Support NeoGAF

[DeafTourette]

Education Department will cancel student debt for more than 320,000 borrowers

The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday that it will cancel $5.8 billion in student debt for more than 320,000 borrowers.

www.cnbc.com

For people like me, this is awesome!

Also for people in for profit colleges

 

[jason10mm]

I would postulate that if you are functional enough to get an education then you ought to be functional enough to work.

But I admit I know nothing John Snow about the specifics of this bill and who exactly qualifies so I stand ready to be edumacated.

 

[dcll]

I now identify as disabled

 

[dorkimoe]

I now identify as disabled

i was waiting for this
everyone going to come out of the wood work with every known disability. "i cut my toenail too short and my foot is technically disabled"

 

[Excess]

Isn't this politics?

 

[dcll]

I know some people who are “disabled” and on disability and it is a complete joke and then I have known some people who had the hardest time to get disability and they legit needed it

 

[dcll]

*gives Excess a wedgie*

 

[StormCell]

This applies only to borrowers who are totally and permanently disabled. I think that GAF underestimates what total disability is.

From the IRS:

A person is permanently and totally disabled if both of the following apply. He or she can't engage in any substantial gainful activity because of a physical or mental condition. A physician determines that the disability has lasted or can be expected to last continuously for at least a year or can lead to death.

Who is the likely recipient of aid like this? One group would be anyone who went to college before or while enlisting in the military and then was deployed to a combat area. There are plenty of permanently disabled war veterans who would benefit from having their loans forgiven. Another group would be anyone who went to college and then later became crippled from illness or accident -- does it really make sense for someone drawing and living on social security to have to use that money to repay student loans?

 

[StormCell]

Education Department will cancel student debt for more than 320,000 borrowers

The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday that it will cancel $5.8 billion in student debt for more than 320,000 borrowers.

www.cnbc.com

For people like me, this is awesome!

Also for people in for profit colleges

Those blood sucking thieves get their money no matter whether you pay it off or not. I would seriously love to see all the federal funding and grants cut off from these swamps.

 

[reksveks]

This applies only to borrowers who are totally and permanently disabled. I think that GAF underestimates what total disability is.

Thanks for the info, I don't think it would stop some people on this forum from complaining.

In the UK, the government starts taking the money from your paycheck once you hit a minimum salary and if you haven't paid it off by a certain age, they just wipe it off. This seems like a reasonable position to me.

 

[Kev Kev]

Omg I’m blind!!!

 

[StormCell]

Omg I’m blind!!!

Then you won't be needing to play any of those awesome new PS5 games this generation!

 

[DeafTourette]

I would postulate that if you are functional enough to get an education then you ought to be functional enough to work.

But I admit I know nothing John Snow about the specifics of this bill and who exactly qualifies so I stand ready to be edumacated.

I'm deaf. Lost my hearing over 20 years ago. I have a job but in looking for a different one, I haven't found any and when I've had interviews, my hearing (or lack of it, even though I have a cochlear implant)was an issue with most of them.

 

[haxan7]

brb smacking myself in the head with a baseball bat

 

[jason10mm]

I'm deaf. Lost my hearing over 20 years ago. I have a job but in looking for a different one, I haven't found any and when I've had interviews, my hearing (or lack of it, even though I have a cochlear implant)was an issue with most of them.

But you can work, correct?

Sounds like you are covered by the ADA. You have a job. Why can't you pay back your student loans, or why SHOULDN'T you?

Going forward I dont see why this sort of thing won't create a swarm of permanent students with no intention or ability to actually work and pay off their loans. If you get disabled after school then there are insurance programs like Aflack to mitigate the income loss.

 

[Corgi1985]

I would postulate that if you are functional enough to get an education then you ought to be functional enough to work.

But I admit I know nothing John Snow about the specifics of this bill and who exactly qualifies so I stand ready to be edumacated.

It might just be possible to have an accident and get disabled AFTER college. Maybe.

 

[nush]

 

[jason10mm]

It might just be possible to have an accident and get disabled AFTER college. Maybe.

Isn't this literally the point of insurance? Why is this a taxpayer problem?

I'm genuinely curious if folks think student loan forgiveness is now some sort of human right or something just because bad shit happens . If it is disability now, it will be underemployment in 5 years and just a massive free school ballooning budget item in 10.

 

[Vicetrailia]

Better than nothing for the liberals I guess. I think the dems had to throw someone a bone or the younger side would literally stop voting for them.

 

[Lanrutcon]

I'm deaf. Lost my hearing over 20 years ago. I have a job but in looking for a different one, I haven't found any and when I've had interviews, my hearing (or lack of it, even though I have a cochlear implant)was an issue with most of them.

Question: what industry do you work in/want to work in? (if I may ask).

 

[StreetsofBeige]

If the forgiveness is for 320,000 students who are now Total and Permanently disabled, it means they did some math and analyzed the situation so it doesn't sounds like just anyone with a minor disability and working can suddenly apply and hope to sneak in there and get a refund.

