this post was submitted on 29 Dec 2024
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politics

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Summary

Student loan borrowers fear worsened conditions under Donald Trump, who has criticized debt relief and oversaw a 99% rejection rate for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) during his first term.

Many borrowers remain in limbo awaiting forgiveness, while others struggle with ballooning debt despite decades of payments.

Borrowers expect Trump to scale back or eliminate relief programs initiated by Joe Biden, which have forgiven $166.5 billion in loans.

Critics highlight flaws in the existing system, calling it a “nightmare” for those seeking relief.

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[–] [email protected] 74 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Americans ~~struggling with student debt~~ expect ‘much worse’ under Trump

There won't be a single thing that improves for people who aren't either fascists or rich.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 3 months ago (2 children)

The Trump voters beginning to realize the consequences of what they have done to themselves might be funny if they hadn't also done the same to me.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 months ago (1 children)

College educated voters were predominantly Harris voters though. Loan forgiveness was extremely unpopular with the non college crowd.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

That's to be expected.

IMHO direct interest issues and pure ideology issues should be equally present.

When stats show such a close alignment of position with direct interest issues, but not so much with ideology, it means things suck and can ultimately devolve into something like Lebanese politics (without bombs). Or devolve from imperfect two-party democracy into something like early 00s Russia.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Yep. If only they and the protest voters (because "genocide Joe" 🙄 ) were the only ones that had to sit in the mess they've made.

The problem is, they shit the bed and we all have to put up with it.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago

they shit the bed and we all have to put up with it.

Leftists have been saying that about Democrats for decades.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 months ago (4 children)
[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 months ago (1 children)

So it seems if it comes before the supreme court and they think you are willfully not paying, they can imprison you: https://www.npr.org/2014/05/21/313118629/supreme-court-ruling-not-enough-to-prevent-debtors-prisons

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 months ago

That’s about court and government fees and fines, not student loans. Idk if the two would be in any way related but I see nothing in the article that supports this for student loans specifically.

Do you have anything that does reference student loans?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago

Because POS like Biden helped write provisions in a bankruptcy bill that allows Social Security to cut benefits for unpaid student debt.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I’m on an IDR plan (no idea which one at this point, no idea what’s going on with any of it because they keep throwing it into forbearance..)

I don’t make enough to pay it, so after the first year when I got set up with IDR, I haven’t paid a penny.

I graduated with like $17k in debt, and less than a decade later it’s like 30k. I have no intention of ever making another payment. No point. I’d never get through the interest anyway.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Its... Income based... As much as I hate loans of all the loan options its the easiest for many people because you only have to pay such a small fraction of your income to repay it 5-10% most common... And if you're compliant, they forgive it anyways after 20 years.

I didn't take that option but many of my friends did. Also, anyone taking out loans whether it be house, car, etc I believe should know what terms are and select what works best for their life.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago (1 children)

know what the terms are

Most people dont know what the terms mean, let alone the terms on their actual loan. When i bought my new car, i paid less than $300 in total interest across the 4 year loan. Understanding those financial terms is so beneficial. We really need to teach it better to high schoolers

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

Very good point. I was fortunate enough to take a finance class in high school and be very vigilant, so theres some privledge there.

I think its been said like 1/3 people aren't financially literate both in US and globally in general.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Yeah, I know it’s income based. That’s why I haven’t made enough to pay it.

What I mean is there were several income-based options, and idk which one I’m on or was on, and idk if that’s still the case because I’ve chosen to do absolutely nothing with my student loans beyond what I’m specifically required to do (was hoping for forgiveness to go through but that didn’t happen). So I’ve only had to file one proof of income form, for example, even though it should have been yearly.

I knew the terms at the time, but it’s been a while so meh.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago (3 children)

You were presumably willing to pay when you took on the debt, and nothing about the debt changed.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Ah yes, children being told by both their families and society in general that you need to go to college in order to not work a fast food job for the rest of your life agreed to take on the debt. I guess they deserve a lifetime of ballooning debt even though the degree didn't stop wages from staying stagnant and inflation destroying their dream of being as successful as their parents.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Not to mention brain still develops for years after most make that "choice".

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago (3 children)

How old would you say someone needs to be before being allowed to borrow money?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago

Our education system is shit, which is part of the problem. So many people don't understand the concepts of compounding interest and what debt will actually do to them in the long run.

