U.S. Marshals Are Arresting People in Texas Who Have Outstanding Student Loans

Really ???? an Article from 2016 - kinda misleading making it sound current methinks lol

STUDENT LOANS FEB. 16, 2016
U.S. Marshals Are Arresting People in Texas Who Have Outstanding Student Loans

I know everyone likes to pile on the current Administration ..... But really ?????

I went to college in the late ‘70’s-early ‘80’s.

Had scholarships and grants to pay (very reasonable) tuition fees and supplies. Worked part-time to provide all other expenses.

Compared to what I am hearing/seeing from the generations that followed mine, I had it easy.

My question is;

What the sh!t happened to make it so friggin difficult/expensive to get a college education?

If we, as a society, are going to stand by the idea that higher education serves an important role in our society, then we must provide the means to achieve that goal; we must make those grants and scholarships that benefited my generation (and those that preceded us) available, again, to those that follow us.

Or we, as a society, must concede to to truth that we either do not, any longer, value higher education as necessary for our society. Or that we now consider the opportunities such an education can provide reserved solely for the already privileged elite class, and not available to the rest of us serfs.

Of course there will be those who argue that a degree is not required to make a “good” living, and certainly (no longer, anyway) a guarantee of a high-paying career.

True, perhaps. For now.

But consider how many fewer opportunities there are to make “good money” now as opposed to say 20 years ago. How many factories have laid off workers, how many “mom and pop” businesses have been closed by “big box” and on-line stores, how many once lucrative fields have been made virtually obsolete by technology (When is the last time you called for a TV repair person? They were once “a thing”, you know.).

Sure, not everyone is smart/talented enough to earn a scholarship. And maybe that is an indication that maybe they shouldn’t go to college.

But the times are changing quickly and those folks, sad to say, are running out of options. AI, robotics, autonomous vehicles, and VR technologies are advancing rapidly, in their wake are many of the livelihoods that once sheltered the capable but un-degreed. Shade tree mechanics, the aforementioned TV repair folks, gone with buggy whip makers.

If they aren’t smart enough to pay for themselves, and we don’t want to pay for their education out of our pockets,

What do we do with them?

Make them all soldiers, ship them off to war?

And hope they don’t come back, especially if they come back more needy than they left?

originally posted by: funbobby
a reply to: rickymouse

"their college loans. " If you read the article you posted more thoroughly you see that they are talking about older people who are paying off other people's student loans. That was about parents and grandparents who cosigned for the student loans of others.

"As part of the report, AARP surveyed more than 3,000 Americans age 40 and older about how they have financed higher education for their loved ones. The survey found that among adults 50 and older, cosigning a private loan was the most common way to help pay for someone else's education, something that 45 percent of respondents did. Among the cosigners, 25 percent said they had to make at least one payment on the loan, an expense that caught many of them by surprise."

There probably is some 65 year old out there sill making payments on their BA but not too many.

Does it matter if the grandparents are paying those loans or if the kid is paying them? It is still money out of the pocket of the family. I will not pay for college for my grandkids, I would rather leave them some inheritance when I die. Right now being in debt is normal for most people, it was not that way back in the sixties and seventies, the majority of people had money in the bank and some had a mortgage for fifteen years. People had car loans, but most people could go six months without work without going bankrupt. I went college for a couple of years, I didn't even use my savings I had for college, I paid for my books from money I made working part time at Big Boy.

My granddaughter was going to start college, the school told her she would not have to pay anything. Yeah, not now, there was eight grand worth of student loans attached each year. She thought it was free for her to go school. She went out and got a job at a local business and next year she is going into trade school locally, it is free, her scholarship will cover all of it. Around ninety percent of the people who finish the training get a job, the starting wage equals about forty grand a year and there is always work in the field she is in. She took welding and metalworking in highschool and also wood shop classes, she would probably be better off with metals than carpentry, the mines here would probably hire her full time and she would make about sixty a year starting wage. Her boyfriends parents own a wood manufacturing business making cabinets and furniture. She could also go work there, no school needed, she would only make about thirty two a year there, but she would not miss two years of work and if she does stay with him, they will be bosses there someday or maybe own it.

