“No one is saying the 1 percent are greedy and useless.”
On the contrary, that is indeed what the spokesperson of this organization said, when she commented that the one percenters “hoard the money” (greed) and that she “sees a system where there is a population that does nothing to contribute to the progression of society.” (useless)
tiger1307 you need more real life knowledge , you talk in slogans.( you have I noticed toned it down…maybe now I call you my friend??)
what I am basically saying is life is not fair and you deal with it. I will never be super rich unless my income skyrockets. if I win the lottery…(I do not play but once every couple of months) I would pay every last penny of debt I have and sit on the money at .03% interest in the bank and I would still work everyday just the same. I want nothing from society but to allowed to live in peace and pursue my own happiness. I am not angry, bitter or jealous. I have gotten the short end of the stick, been screwed over, disrespected etc etc etc …I have also had many great and joyous things in my life and opportunities…many foolishly I passed up on.I have been in love …had my heart broken etc… that is like everyone else. what I am saying is life is not fair, it is just how the world works. you just deal with it. and I never expect someone (1%)who is more “successful” than I am to pay for it.
well said @zobroward I think it is the responsibility of all parents to teach their children that life is not fair but they should strive to do their best no matter the circumstances. Clearly this girl’s parents not only failed to teach her how truly fortunate she is but as so that in the real world life is not ‘fair’
I thought he was extremely nice to her. He could have totally grilled her and been obnoxious, but he wasn’t. He was just trying to get her to understand the facts.
Who do people think will pay for everything she wants- the taxpayers! I don’t get why people think government money is “free”!
If her parents own a $1,000,000 home, there is a good chance they were in or close to the top 1% at one time.
I get so annoyed with people complaining about student debt - that they took on and agreed to pay! I work with someone who has a lot of it from grad school - and just bought a $600,000 house!!!
But I thought California was bankrupt
Some people have to “hoard” money in order to allow everyone else to live on credit. Educated folks call them “Capitalists”.
This thread is chock full of the typical economic ignorance that cripples nearly every attempt at rational discussion.
“she expects to owe about $150,000 in student loans when she graduates.”
-It is strictly HER choice. Nobody forced her to attend at expensive school. Nobody forced her NOT to qualify for Merit scholarships. And if she indeed qualify for them, more so, why she did not choose the colleges that offered her Merit awards. So, her story is totally 100% is her own story. So, after she realized that she made a mistake, she is demanding that somebody else should pay for it. Nice!
How about if I pay for her education but only under condition that she pays for my car and my house and few other items that I absolutely have to have to be able to work and pay taxes? Oh, yes, a fancy vacation would make me also very satisfied!
I suspect she doesn’t really worry about her student loans. It’s more of a career-building attribute at this point. And after all, there’s no way to confirm her claim.
It is easy to attack a 20 year old girl It would be nice if some of the posters discussed educational policy . As I discussed previously if the effective tax rate for the top one per cent was increased 2 per cent we coould have free public higher education for all. Nobody seems to want to address increasing the minimum wage for the good of society. How about the issue of dischargeability of student loan debt . Why are taxes dischargeable in BK but not student loans? Why in Florida and Texas can you keep 10 million in home equity in a BK but not get rid of student loan debt? Why are we so willing to have corporate give aways but not help students. How about we have Drs. charge more reasonable amounts so that we have more available funds for education. There are lots of things to discuss rather than constantly attacking a 20 year old girl
"It is easy to attack a 20 year old girl " - She is clearly asking for it and would love to be attacked loudly and openly, it will built her resume, as has been correctly suggested here. If she is a girl, then, to be serious, she needs a bit more background in history, economy, how about Econ101 that clearly states that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Apparently, her parents forgot to mention that simple fact to her or she is such a scientist that she was able to grow a money tree? Then, the sky is a limit, Rip money from the tree and pay for everybody’s college. I suspect that it is not the case though. So, before I am asked to pay (since it is very clear that she is asking taxpayer to pay), I would like to know if she can pay for my house, car, fancy vacation or I am not loud enough, I guess, loudest is the one who wins, she got that one right!
@miamidap you still havent addressed the issues. Please do so. If you are part of the one per cent then I along with tens of millions of other americans are asking you to pay. Econ 101 also teaches you that the current accumulation of wealth in this country is not good for the economy as a whole. If there is no such thing as a free lunch why do corporate execs, drug companies and many doctors think there is one and refuse to help society as a whole
Maybe you could more fully explain what this premise of yours is based on.
