Ron Paul: End Federal Student Loans

[GHook93]

Every American boy who grew up in the 20th century acknowleged the fact that he would have to serve in the US Military for a couple of years. Elvis was even drafted. We didn't get an elistment bonus but we got the GI Bill and we took advantage of it. Today's kids whine about a big student loan but they wouldn't give up two years to serve in the Military.

I agree

We need alternative ways to fund higher education. I support the GI bill as well as expanding to those students who give up time for community service.

The private sector needs to stand up also. They are the ones who benefit from college graduates the most. We need more internship programs, more industry sponsored scholarships, company sponsored students, student debt payment programs

I agree, we need to support education at all levels. But part of the problem with higher education was the skyrocketing costs. I mean they are paying teachers $250K and giving them insane pensions. That needs to go. No more tenure. No more allowing these PUBLIC institutions the ability to waste money on nonsensical shit!

College in the 80s and early 90s used to be expensive but affordable. A working child could put themself through college. Then came federal students loans, then came the Clinton era make student loans non-dischargable. After those two moves, the cost of college skyrocketed. Going to small shit colleges now costs $30k-$40K a year. That is sick and insulting!

 

[GHook93]

Without loan you can't study further if you have no money. You can go for private student loan. In this loan, you don't need to worry about your bad credit history.

That was the shortsighted good intention view that put us in this mess. College is now insanely priced. More that likely parents will still be paying for their student loans when their kids go to college!

 

[Paulie]

Of course if there were NO student loans colleges probably wouldn't cost as much.

The other outcome of that scenario would be that most people wouldn't be able to get a higher education.

Metaphorically speaking that puts our society on the horns of a dilemmia, doesn't it?

We need a highly educated workforce but we do not want to pay for it.

It's interesting that you say college costs would go down, but then say that "most" people wouldn't be able to get a higher education.

This makes no sense. 10k used to put people through school. Any hard working person can sacrifice and save 10k if they really want to get a higher ed. So you have to wait until you're a little older than 18. So what.

 

[starcraftzzz]

I agree, we need to support education at all levels. But part of the problem with higher education was the skyrocketing costs. I mean they are paying teachers $250K and giving them insane pensions. That needs to go. No more tenure. No more allowing these PUBLIC institutions the ability to waste money on nonsensical shit!

College in the 80s and early 90s used to be expensive but affordable. A working child could put themself through college. Then came federal students loans, then came the Clinton era make student loans non-dischargable. After those two moves, the cost of college skyrocketed. Going to small shit colleges now costs $30k-$40K a year. That is sick and insulting!

Teachers dont make 250k, they make around 50k which is 12% less then people with the same education level and experience.
Second the government has been subsidizing college educations since after ww2 it didn't start in the 90's. College costs began to substantially increase in 1978. Furthermore public and government controlled universities have not seen their costs increase much, while private universities have seen their costs skyrocket

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Of course if there were NO student loans colleges probably wouldn't cost as much.

The other outcome of that scenario would be that most people wouldn't be able to get a higher education.

Metaphorically speaking that puts our society on the horns of a dilemmia, doesn't it?

We need a highly educated workforce but we do not want to pay for it.

Except that as the cost of tuition goes down, as it ultimately would be forced to do, more people would then be able to afford higher education without going into ridiculous amounts of debt that they'd have to spend much of their lives paying back.

 

[GHook93]

I agree, we need to support education at all levels. But part of the problem with higher education was the skyrocketing costs. I mean they are paying teachers $250K and giving them insane pensions. That needs to go. No more tenure. No more allowing these PUBLIC institutions the ability to waste money on nonsensical shit!

College in the 80s and early 90s used to be expensive but affordable. A working child could put themself through college. Then came federal students loans, then came the Clinton era make student loans non-dischargable. After those two moves, the cost of college skyrocketed. Going to small shit colleges now costs $30k-$40K a year. That is sick and insulting!

Teachers dont make 250k, they make around 50k which is 12% less then people with the same education level and experience.
Second the government has been subsidizing college educations since after ww2 it didn't start in the 90's. College costs began to substantially increase in 1978. Furthermore public and government controlled universities have not seen their costs increase much, while private universities have seen their costs skyrocket

The average HIGHSCHOOL teachers salary is $54K, combine that with not paying for the sweet pension plans and health insurance and that $54K is really like $90K! But I digress.

