did propose the middle class and you will be.

What is the distinction you are making? I have LOTS of money invested in Wall Street. If you got a 401k or IRA or any other investment so do you. You DO have investments for your retirement don't you? Well that will be taxed to pay for kids to go to college and then be in the top 25% of earners.

 

They paid it all back and with interest and ahead of schedule. We made money off it.

The U.S. government essentially closed the books on TARP with a $15.3 billion profit.
https://money.cnn.com/2014/12/19/news/companies/government-bailouts-end/index.html

 

Thanks for the link. That’s the first I’ve learnt of it.

 

Which just shows you dont understand business. Taxes are overhead, overhead is passed to the consumer.

 

If a rich guy passed all the taxes on him to the consumer, he won't stay in business because his prices will be too high.

 

No, you were talking about people who didn't go to college who are poorer than people who went to college who will be paying this tax. Thats not middle class. Also, he was talking about raising taxes to replace healthcare premiums, and didn't say these tax increases would pay for student debt forgiveness. And Elizabeth Warren plan specifically comes from a wealth tax on the rich with no tax on the poor or middle class.

Warren's wealth tax on all fortunes of at least 50 million. The top tax bracket that the democrats want to raise is $600,000 for a married filing. If you have that much money then I'm sorry but you will be not as rich as you were but still very rich. Maybe you will have to settle for a cheaper private jet.

 

Putting aside for now the question of why so many Wall St criminals didn’t go to jail for their extortionate activities the entire mess is not that simple.
http://fortune.com/2015/09/16/lessons-from-2008-financial-crisis-wall-street/