I am disgusted with the way they trick people into going into college around here, they make it sound like unless you got a college education you are nothing at the highschool. The councelors are salespeople promoting the continued pay for teachers .

Yes we need schools, yes we need colleges, but most people do not need to go to college to have a good life.

a reply to: Bhadhidar

Maybe college got so expensive because the coaches get a million bucks a year now. Maybe it is that they spent megabucks redoing the colleges to make them more attractive to people which drives up the cost of tuition. Maybe it is because the first two years, you have to take more of the same crap you had in highschool instead of them training you to do what you are in there for. But in the early seventies it was the same thing, the first two years were the same as highschool, I could not test out of english and basic science, but I could test out of all but one math and much of the science.

It was not expensive to go school back then, now it is nuts.

originally posted by: jrod
Some much for no debtors prison in the USA.

This is a shame. Most of my generation was forced to take out student loans because we were sold on the false promise that we have to go to college in order to have a career.

Unfortunately many in the older generation do not understand the crisis. It is not as simple as you borrowed money and you pay it back.

Problem is: critical thinking skills need to be developed in high school. College and career choices are too important to let external influences determine your path.

Note, you admit you entered into your loan voluntarily (false promise notwithstanding) with the expectation that your salary enhancing education would enable you to pay it back. Did you evaluate your prospects before proceeding?

Why is it NOT as simple as you borrowed money and you pay it back? What is different about it? Is it because you bought into a false promise that you needed to incur debt to produce income?

ganjoa
you'de be able to pay it back with you'de be able to pay it back with

originally posted by: ColeYounger
If Trump spearheaded a program to forgive student loan debt, he'd be a shoo-in for 2020. Executive order?

He’s already a shoe in.

a reply to: rickymouse

You seem to have solved your own problem, if people choose to cosign a loan they can't afford so a teenager can get a women's studies degree how is that anyone's fault but theirs?
You were smart enough not to do that. People make stupid choices and then they have to live with that. Some people buy boats they can't afford and end up in the same pickle, you can't blame the boat salesman.
Indeed the bias towards liberal arts education is foolish and bad, here in my city we do the opposite, instead of sending the dumb kids to trade school they only let the best kids from the district go to the trade school and relegate all the losers to useless college prep liberal arts only educations. In reality every kid should not be allowed to graduate from high school unless they can prepare a simple meal, cut a piece of wood into a square and read and understand a loan application.

a reply to: jrod

The student loan system is a big scam, I agree. But, the person still agreed to the loan, took $1500 of someone else's money and didn't pay it back...for over 30 years.

By definition that's grand larceny.

originally posted by: funbobby
a reply to: rickymouse

You seem to have solved your own problem, if people choose to cosign a loan they can't afford so a teenager can get a women's studies degree how is that anyone's fault but theirs?
You were smart enough not to do that. People make stupid choices and then they have to live with that. Some people buy boats they can't afford and end up in the same pickle, you can't blame the boat salesman.
Indeed the bias towards liberal arts education is foolish and bad, here in my city we do the opposite, instead of sending the dumb kids to trade school they only let the best kids from the district go to the trade school and relegate all the losers to useless college prep liberal arts only educations. In reality every kid should not be allowed to graduate from high school unless they can prepare a simple meal, cut a piece of wood into a square and read and understand a loan application.

How about adding “Prepare a tax return” to that list, and see how many 20 year old high school seniors you end up with?

Or make it really “real”: Don’t let anybody graduate from High School until they can correctly prepare a tax return that includes a sole proprietorship business. Since we want these kids to be able to “make it in the real world” without the benefit of a “profession” that would require a college degree, that means a lot of them will need to go into business for themselves. Unless you expect a “McJob” to pay a living wage.

