What do you think of the counter student loan bill by Republicans, which includes limiting the loan amount grad students can borrow?

[Anonymous]

Republicans have a counter student loan bill to Biden's and in it, they want to limit the amount graduate students can borrow by eliminating Grad Plus loans. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careersandeducation/3-republican-lawmakers-just-countered-biden-s-student-loan-forgiveness-plans-with-a-bill-of-their-own-to-help-borrowers-most-in-need/ar-AA10jiP2?cvid=9d285488b1e7413fbb3904995cc54b2e

Well, I for one, as a graduate student myself hate it. I'm not rich, I don't have rich parents or familily members I can borrow money from. If couldn't get a grad plus loan I wouldn't be able to afford grad school. I guess they think only rich privileged folks should be able to go to graduate school. Also it's a loan, we still have to pay it back and grad plus loans have higher interest so they will be making money off of us.

[DCooper]

Government entities shouldn't be lending institutions in the first place. Colleges should just offer classes on a payment plan. And those debts should not be immune from bankruptcy filings either.

If a college chooses to sell a kid 100,000 worth of socialist indoctrination with no money down, that school should be the one left holding the bag if the kid later realized they didn't get any actual marketable job skills out of the deal, and files chapter 13.

[Asker]

Yeah, I would be fine with that idea, or one along those lines and I commented to @dargil about this.

[Asker]

As far as marketable skills, I know plenty of people working as occupational or physical therapists, social workers etc. that needed a graduate degree just to enter the field, as that has become in requirement for those professions in the past few decades. There was a time when all of those only required a bachelors degree.

[DCooper]

That has a lot to do with my point too. If the colleges themselves were responsible for the grads' ability to generate enough income to pay the debts, it wouldn't require 6 years of classes to learn the skillset to perform in those occupations.
From what I've seen, the amount of useless classes required, and the costs, has gone up right along with the availability of student loans. And the fact that those loans are marketed to 17 and 18 year olds, plus those loans being immune from bankruptcy, adds up to many young people going way into debt without any good way to pay it, then being stuck with it.
It isn't as though the administrators and proffs don't know how far they are setting so many of the students back.

[Asker]

@dcooper Yeah, that is true. There are too many useless bachelors degrees that basically steal students money, and you're right the school never have to suffer any of the financial consequences because it's the student on the hook for it. Maybe the legislators should be focused on that, not giving state funding to state universities that offering too many fluff programs that don't lead to a career. They wouldn't be able to do anything about the private schools. It's definitely a flawed system, no argument there.

[exitseven]

I went tyo grad school at night. The company I worked for paid for it. It took me 4 years to finish but I had no debt.

[Asker]

That's cool. I think where my frustration stems from is that so many of these programs that used to only require a bachelors degree like occupational and physical therapy, social work etc. are now requiring a graduate degree just to enter the field. So there isn't even an opportunity to work in the profession as at the bachelor level and then work for a masters or doctorate part-time. Some colleges have teaching assistant and graduate assitant jobs but they are often not the best paying and they are only part-time.

[exitseven]

Yess, my wife got her PT license before you needed a masters degree. She is just about the only one where she works that does not have a MS.

[MangoBob]

Good on you ! People have to realize they can’t have a Lamborghini education on a Pinto budget.

[exitseven]

@MangoBob I have been a hiring manager before and I would think more of a candidate that worked his butt off to go to a state college than some snotty rich kid whose parents sent him to the fancy private school.

[MangoBob]

Because they are thinning the field as pay rates go up they are requiring higher degrees, it’s a set up, if you go to college basically you are paying for a job commensurate with the degree, its almost the same as paying for sex.

[exitseven]

Thanks for the MHO😎

[purplepoppy]

One thing the right often mention on GAG is they don't believe in education. They see it as government brainwashing and a leftie notion. Doctors and professors are often described as dumb. Even at a lower level, high school many rightwingers are opposed to official education.

[Asker]

Yeah, good point, there are right wingers on here who don't believe in post-secondary education and will see this as a win.

[bean2k21]

Root cause isn't the education. It's the fact that when you give a libtard an education they think they are a smart libtard. It's like these people who spend a ton of money having their dog groomed then that pretty little dog does what dogs do best and rolls in mud and shit.