Then again, it's government.

If anyone on any disability with a loan wants a potential free bag of money, I'd just apply. At worst, they decline you. At best, some lazy government workers just green light it.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

This applies only to borrowers who are totally and permanently disabled. I think that GAF underestimates what total disability is.

From the IRS:


Who is the likely recipient of aid like this? One group would be anyone who went to college before or while enlisting in the military and then was deployed to a combat area. There are plenty of permanently disabled war veterans who would benefit from having their loans forgiven. Another group would be anyone who went to college and then later became crippled from illness or accident -- does it really make sense for someone drawing and living on social security to have to use that money to repay student loans?

By the sounds of it, it seems someone totally and perm disabled is someone who was able minded enough to go to school, but for whatever reason is now basically home ridden and can barely move and communicate. At least that the gist I get from the definition.

A person has to have both deficiencies and a doctor's evaluation.

So someone shopping who got approved a put blue handicap sign to put on their front windshield to get a handicap parking spot at the mall because they got a bad knee would not qualify.

 

[DeafTourette]

Question: what industry do you work in/want to work in? (if I may ask).

I work in manufacturing in quality control. Been here for 5 years. Just got a raise by about 3 dollars (obviously not an office job). Due to all the stuff I've had to go through, I failed school and, thanks to the deferment, won't have to start paying on my student loans until February next year.

I WANT to work in entertainment... Specifically voice over work. Still need to do my demo reel. But until then, I'm doing manual work. It's good work but the hours don't leave me with time for a life (definitely not school either).

 

[jason10mm]

I work in manufacturing in quality control. Been here for 5 years. Just got a raise by about 3 dollars (obviously not an office job). Due to all the stuff I've had to go through, I failed school and, thanks to the deferment, won't have to start paying on my student loans until February next year.

I WANT to work in entertainment... Specifically voice over work. Still need to do my demo reel. But until then, I'm doing manual work. It's good work but the hours don't leave me with time for a life (definitely not school either).

Well, bests of luck man. Not sure I think taxpayers ought to foot the bill for a deaf guy who went to school and then tried to do VO for a living though...

 

[Excess]

I'm genuinely curious if folks think student loan forgiveness is now some sort of human right or something just because bad shit happens

I have a better idea. Let's allow all the students to default on their debt obligations without retaliation so that all these for-profit educational institutions go bankrupt. As a product of both the undergrad and graduate system, I can confidently say that my simple curiosity and experiences of the world have been more beneficial to me in life than any formal education, and I have thus placed very little value in ever recommending it to anyone.

 

[DeafTourette]

Well, bests of luck man. Not sure I think taxpayers ought to foot the bill for a deaf guy who went to school and then tried to do VO for a living though...

Ok

 

[Taxexemption]

I would postulate that if you are functional enough to get an education then you ought to be functional enough to work.

But I admit I know nothing John Snow about the specifics of this bill and who exactly qualifies so I stand ready to be edumacated.

There is a place for individual responsibility, but frankly, few people can really do a rational cost benefit analysis to decide if a college education is appropriate or whether the degree they are pursuing makes sense at the age that they receive that education. Institutions shouldn't be letting you get these loans if an accountant with a calculator would say "No, this is not justifiable." The cost of education is out of hand, and the system does not make sense. The amount of tuition or the amount they can loan you should be based on actuarial calculations of expected income, and there should be hard limits.


I'm all for personal responsibility, but what of the institutions? What is their role? Why can they loan ridiculous sums of money to a young adult that might not even understand how loans work? I'll let you make this 100% about personal responsibility, but only if you let kids who graduate high school but can demonstrate a lack of knowledge about basic financial matters sue their high school for graduating them without giving them a proper education.


Also, the young adult isn't equipped to do the research. Heck, almost no one is. A lot of commonly used statistics on income for professions don't count people who got an education but were unable to get a job in their field. So, lets say I get a degree in film production (I did not), when I try to do research I'm probably looking at statistics about people who actually got a job in this field. How many people that graduate are unable to and do something completely different where their degree only plays a minor role in their compensation?

 

[Burning Blade]

The way I see it, good. Let us Americans get a fucking hand out once in a while. We certainly fund enough stupid fucking shit that I find abhorrent and have no say in. Shit that doesn’t give us any return on investment whether financially or societally. I’d rather decrease our foreign investment, weapons budgets and “nation building”, and tax cuts for the corporate oligarchs. The same companies that have been allowed to control public discourse by sticking their dirty fucking hands in the government cookie jar. Companies that have behaved incredibly predatorily after being allowed skirt around anti-trust laws. Start letting companies “too big to fail” fail. We subsidize the shit out of these leeches. That’s our money. I’d rather spend it back on us. Not everything needs to benefit me at all times. After all the debacles or recent memory, I don’t really have a problem with helping the disabled.