The average college Professors make $82K (OK a little off from $250K, but the top 5% of college professors make half a million dollars), then add in the INSANE pension and health insurance, that comp-package goes well into the $100Ks.

Near are too bad of gigs when you consider both get holidays, winter, spring and summer vacation. A college professor might also work, what 10 hours a week?

 

[geauxtohell]

Student loans are the REASON its $40,000 in tuition. And with the government picking up the tab now that Obama's executive order has passed they are likely to become even higher. Why would ANY school ever lower their tuition now? Even before that why would a school ever lower its tuition? (Hint: Its the same reason why Congress never lowers its own benefits and saleries)
BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE TO!
If you think they will lower their tuition to help students get to college for even a moment you are blind. Colleges have little vested interest in the success of failure of their students (If you don't believe me go to ANY major campus, take a look at what they are building, Football Stadiums, Student Unions, Dorms, Recreational Centers, maybe a few new buildings that actually have something to do with education. All of these are very nice but don't change your success or failure in the job market much. They are however great at growing a schools numbers and reputation.)
They are only interested in the success or failure of THEIR reputation.

Yeah, and communism worked "in theory" too.

If Paul is right, the cost of tuition goes down.

If he's wrong, we've screwed up a generation of college bound individuals.

 

[KissMy]

The US Government is already writing down student loan debt. This is another financial disaster.

Bankruptcy Attorneys Report Major Jump in Student Loan Debtors

Nearly two out of five of bankruptcy attorneys (39 percent) have seen potential student loan client cases jump 25-50 percent in the last three-four years. An additional quarter (23 percent) of bankruptcy attorneys have seen such cases jump by 50 percent to more than 100 percent.

Last October President Obama introduced a plan called the “Pay As You Earn” plan that would cap federal student loan payments at 10 percent of the borrowers discretionary income. Any remaining debt would be forgiven after 20 years.

 

[blimpo]

Ron Paul: End Federal Student Loans

That's great for him now that his kids are all grown and out of school....

 

[Swagga]

I think since the government started giving out all these free grants and subsidized loans to pretty much anyone who applied then it made the prices go up. All the people who couldn't afford college are now getting free rides or reduced price rides so the demand for college education went up because the price for the student essentially is subsidized by the government. In turn the rise in demand created an artificially inflated price so anyone who doesnt apply for the subsidies is screwed because now the price is insanely high. So basically if you want to get educated you have to be rich or suck the governments proverbial tit.

 

[editec]

I TOTALLY agree with Ron that we ought to end all student LOANS.

College ought to be FREE just as k-12 education is.

 

[Peach]

Anybody who is ambitious enough will get to go to college.....Ron Paul

Typical rightwing blame the victim if you can't afford $40,000 tuition without a loan

My Dad managed to get into USC (Class of 1965) even though he didn't have the grades to get accepted at first.

Interestingly, he spent the same amount for his Doctorate as I did for my Bachelors. Roughly $16,000.

You deny that the cost of education has gone up since the Fed took over student loans? As Dr. Paul said, competition will drive down the cost of education. Just as it drives down the cost and increases the quality of everything else.

I spent under $10,000 for a BS in Engineering total. Tuition, room, board, books

Just how will Dr Paul's competition work? I imagine the first thing you do is deny an education to the working poor. Use them as pawns to try to reduce student populations. Of course schools will respond by replacing them with foreign students.

Like the foreign students involved in 9/11/01? I hope not.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

I TOTALLY agree with Ron that we ought to end all student LOANS.

College ought to be FREE just as k-12 education is.

College is already mind numbing enough without making it more like our public school system.

 

[KissMy]

I TOTALLY agree with Ron that we ought to end all student LOANS.

College ought to be FREE just as k-12 education is.

A free on-line college could be setup for very low cost. Then we would not need to pay for student food & housing. Students could take final tests at certified testing places such as Prometric testing center. Apple already has 340,000 college classes online & available free through I-Tunes-U.

 

[waltky]

The other shoe is about to drop on student loan debt...

Student Loan Debt Bomb Threatens U.S. Housing Market
2/29/12 - Student loan debt is set to blow a hole in the housing market and U.S. economy in general, a Fed study says.

The housing crisis of recent years has made Americans more determined than ever to cut their mortgage debt, and a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York says they're doing a good job of it. Despite this good news though, there is what could be a ticking time bomb on the horizon: The next generation of college students struggling to stay above water on their student loan obligations.