I am definitely not part of the 1% but I am not asking them to pay. (According to the CNN Money calculator, I am in the bottom 44%.) Our government is so mismanaged now, why would I want anyone to contribute more in taxes? And why should they? There are options for lower income students to get an education - and at a way cheaper price tag than $150000! If my daughter hadn’t gotten into a top school and been given generous financial aid, our most likely plan would have been local state school and live at home.
@tiger1307 You have shifted your argument away from “unfair that only rich get to attend expensive privates” to now arguing for just free public education. As I and others have noted, affordable options do exist in the public realm. Earlier in this thread you stated that you did not believe all students should have to attend CCs. As I asked in another thread, who gets to decide? Who is “too good” to be relegated to the CC path? There are 1000sof good students taking that path right now. They attend CCs and earn a votech degree or transfer to a 4 yr university. Living at home and commuting to a local university is another affordable option. Attending inexpensive options is another choice. Earning merit scholarships is another.
Contrary to the prevailing philosophy that only the top fractional percentage of schools provide students with solid educations for good careers, thousands of lower ranked school in this country do provide educations for students which lead to successful outcomes. I have had extremely gifted students who have had to “settle” for those paths bc we are not willing to do what the organizer did. We won’t take on massive debt for an expensive school. Our kids’ cheap options have provided them with solid careers.
Our current gifted 11th grader may end up at the local RNP university bc it is what is affordable (And very affordable for most local students. They give a scholarship to all local students and start providing and additional scholarships at a 23 ACT. Even without scholarships, the cost for a yr is comparable to the federal freshman loan limit + typical expected student contributions.) She has met with the dept and knows where grads from the program have ended up. No insisting life isn’t fair and demanding other people give her money to attend a top school. She will take the opportunities she has and forge her own path.
People are discussing the issue. They are just not agreeing with your premise that college needs to be free. For students that don’t have local options or nearby CCs, they are in a tougher position, but then the question is what percentage of students fall into that category. It may be that some system should be established for students with no local CCs, but that is different than demanding that the entire country’s system be changed.
Btw…spiraling into the cost of Drs is exactly that…spiraling.
tiger1307 you need to take some basic business and economics classes, learn about risk and reward…entrepreneurship , taxation, etc etc etc… .
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Where did you get the tens of millions number from?
What is our rationale for believing that you have a right to ask for money from anyone else?
The reason why student loans aren’t dischargeable has already been explained. To offset the lack of collateral and lack of credit worthiness of the borrower.
@tiger1307 the 1% are already paying full tuition at these institutions. Most are making additional contributions to annual funds and other vehicles that underwrite financial aid and scholarships for students who cannot afford full tuition. Why should any additional responsibility to fund education fall 100% on their shoulders?
You also use the term “1%” very loosely. I perceive you view all these individuals as having unlimited resources at their disposal. The latest data I have seen indicates that a 50 year old with a salary of about $345,000 would be considered a member of the 1%. Well if that individual has 3 or 4 children in college, that accounts for between $180,000 and $240,000 of that income. Now some of those individuals may have other sources of income, but many will not. So be careful about a blanket statement that the 1% can afford additional tax obligations - some can’t.
And then to suggest that a student should choose to attend a very expensive school despite the availability of more affordable options, and then then expect someone else to pay? Utterly ridiculous.
Presumably, members of the 1% have the same ability to “save” for college as anyone else, so the notion that they have to manage 3 or 4 full-pay college bills out of ready cash is unfounded.
Generally speaking the average income for the top 1 per cent is around 1.5 million and entry into that class is around 600k per year. There are no facts in the legislative history of BAPCPA to explain why student loans are not dischargeable Also after BAPCPA credit card losses were less yet credit card companies started charging higher interst rates, So much for good conduct on the part of banks. And yes I do think that there should be free public higher education. I would much rather pay for that than putting more non violent drug offenders in prison. I do not think that people without money should be required to go to CC if they are capable of going to a four year institution
@tiger1307 Your numbers are off. Based on 2012 IRS data, the top 1% had slightly under $2 Trillion in income. 1% of this would be $20 billion. There are 13 million students at 2-year and 4-year public US colleges. There are 1 million international students and graduate students. Lets assume 10 million undergrads. This means that for every 1% increase in the effective tax rate on the top 1%, you could pay a little over $2,000 per student at public colleges.
Now making public colleges free may impact demand. Therefore it is reasonable to assume that more students would be interested in attending than the current 13 million. This change in demand will ultimately lower the $2,000 per student.