With all due respect to Mr. O’Malley, he hardly walks in the same gilded neighborhoods and people as the Clintons and Gores. So, while one would certainly expect his income to grow in the private sector, he is not a two-time resident of the White House, and a potential family legacy to the position.
There’s zero chance O’Malley is going to be making policy as our next president…
Zero would be lofty…
I don’t care how much he borrowed…I doubt he’ll be living on peanut butter sandwiches.
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Democratic presidential hopeful Martin O’Malley on Wednesday put forward an ambitious five-year goal of allowing students to graduate debt-free from public colleges and universities across the country.
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The proposition is deeply personal for O’Malley: Aides say he and his wife have already incurred $339,200 in loans to put the two eldest of their four children through universities. And college affordability was a leading priority for O’Malley during his tenure as Maryland’s governor.
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I don’t know how his proposal is “deeply personal.” His DDs went to a PRIVATE and OOS Public. How would his proposal affect others who allow their kids the same choices??? Certainly his proposal doesn’t include OOS publics.
" In Baltimore, almost all Catholic children go to Catholic schools, and I’d bet all white Catholic children do. Baltimore didn’t have federally ordered busing because most of Baltimore public schools are majority black and there is no way to achieve diversity by busing. His wife is a Curran, and that’s a family with many political figures in it. I think they made a poor financial choice to send their daughter to Georgetown and the second one to an OOS school they hadn’t saved for. Nancy Pelosi’s father was mayor, and I’m sure she went to Catholic school too.
^I don’t understand what this has to do with the OP at all.
“As a taxpayer, I don’t want to pay for her choices”
Are they asking you to?
Why do you care that he took loans out to pay for his kids college?
" $240,00 of Georgetown University education to become a public school teacher in Baltimore. "
Is there something wrong with going to an excellent university if you want to be a teacher? My mother went to Smith and she was a public school teacher.
Are there not other politicians talking about making college more affordable? I believe even our President has put out some proposals. Is there something wrong with a candidate running for office discussing this issue and having a policy position on it?
Is he lying when he says college is becoming unaffordable?
“Public service does not pay especially well and both he and his wife have been in public service virtually their entire careers.”
Maryland governors (like O’Malley) who complete two four-year terms, get half the salary of the current governor as a pension. So Marty will get $100k a year (or more) for life for 8 years of service and with him making zero contributions out of his own pocket to that pension.
Unfortunately for Marty, in 2011 the retirement age was bumped up to 62 from 55. 55? Are we talking about Maryland or Greece? Any of you have a 401k that works like that?
Assuming he lives to 92, Marty will get paid $3 million (likely more) in pension dollars. He was paid $1.2 million in salary while in office. $4.2 million for 8 years work isn’t bad. And that doesn’t count the perks – executive mansion, free cars, free food, etc.
I pointed out that Maryland children, especially Baltimore children, go to Catholic school and that expense is just a cost of living in Maryland. Some were claiming he had to borrow for college, and couldn’t save for it, because his children went to/go to Catholic grade and high school. Everyone does in Baltimore, even the mayor’s children. It is an expense as much as car insurance is. If you live in the city, you pay for catholic school. Some cost more than others. I don’t know if the family lived in Annapolis during his term as governor, and there is more of an option to go to public school there.
Yes, he does want tax payers to pay for his children’s higher education. He’s going to introduce a program to make college free and to justify it he’s saying HE, as governor, couldn’t even afford college and had to borrow $340k for just two of his kids, so is probably looking at borrowing another $340k for the next two if ‘somebody’ doesn’t do ‘something’ to make it affordable. There are plenty of good schools in Maryland that are affordable to parents who make $150k/yr (governor’s salary) and ~$140k (district judge salary), but this family didn’t make the correct choices.
Other politicians aren’t using their own experiences in justifying that schools need to be cheaper or free. It is ridiculous to argue that he HAD to borrow the money. He wanted to. Plenty of other options for his kids to have gone to college without debt.
Northwsty, just to be clear – not many public employees get 50% of pay for 8 years of service. Your run-of-the-mill public servant gets a far, far smaller amount. In fact, it used to be that corporate America’s pension plans were far more generous. Over the course of my career as a pension administrator and benefit communications consultant, those traditional pension plans have mostly bitten the dust in the private sector. It’s a lot cheaper to fund a 3% employee match in a 401(k) and let the employees take all the investment risk than to fund a specific benefit in a pension plan and having that number change every year as employees get older, funds perform better/worse than expected, etc.
^ Lots of people send their kids to private schools. I sent mine to one and I live in a great school district.
Since O’Malley is not going to win the D primary and is not going to become President he is not going to introduce any legislation to Congress. He is talking about the expense of a college education and offering his plan, and using his situation, because it’s a good campaign issue. Nothing more. No one is going to be on the hook for the loans he took out for his kids education.
“Other politicians aren’t using their own experiences in justifying that schools need to be cheaper or free. It is ridiculous to argue that he HAD to borrow the money. He wanted to. Plenty of other options for his kids to have gone to college without debt.”
I believe Obama has talked about it often and only finished paying back his student loans a few years before he became President.
Yes he wanted to take out loans? So what? How does it effect you?
It affects me as a taxpayer. O’Malley was making good money. I’d rather he not be eligible for taxpayer money although he most probably was not eligible for unsubbed loans so is paying more of a market rate.