[Asker]

@bean2k21 I’m trying to understand your point. Are you saying liberal shouldn’t get an education if they financially disadvantaged? This would affect poor conservatives as well. Plus I’m not a liberal but not a fat right wing conservative either. My issue with this is that some careers require grad school. Taking out plus loans means some people just won’t be able to get educated in certain programs. Programs like occupational therapist, physical therapist, social worker, psychologist etc. They tout this bill as helping those most in need, well it could also hurt some most in need that are interested in a profession where grad school is required for entry.

[bean2k21]

You're right. They should take into account what type of degree it is and your political affiliation.

[Asker]

@bean2k21 Lol, yeah and maybe throw in religious affiliation and sexual orientation too.

[MangoBob]

@bean2k21 , exactly

[MangoBob]

@bean2k21 , lol

[Dargil]

I oppose all government backed student loans. They should come from banks and schools which assume all the risk of repayment. Either should perform a cost/benefit analysis. No student loans should be "forgiven".

[Asker]

Well I don't think loans should be forgiven either, if I borrow the money I expect to pay it back. If they want to privatize the student loan system then fine they should propose a bill to do that, but right now the federal student loan system is what most of us have to contend with. There is no incentive for any of us to stray from that system because that is "the devil we know" so to speak although. As someone else commented there will probably be other financial institutions willing to cover plus loans of the goverment stops providing them.

[joeldalton]

I don’t think I’m responsible for paying for anyone else’s education. I don’t support any loan forgiveness.

[Asker]

I don’t care about the loan forgiveness either. I have no problem paying my own loans. What I have problem with is the plus loans, they are higher interest but they help students who don’t have other financial resources like rich parents.

[joeldalton]

So if let's say someone waved a magic wand and plus loans disappeared. You think there would be zero other financial institutions willing to make those loans?

[Asker]

@joeldalton Well, if they get it passed as is (which I doubt would happen before midterms) then that would probably be what would happen. Maybe that is the goal to privatize student loans for graduate students, or at least privatize the plus loans. I'm hoping they would ammend that though in the final bill, the rest of it doesn't sound that bad.

[joeldalton]

I don’t think that’s true. How would colleges deal with a portion of their customers being able to afford their products? They’d lower costs.

[MangoBob]

If it doesn't happen before mid terms it won't happen, President Trump # 45 and 47 will shut that stupid bull shit down, along with abortion, illegals, the bull shit with Russia/ Ukraine, China/ Taiwan.

[MangoBob]

I say quit giving student loans period.

[Asker]

So you would be against this bill by the Republicans then, fair enough.

[MangoBob]

Thats exactly NOT what i said, i said NO loans at all, THAT Is a limitation.

[Asker]

Okay, but why no student loans, do you think only people with rich parents should be able to go to college or graduate school or do you think like one of the other commentors that loans should be given by banks and not the government?

[MangoBob]

Why no student loans? They are paid for by taxpayers and now we have 3 million lazy punk ass kids not wanting to pay back the taxpayers that gave them the loan, all because they chose some useless major like gender studies or equality of the snail darter or some other useless bull shit.

[MangoBob]

By your logic i should just stop making my house and car payments and keep living in the house, driving the car, expecting you all taxpayers to pay for it.

[Asker]

Oh okay, well I guess I was thinking about students that go on to become teachers, physical therapists, social workers etc and then of course there are others that go on to become lawyers, and doctors. Without students loans those professions would only be available to students that have rich parents or family members, unless they can borrow the money from a bank. By the way I never said anywhere in my post that I won't pay the money back or that I don't think the money should be paid back by students that borrow, so I don't know where my logic alludes to that anywhere.

[MangoBob]

Just because you got the degree doesn’t mean you got a job commensurate with the degree, plenty of Masters degrees working at Foot Locker, McDonalds, Carmike Theaters because 3 million kids took out loans to major in one narrow field where there are only 500,000 jobs. I went to trade school, learned how to rebuild Harley Davidson motors, also learned to repair outboard motors, i picked a school with guaranteed job placement, bought and lived on a boat, paid back my schooling loan and am now happily retired, i don’t owe anyone a fkn thing.

[Asker]

Okay, well that's fair I guess. I totally agree that trad schools are a good option as well. There are too many fluff degress being offered at college and universities that don't lead to a career and I they are setting people up for failure.

[MangoBob]

And that is why these poor young kids are wanting student loan forgiveness, they chose their career field poorly, thats life. Life doesn’t care, the universe doesn’t care, we all have to pay our bills.

[MangoBob]

I didn’t have rich parents, i got off my ass and worked for my schooling, i didn’t wait for a handout or take out a school loan for a useless degree in a field where i had no hope of finding a job.

[Wise4myage]

Absolutely not.