Tell you what, there’s going to be a whole lot of drop outs and 20 year olds in the senior class if we go there!

a reply to: Bhadhidar

I don't think you have looked up what McDonald's actually pays, if you were to start at McD's right out of high school and you were a little competent and stay off the drugs you could be making 6 figures after 10 or 15 years. The managers at McDonalds at rest stops make over 6 figures and have generous benefits.
What is a "living wage"?

If you ask the proponents of that idea they define it as a wage high enough to keep 3 children and an adult above the federal poverty line. Is the idea that every entry level job for teenagers or retired people must pay enough for a single person to raise three kids on?

Doesn't that seem a little arbitrary? why not 4 kids or 2?

a reply to: funbobby

I said “McJobs”, not “McDonald’s”.

And, although a “six figure” salary is certainly a nice lure, it fails to establish just how one would be expected to survive on the less-than six figure income one would have to endure for those 10 to 15 years you suggest.

And that’s assuming that one could reasonably expect to retain one’s job with the firm for all those years.

Just how many six-figure salary earning managers do you think McD’s actually needs?

I would guess that the need for physicians far exceeds the need for fry cook management.


And my post acknowledges the fact that a McJob is not expected to pay a living wage, however you define that term; but does point out the fact that if the available jobs do not pay enough to live on, there are fewer opportunities around to be had.

And with technology advancing, those opportunities are, themselves, slipping away.

In reality every kid should not be allowed to graduate from high school unless they can prepare a simple meal, cut a piece of wood into a square and read and understand a loan application.

+100. We need to bring back a new and improved Home Ec & Shop class with an emphasis on PERSONAL FINANCE. Every kid around 10th grade once they can handle basic algebra should be required to take a full quarter/semester class on personal finance where they are taught the basics of money management, credit, investing, etc. Really help them understand what it means to be an adult.

These are the skills that help people make good short and long term decisions.

originally posted by: rickymouse
a reply to: Bhadhidar

Maybe college got so expensive because the coaches get a million bucks a year now. Maybe it is that they spent megabucks redoing the colleges to make them more attractive to people which drives up the cost of tuition. Maybe it is because the first two years, you have to take more of the same crap you had in highschool instead of them training you to do what you are in there for. But in the early seventies it was the same thing, the first two years were the same as highschool, I could not test out of english and basic science, but I could test out of all but one math and much of the science.

It was not expensive to go school back then, now it is nuts.

Then you have Professors like Elizabeth Warren who make six figure incomes while only teaching a few classes.
Add in Student Activity Fees which pretty much go to funding the Campus Socialist Groups.
Then there is every college having to have it's own Police Force.
I can go on and on.

originally posted by: Bhadhidar
a reply to: funbobby

I said “McJobs”, not “McDonald’s”.

And, although a “six figure” salary is certainly a nice lure, it fails to establish just how one would be expected to survive on the less-than six figure income one would have to endure for those 10 to 15 years you suggest.

And that’s assuming that one could reasonably expect to retain one’s job with the firm for all those years.

Just how many six-figure salary earning managers do you think McD’s actually needs?

I would guess that the need for physicians far exceeds the need for fry cook management.

Pretty much every McDonald's has two or three managers. They make really good money (many get company car too). It is a good living.

Not everyone needs to make $100k/yr. However, you also are responsible for your own lifestyle. Most people are broke because they make / made bad decisions such as having children too early or out of wedlock.

It is not the business's responsibility to pay people more due to their own personal situations / decisions.

Many people don't start making six figures until well into their careers... like late 30s/40s. Yes, there are people who do make 100k right out of school or soon thereafter, but those people are not the norm. The vast majority are able to raise families and survive on less than $100k/yr.

You have to marvel at the special kind of ignorance displayed when one believes their tradie jobs and future prospects aren't intimately connected to the fortunes and livelihoods of the largest generation in American history. When the student loan bubble pops, along with the housing bubble, which was propped (again) by magic pixie dust a few years back, everyone is getting an Oprah car.