If O’Malley wanted to borrow the money, fine, but don’t complain about it now. They made the choice to borrow it. If it is a private matter, a private choice, why complain about it now and share just how much he ‘needed’ to borrow because college costs too much? Both of his kids could have gone to much cheaper state schools, schools supported by the rain tax, the bridge tax, and all the other taxes he raised to fund those schools. He has the same right anyone has to borrow, he just can’t then cry ‘oh woe is me, college costs so much.’
I’m in the same position he’s in, with two in college, one private, one OOS. We manage on a single parent’s income and I will not be borrowing $350k. Would I like schools to be cheaper? Yes. Would I like money to come from taxpayers or more student loans? No.
“it affects me as a taxpayer. O’Malley was making good money. I’d rather he not be eligible for taxpayer money although he most probably was not eligible for unsubbed loans so is paying more of a market rate.”
How does his taking these loans affect you as a taxpayer? Please be specific.
Do you think people who make above a certain income should not be allowed to take out loans to pay for their kids education?
“I’m in the same position he’s in, with two in college, one private, one OOS. We manage on a single parent’s income and I will not be borrowing $350k. Would I like schools to be cheaper? Yes. Would I like money to come from taxpayers or more student loans? No.”
Good for you - you did what you wanted to do regarding paying for your kids educations and he did what he wanted to.
“Over the course of my career as a pension administrator and benefit communications consultant, those traditional pension plans have mostly bitten the dust in the private sector.”
Correct. Today it is only the public sector workers who have such pensions. The private sector decided long ago that such pension arrangments were way way too expensive.
So the O’Malley household will have the benefit of two separate above-market pensions, each of which is far better than what they could have gotten by working in the private sector. Mrs. O’Malley’s pension will be rich; Mr. O’Malley’s will be ridiculously so. They are being compensated very well for being public servants, they just don’t have very high current salaries.
They will easily be able to pay off their taxpayer supported student loans from the proceeds of their taxpayer supported pensions. As low salaried “public servants”, they actually are able to afford Georgetown just fine.
“Today it is only the public sector workers who have such pensions. The private sector decided long ago that such pension arrangments were way way too expensive.”
No, Wall Street decided it would be great to get tons of money from unsophisticated investors and the fees from managing all those 401K.
Last I knew anyone could choose to go work in the public sector and get a guaranteed pension. It bothers me that people whine about it. No one forces them to go work somewhere which doesn’t have a pension plan.
She went to Trinity College in DC, now Trinity Washington University, which is a Catholic school (all female when she attended, still 92% female).
Northwesty, what is the present value of that $3 million?
$100,000 payments per year for 30 years is not worth $3 million.
What about non-Catholics who live in Baltimore or other parts of Maryland? Also, plenty of Catholics in many states attend non-Catholic K-12 schools (public or private), so it seems odd that attending Catholic school is a given for all Catholics.
Also, plenty of Catholics in other states who attend Catholic K-12 schools attend in-state public universities. Maryland public universities seem to have good options, so it seems odd to turn away from them.
“it affects me as a taxpayer. O’Malley was making good money. I’d rather he not be eligible for taxpayer money although he most probably was not eligible for unsubbed loans so is paying more of a market rate.”
How does his taking these loans affect you as a taxpayer? Please be specific.
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Anyone taking government guaranteed loans affects all of us. However small, there is a cost to making, servicing, collecting these loans. There is an even greater cost if the loans are defaulted on. Since his older child a teacher, she can have the government issued loans dismissed after making 120 payments, and those might be at a reduced rate (10% IBR or other program). I don’t know if the younger child is also planning a career in public service, but taxpayers may be eating part of those loans too. It’s allowed, they are using the system, so maybe the system needs to be changed. I think that if government loans weren’t available to the O’Malleys, they would have found another way to send their kids to college. Middle class families can’t afford to take these loans, so it is not a program there to guarantee all can go to any college.
Anyone who thinks taking $350k in loans over 4-6 years for a family whose income is about $300k per year is a good idea is a politician who is used to balancing a budget using future rain tax money. Now they are down to one income, hers. I hope it is enough to pay the minimums on the Georgtown loans.
Don’t worry, I’m not voting for him.
I see. So you are in favor of not allowing those who make a certain income to take loans out for education, correct?
At what income level do you want to cut off people’s ability to take out Parent Plus loans?
Why shouldn’t his daughter, if she is going to be a teacher, be eligible for the program which allows people to get their loans dismissed after 120 payment? Are you saying that a kid with rich parents should be ineligible for this program?
I actually don’t think there should be levels at all. If the government is going to give subsidized loans, everyone should get them. Tax credits? Everyone should get them. Why should someone who makes $90,001 not get a tax credit and someone who makes $89,999 get one? Why subsidized loans for some and not others. Grants should be given to schools to reduce tuition for all, not pell just to some. I don’t like the ‘she gets the benefit and you don’t’ games that are played. Schools should cost the same for everyone, not one price if you (or your parents) earn $30,000 per year and triple that price if the income is $100k. Why is it fair to charge two students different prices for the same product?
O’Malley’s daughter is entitled to the loan forgiveness just like every other teacher, but you asked how it affect me and that’s how.
Decades back when lots of people went to work for the private sector, their employer promised a pension. Now many of these same people after 30 years of service are finding that their employers are reneging. Unlike the public sector, the private sector can’t just arbitrarily raise revenue (i.e. raise taxes) to fund the pensions.