i keep hearing the same theme from conservatives----"dont give anyone anything. make them earn it." perhaps that is the best way to instill values in an individual, but it is not a very good way to run a country. as a taxpayer, i believe it is worth it to subsidize education. it will make the country stonger. same goes for healthcare (except for old people). the harda$$ conservative view equates with biting off your nose to spite your face.
i dont get it. how is the fed min wage a cap on everyone's wages? it sure doesnt seem to have prevented matt ryan from getting $40 million.
Where did I say that? I said "my parents didn't give me anything after 18"(except values). Did I say that federal assistance or TOPS should be taken away? No, and as usual you spew sewage that has nothing to do with what I said or intended. Your lack of comprehension skills are not my problem.
I should have been more clear. It serves as a cap to those who work minnimum wage jobs. There isn't a whole lot of upward mobility for a fry cook or a bus boy.
Tell us what you mean, not what you imagine that I mean. You're obsessed with trying to speak for me. He's an exception in that he could find a job that can pay enough and cut expenses sufficiently to work his way through school in the 21st century. I see students everyday and I know exactly what they are facing. Your ridiculous notion that a student who takes a loan is "lazy" is simple ignorance. These students must work hard if they expect to graduate and most of them do. Some have kids to support. Most of them work part time jobs as well. It doesn't bring in enough money. Do the math. If there are no full-ride scholarships, free rent living at home, parental support, or a trust fund, it is very hard to find work that allows one to be a full-time student and work a part-time job that brings in enough cash to cover the expenses. I'm proud of you, too. Most of us did the same. My point is that times (and expenses) have changed and the situation is far different than 10, 20, or 30 years ago. Fine, I agree. This has nothing to do with the expense of college today and the fact that "working ones way through college" is not enough any more. College loans are a fact of life and do not signify "laziness". Did I say any of this? Get a grip man, you're arguing with yourself! The issue is whether part-time student salaries can pay for a college education any more. The answer is, with a few exceptions, no. Get off your soapbox and get back on the subject. A loan is not a gift, OK? Nobody is giving anybody anything. Taking out a loan does not keep students from working, too--most of them do. The average annual college budget is $18,000 at a public university and twice that at a private one. The average annual student loan is $5,000 and growing because that is what it takes to make ends meet.
That is kind of sad. Especially for the traditional college student there is ample oppurtunity to work through school loan free. I took advantage of a wonderful program offered by UPS. I'm sure other corporations offer similar programs where you can work for tuition. The fact is I lived on about 1200 a month in college. I was able to go to school, pay rent, drink beer, go to away football games, pay a car note and live the college life on the money I earned through the year. Sure I ate a lot of blue runner beans and butter sandwiches, but I'm reaping the benefits now as I don't have to send Aunt Salley a check every month. It isn't impossible. It's just abnormal. The fact of the matter remains that student loans are not very smart considering the alternatives.
I did exactly that. You just choose to deflect as usual. I said that students using loans for school were lazy? Really ? Where did I say that? Another case of you telling me to "not speak for you", but you are allowed to do it to me? Wow, what a shock. I already did the math. My college career is proof of that. I thought the issue was this? You are ok with the expense of school? You just think there should be more assistance in paying for it? You keep attributing this statement to me but nowhere did I say this. Do you just make stuff up to argue about? Glad you know a lot of students in college. But I bet you don't pay for any of them like I do, and am happy to do. Fortunately for me, my kids appreciate it and do exceptional in school. Many of their peers do not. I made no point that govt assistance was wrong, nor did I claim school loans were wrong, though you continue to rant about it. I said merely that college is a privilege, not a right. If you really want it, there are any number of ways to get it. Many more than existed when I was going to college, so I look at the expense as being offset. If you are not arguing for the expense of school to drop, then I suppose you are looking for more assistance to pay for it. If student loans are already a burden then where does this come from if not the govt? If not, what are you trying to say?
I worked the only job I ever had through half of my junior year in high school and all the way through college. When it came down to my last 2 semesters, there was about 6 or 7 4000 level classes that I had left to take to graduate. During these 2 semesters I had to take out a student loan to live because the ONLY sections available for the classes I had to have to graduate fell in time slots that made it impossible to have any feasible work schedule. Not to mention the fact that I actually did my homework and studied on occasion to keep my TOPS. When I graduated, the first thing I paid off was my truck, which was within 2 years of when I purchased it brand new. About 6-8 months later, I paid off the little student loans I had taken out. I said all of that to say this...sometimes people need student loans to make it. You gotta do what you gotta do. If someone in my position were to "live within their means" then that would have required me to drop out of college since I couldn't pay for it. The difference comes in when all is said and done and the issue becomes handling up on those loans. People have to be responsible for themselves. I have a credit card but that doesn't mean I make terrible decisions with my money. I have enough self-control to not put anything on my card that I don't have the money in my checking account for at that very moment (plus I get sweet freebies from the points). If you don't think you can resist spending then don't get a credit card. Just don't be an idiot until you can marry an accountant and all will be well.
You are an anomaly (the good kind): I think your example exists in a vacuum where everyone: 1) goes to a state school 2) is an undergrad 3) gets a scholarship. Try telling a Princeton undergrad or a medical student to just work their way through. You may get some puzzled looks. Student loans have a long maturity and fairly low rates. Instead of prepaying, you would probably do well to invest the money you were going to use to prepay. Your remark about getting a 15-year mortgage made me think: If you can afford a 15-year, why not buy two houses at 30-year fixed and rent one out? Unless you think that the assets would not appreciate. In that case one should buy zero houses.