Meanwhile, the Chinese are graduating eight times our number in qualified applicants for high paying American jobs around the world because large corporations have been multi-incentivised to expand globally wherever possible. They'll work for a lot less too, because, unlike U.S. grads -- Chinese (and Indian) new hires don't have any student loan debt to drive up the cost of acquiring them. That screeching sound you keep hearing that Hannity told you was just "millennials whining" is actually the sound of our own wheels coming off at high speed, but don't worry. It isn't the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop when you hit the bottom.

Deny ignorance.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: ketsuko
I'm sure most of those were similarly forced to get useless degrees in things like Women's Studies and stuff like that too?

What the hell else you gonna spend that dollar bill on? An engineering degree?

Funny you say that.

You can get grants to help but they will only carry you so far.

Not everyone wants to be a doctor or an engineer or even a scientist. So students get sold on the 'easier' way through because face it... A lot of people just don't want to break their brain out of highschool and don't want to go for 200k a year jobs.

Then after college, many of those students find out that their degree is worthless. All the great stories that your career counseling told you didn't add up. They prey on your hopes and dreams but don't tell you much about how your hopes and dreams don't come cheap.

So.... To make money out of college, you have to borrow (unless your family is loaded) a crap ton of money to be able to pay for those high ended degrees in hopes that you're smart enough not to fail and come out TOP 4 OF YOUR CLASS so you can land that great paying job. The other lower than top 4 find out that they can barely make ends meet for the next 20 years while paying off student loans.


Been there, paid my dues, my career has zero to do with what I went to school to 'strive' for, just trying to live the dream that those crazy counselor said I could live. I think they just wanted my money.

Have you ever seen the caliber of teachers and professors in colleges today? Some of these people are the dumbest, most liberal, most clueless people on the planet. AND THESE PEOPLE TEACH YOU!

I'm 100% against letting people get out of paying their dues but I do believe education should be free across the board or at least cheaper than it is... A CRAP TON cheaper!

a reply to: Bhadhidar

There were 14,146 McDonald's restaurants in the United States in 2016. Probably less than doctors, not sure where doctors came into this.

if the available jobs do not pay enough to live on, there are fewer opportunities around to be had.

If that was true you would be right, but it is not true, clearly everyone is alive, everyone in the whole country has enough to live on, no one in the US dies because they cannot afford food, people sometimes starve from abuse, neglect or mental illness but no one is starving to death because they don't have enough money.

Advancing technology creates increasing opportunities, you could get a job as a drone repairman. How many people were employed as internet influancers a decade ago? how many now?

a reply to: SilentWindofDoom

So what about someone takes billions and never pays it back like Trump?

a reply to: Bhadhidar

I filed taxes for the first time when I was 15, I think I got an $80 refund and was happy I took the time to do it. My mom was like here are the instructions, you can figure it out and probably get money for it.

I dropped out of college half way through my junior year, though I continued to take good pre req classes (like Organic Chem)at the local community college until I had enough and was tired of constantly going from work to school and being broke so I enlisted in the Navy as an avionics technician(AT). (I was majoring in meteorology, in hind sight I should have held out with the Navy until they gave me the job I wanted, an AG. I didn't know how much my upper 90s ASVAB scores gave me in the way of bargaining power).

I do know millions are being trapped by student loans, we are sold on the idea that you must go to college or you will be flipping burgers for a living.

I could probably still get a job at SpaceX if I wanted given my science and avionics background but just bartend. I get paid everyday I work and they can't garnish my tips.

My biggest gripe about federal student loans is one has to default before they take then out of your tax returns. I would be debt free before I turned 30 if they simply just took my tax returns.

This should be an option for everyone with student loans. I don't need my tax return money. It's a win win for everyone. Student loans get paid with minimum burden to the student.

a reply to: StallionDuck

I think in demand professions like engineering need to be much cheaper or free, however useless degrees like Gender Studies should not.