The Most Dangerous Presidential Candidates

[oochymp 2,393]

Oregon is implementing a plan that if you can't afford the school and don't want to take out loans, you can just promise to pay them a percentage of your salary for like 20 years after you graduate. I think that's a great, fairly realistic compromise.

that sounds really similar to the loan forgiveness options on federal student loans, if you pay what you can for 25 years the rest is 'forgiven' (but is treated as taxable income)

 

I would like to see federal student loans become interest free (or to be somewhat realistic, interest that parallels inflation) so that if you do need loans to cover school you don't end up paying more for the school than those who don't have to take out loans, to me that seems like a common sense part of the answer, obviously that's not going to completely solve the issue, but it'd be a good place to start

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

High tuition fees are just another sign that the 1% and corporations control everything. Puts people so far in debt that the middle class is their ceiling. Force them to take jobs that pay just enough for them to have a slight chance of paying off their loans in 10 or so years, so long as they don't start a family, buy a house, have to pay their own healthcare (everything--dental, vision, etc), buy new cars (this one is self-inflicted, but still), or in other words have a normal goddamn American life.

 

In America, you have to practice minimalism and sacrifice lifestyle if you're going to have a family AND pay off your loans as a member of the middle class.

 

We are set up to succeed just enough to have just enough. There is no "reaching for the skies" with the way tuition is right now. There is only "keep your head above water." We can't save any significant amount of money without overworking. We can't make lump sum payments for anything anymore, forcing us to use credit cards and extra loans to even furnish our houses.

 

The good old boy conservatives say, "Study harder! Work harder!" but when we had to "work harder" just to be able to support ourselves during college, our futures are sabotaged financially. It's a fucking joke. Not every kid can be a 4.0 high school student and do great on SATs and ACTs so they get a tuition waiver or their tuition paid for by an outside source.

 

Ideally, in the future tuition will be paid for for students who have a 3.0 or better. Anything less than 2.5 and the entire bill's on you. Free tuition sounds great but it shouldn't apply to chronic class-skippers.

There's a pretty simple solution to this, and the states need to take it into their own hands. No more tax evasion for immensely wealthy individuals or corporations. If they actually pay their taxes, there's a lot of money we can invest in our future generations.

 

That doesn't even help everybody... Trust me, been there.

[Sarge+ 3,436]

Bernie wants 2 free years at state schools, and the other 2 years would be about half what they cost now. I love it.

[oochymp 2,393]

if you ask me the bigger issue is the number of jobs that officially require a college degree that you don't really need a college degree for

[Sarge+ 3,436]

if you ask me the bigger issue is the number of jobs that officially require a college degree that you don't really need a college degree for

 

Well, that is definitely an issue. But you can't tell companies what they can and can't require out of the employees they want to hire. If they're going to continue to demand degrees (and of course they will because everyone gets them now), then the only thing we can really do is make college more affordable for everyone.

 

And I also am pretty adamant about education just for the sake of being educated. I don't know when or why college came to be seen as a gateway to better jobs. But people should have access to cheaper college because education helps you live a more informed and fulfilling life. You get to meet people from all over the country (and the world) which broadens your cultural horizons and opens your mind to new ways of thinking. You get to put a "real life" full of "real responsibilities" on hold to make yourself a better person. I'm not saying everyone needs college to improve their lives. But if you want to go to college to improve your life, you should be able to do it without being stoned to death by debt forever.

[seanbrock 1,684]

To oocy's point on the last page about wanting people to have incentive to get a better job. That point is pretty ridiculous. Most minimum wage jobs suck ass. The incentive would be to do something you like to do. I could get paid 25 an hour to wash dishes and still be like "fuck this sucks I need to get a better job." There are some people who lack ambition and don't have goals but paying them less won't change that.

[oochymp 2,393]

To oocy's point on the last page about wanting people to have incentive to get a better job. That point is pretty ridiculous. Most minimum wage jobs suck ass. The incentive would be to do something you like to do. I could get paid 25 an hour to wash dishes and still be like "fuck this sucks I need to get a better job." There are some people who lack ambition and don't have goals but paying them less won't change that.

first off, was that really all you got from that post? second, do you really think money is no motivation for anyone? third, most minimum wage jobs really aren't that bad, they can be monotonous and boring, but they're not awful and if you're making enough that there's never anything you want but can't afford then you'd probably be willing to put up with them, some people even want that, a job that doesn't require them to think, just show up, check some boxes, and clock out, how much should we really reward that?

 

Again, I am definitely in favor of a minimum wage that people can live off of. I'm not sure that's as high as $15/hour everywhere, but I do think everyone who's working full time should be able to feed and clothe themselves, keep a roof over their head, and generally get the necessities. If you want more than that then you should develop the skills that will keep you from getting stuck in a minimum wage job

Edited August 26, 2015 by oochymp

[Thanatos 2,847]

I pretty much agree with oochymp here. $15 min wage everywhere is silly. It'd break my employer, for starters.