My wife took on so much debt because no one ever explained to her what she was doing. She applied for a loan and got it, went to school. Shes an attorney now, but has amassed so much debt we will never be able to pay it off. We're on the income based plan, her loan payment is more than our mortgage, and we aren't even covering interest. Loan forgiveness is our only hope

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

Wow this post really drew the pro-fascist trolls out of the woodwork

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

I'm not sure there's an easy answer to that, but I think some real world experience and a bit more time for brain to develop would be a good idea.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

The issue with arguments like these is that the brain doesn't mature uniformly. I'd you can tell me exactly what parts of the brain are involved in a decision like this and when those parts mature, then you might have a valid argument.

I say "might" because you would still have to show that a brain which hasn't finished maturing is inherently incapable (ie, will always fail) of making such decisions.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 months ago

An argument that would have made some sense before a shitload of rich people including many politicians got their PPP loans forgiven.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

Yes i totally understood what I was signing at 18 when the loan officers kept telling me i’d easily get a job and pay this back in no time when I graduated.

We were lied too and now our student loans fund our parent’s retirement while we can’t even afford houses.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 months ago (1 children)

What's the percentage of debt forgiven, something like .01%?

Absolutely nothing has changed for a majority of debt holders.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 months ago (1 children)

$175 billion in debt relief among 4.8 million borrowers. That is out of 42.2 million borrowers representing $1.6 trillion in debt. That's a good start in my book.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

But Democrat bad!

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Biden screwed the pooch on this one. Don't promise something like this that you can't - or know you won't - deliver.

"But he thought he could and met with unanticipated partisan resistance", you say.

Really? You surround yourself with the smartest, Ivy League educated staff and cabinet picks and none of them anticipated that and/ or alerted you to the eventual legal and political roadblocks.

Not buying it. Almost impossible that this outcome was not predicted.

Add the reversal of bodily autonomy, the expiration of the child tax credit and a host of quality of life downgrades and you're losing voters.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago

I believe abortion should be legal. Guess I have to vote Republican from now on.

Yep sounds reasonable

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

Borrowers expect Trump to scale back or eliminate relief programs

"Why would Biden do this?"

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago

I wonder how many stayed home, voted third party, or outright voted for donvict.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago
[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago (3 children)

You wanted to go to college and took out loans to do so. Why should they be forgiven? You made the deal and promised to repay them.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Tbf, the cost of college education increased at a rate faster than increase in wages, or increase in availability of salaried positions. Not only that, but housing became unaffordable for many because of corporations buying out cheap housing as investments. There are societal failures here, which is why loan forgiveness is reasonable and not just an individual responsibility issue.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Those without college educations are helping pay for it too. I'd support it if it was only college graduates footing the collective bill.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

A better educated population is better for everyone in that population

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (3 children)

No one agrees to a loan without knowing how much it costs. You agreed to that cost and promised to repay that loan. Nothing else beyond that is relevant. If i bought a home and then lost my job should i be able to stop paying for my home and still be allowed to permanently live there?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago (5 children)

Should your unpaid mortgage follow you for the rest of your life? Should losing your job and not getting another one fast enough to keep up with your mortgage mean that you are indebted fo the rest of your life?

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I mean, ideally you’re right. Loans are a risky investment in some way, the risk being that you’re assuming some future income which will make it advantageous to take out a loan. However, if wages become historically stagnant, and the housing and job markets are historically unstable, then the social contract of “go to college and get a degree to be a productive member of society” is broken.

Not one single guidance counselor in the 80s or 90s was telling students to not go to college. The fact is that college education become exorbitantly expensive because of the way govt. loans were structured. These are all systemic and economic issues, there’s not just individual responsibility at stake here.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago

The fact is that college education become exorbitantly expensive because of the way govt. loans were structured.

In particular the way they guaranteed student loans so those would be given for a longer period of time and to, ahem, a lot of people. Which created a positive feedback loop.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

People have been paying their loans for years and owe more than when they started paying. If loans are that predatory to leave people in life long debt the government should get involved.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago (1 children)

They did it because they were beaten over the head with it by parents, teachers, and role models since day one. They were always told to do it or otherwise they'll end up a faillure of society. Higher education used to be free or really cheap back in the day but thanks to our ultracapitalist system we're ending up with a bunch of college graduates with a cruel amount of student debt in a saturated worker pool.

Regardless of what you think, a highly educated populace is good for society and they deserve to not be burdened with debt for most of their adult lives. I'd gladly let my taxes go to student debt relief over giving petroleum corporations and defense contractors free cash.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

You made a choice and no one made you choose to go to college. You made a choice so stand by that choice. Student loans are not going to be forgiven nor should they be.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago
[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

What a topic to be mad about

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

Instead of breadlines we'll have people forced yo line up to be searched for personal processions to contribute to the economy with.

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