According to the Federal Reserve, total student loan debt in the U.S. ticked up in the fourth quarter of 2011 to $867 billion. A white paper released by the Federal Reserve Board to Congress on Jan. 4 suggests that any trouble with growing student loan debt is like a loaded shotgun to the U.S. economy. In it the study authors note that excessive debt among young Americans has a profoundly negative effect on the U.S. housing market, and on the economy in general, since it is those very young people who typically are first-time buyers for modestly sized homes.

The paper notes that from 2009 through 2011, just 9% of 29- to 34-year-olds were approved for a first-time mortgage. Not coincidentally, that age group is at the front of the line for those drowning in debt from student loans (especially graduate school students and those who have left graduate school), fueled by the apparently unstoppable increase in tution fees at schools around the country.

The Fed paper adds that banks are only lending to "qualified" borrowers, and would-be homeowners with excessive student loan debt aren't high on their approval list. That leaves younger consumers locked out of the mortgage market and forces them into rentals, which takes away a historic linchpin of the entry-level housing market.

Source

 

[blimpo]

I think since the government started giving out all these free grants and subsidized loans to pretty much anyone who applied then it made the prices go up. All the people who couldn't afford college are now getting free rides or reduced price rides so the demand for college education went up because the price for the student essentially is subsidized by the government. In turn the rise in demand created an artificially inflated price so anyone who doesnt apply for the subsidies is screwed because now the price is insanely high. So basically if you want to get educated you have to be rich or suck the governments proverbial tit.

Or you can do as Uncle Ricky says and just drive a truck...

 

[waltky]

Help for student loan problems...

Private Student Loans Got You Down? Tell the CFPB
3/06/12 --- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has added private student loans to the list of financial products it will target for reforms, and the agency wants to hear your complaints.

Starting Monday, borrowers can contact the CFPB for help with any problems that arise from taking out or repaying their private student loans. They can also contact the bureau about student loans that have gone into default and may have been referred to a debt collector. "The ability to work hard and better yourself through education is part of what makes this country so great," Richard Cordray, director of the CFPB, said in a press release. "But getting a higher education can mean taking on significant debt, a big decision with a lot of consequences. The CFPB is now the one-stop federal agency where all private student loan borrowers can ask questions, get information and file a complaint about this important market."

The CFPB is targeting private student loans because they've been regulated by a patchwork of state and federal authorities. Also, these loans generally do not offer the same borrower protections as federal student loans, which include military deferment, discharges upon death or income-based repayment plans. The bureau says it anticipates disputes involving difficulties making full payments, confusing advertising or marketing terms, billing disputes, deferment and forbearance issues and debt collection and credit reporting problems.

Financial institutions must outline the steps they plan to take to address a complaint within 15 days of its submission, and the CFPB expects most complaints to be closed within 60 days. Consumers who file complaints will be given a tracking number to check its status on to the CFPB Web site. They will have the option to dispute the lender's resolution once it has been submitted.

The CFPB has been taking complaints about certain financial products and services since it launched officially in July. Just this month, it announced it would hear complaints regarding checking accounts, in addition to existing financial products that the agency is overseeing, including credit cards, mortgages and other home loans. Anyone interested in filing a student loan complaint (or any other under the agency's purview) can do so on the CFPB's Web site. You can also call the bureau at 1-855-411-2372, send a fax to 1-855-237-2392 or mail a letter to P.O. Box 4503, Iowa City, Iowa 52244.

Source

 

[Skull Pilot]

Anybody who is ambitious enough will get to go to college.....Ron Paul

Typical rightwing blame the victim if you can't afford $40,000 tuition without a loan

Not all colleges cost 40K a year and who says you can't go to college part time while you are working?

 

[Skull Pilot]

I TOTALLY agree with Ron that we ought to end all student LOANS.

College ought to be FREE just as k-12 education is.

if you think college is expensive now just wait until it's "free"

 

[editec]

OBVIOUSLY the availability of getting loans IS one of the causes of escalating tuititions.


ON that point, RP is correct.

His solution to this problem is a tad nuts though.

Educating the next generation for life IS the responsiblity of the whole society.

Societies that fail to education their youth do not thrive.


I think a much better idea is a combination of free market and socialized education.

Yeah I'm talking about socialized vouchers for people to buy their higher education on from an educational FREE MARKET.

On the post HS level I think that voucher ed system might serve this nation very well.


I think it would behoove us to institute a competative college entrance exam, system too.