 

[DeafTourette]

The way I see it, good. Let us Americans get a fucking hand out once in a while. We certainly fund enough stupid fucking shit that I find abhorrent and have no say in. Shit that doesn’t give us any return on investment whether financially or societally. I’d rather decrease our foreign investment, weapons budgets and “nation building”, and tax cuts for the corporate oligarchs. The same companies that have been allowed to control public discourse by sticking their dirty fucking hands in the government cookie jar. Companies that have behaved incredibly predatorily after being allowed skirt around anti-trust laws. Start letting companies “too big to fail” fail. We subsidize the shit out of these leeches. That’s our money. I’d rather spend it back on us. Not everything needs to benefit me at all times. After all the debacles or recent memory, I don’t really have a problem with helping the disabled.

Amen! Even if I can't benefit from this, I don't mind my taxes being used for this either. And this is just for the disabled. Not every American.

I find it funny folks want change but student loan forgiveness isn't one of them. "I suffered so you have to suffer also!"

 

[CrankyJay™]

So….basically everyone that agreed to an art or sociology major?

 

[DeafTourette]

So….basically everyone that agreed to an art or sociology major?

No

 

[Punished Miku]

Amen! Even if I can't benefit from this, I don't mind my taxes being used for this either. And this is just for the disabled. Not every American.

I find it funny folks want change but student loan forgiveness isn't one of them. "I suffered so you have to suffer also!"

Same. I just paid mine off this year. I still support this. The entire system is messed up like T Taxexemption so eloquently stated. People that have been screwed are the first ones to know how out of hand it is. We have to fix things so this can't keep happening to people, even if it's not directly benefitting us. A functioning society is nothing if we can't realize that we're in this together on some level. People should go look at Afghanistan for an example of what happens when we can't help each other out and benefit society a bit.

 

[Nobody_Important]

Well, bests of luck man. Not sure I think taxpayers ought to foot the bill for a deaf guy who went to school and then tried to do VO for a living though...

I don't think the taxpayers should foot the bill for a lot of things, but here we are. At least this is for something that is actually worth it.

 

[jason10mm]

I don't think the taxpayers should foot the bill for a lot of things, but here we are. At least this is for something that is actually worth it.

Shouldn't it get put to a vote?

I feel bad for single parents, failed business owners, entrepreneurs, folks in accidents, folks that get hit by natural disasters, and folks impacted by civil unrest. Should they all get their college debt forgiven?

Taking on debt, particularly student loans, is a tricky process with lots of risk. But just forgiving it to the tune of billions of dollars because shit didn't work out well ought to be a discussed and debated move IMHO.

 

[Nobody_Important]

Shouldn't it get put to a vote?

No.


Nothing else the taxpayers have to pay for get put to a vote I see no reason why this should be any different. It gives aid to those who desperately need it. That is better than what can be said for at least half of what taxpayers pay for.

 

[jason10mm]

No.


Nothing else the taxpayers have to pay for get put to a vote I see no reason why this should be any different. It gives aid to those who desperately need it. That is better than what can be said for at least half of what taxpayers pay for.

You..... Are aware we (as in our elected representatives) vote on a budget,... right? The president doesn't just get to dictate where the money goes.

Anyway, this sounds like they are relaxing the application and monitoring requirements of an already approved program. So while I'm sure a few hundred million are gonna go to grifters, for the most part it ought to be legit. Chump change amirite?

 

[Nobody_Important]

You..... Are aware we (as in our elected representatives) vote on a budget,... right?

That vote isn't worth the toilet paper its written on and you know it. The budget is gonna pass every single year and look basically the same regardless of who is in office.



This is a good thing that was done here. Sorry you don't see that. I will not say anymore because I am not gonna catch a ban for politics.

 

[haxan7]

This is a good thing, but it will be used as a carrot on a stick to keep feeding into the false promises of certain groups.

 

[CGiRanger]

This is a good thing, but it will be used as a carrot on a stick to keep feeding into the false promises of certain groups.

The timing of the announcement is certainly suspect unless this was something that couldn't be announced until now for some reason.

 

[jason10mm]

That vote isn't worth the toilet paper its written on and you know it. The budget is gonna pass every single year and look basically the same regardless of who is in office.



This is a good thing that was done here. Sorry you don't see that. I will not say anymore because I am not gonna catch a ban for politics.

Man, you got a short memory or you don't work for a big company with gov contracts. In the past 10 years the gov has failed to pass a budget and went into furloughing fed workers at least twice, maybe 3 times. Passing a budget with infinite pork is far from certain.

But in this case it seems more like relaxing an establish programs standards than fresh bacon so it is slightly more palatable.

 

[Boss Mog]

If it's to help actual disabled people who studied something worthwhile then sure, but if it's to help the typical "disabled" resetera user repay their gender studies classes then no thanks.

 

[Faust]

No politics.