• dumples@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    1 year ago

    I know it would do a lot for my household but there are people with 6 figure debts. I am glad that it is doubled for Pell Grants since those are more needs based. Its still a small portion for those who need it most

    • ViridianNott@kbin.socialOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      I am just very weary of the idea that the government should use federal funds to bail out people who simply made poor decisions. Plenty of people get through college with a reasonable amount of debt, instead of some insane 6-figure total. Let me elaborate:

      My girlfriend is a graduate student with a family poor enough to qualify her for the Pell grant, and yet she will have less than 50k in debt when she graduates! Better yet, she only took out so much in loans because she knows that she can expect to earn a 6-figure salary with her pharmacy degree. Her pharmacy school costs $40,000 a year, and yet she is able to pay most of that money up front by working 30-hour weeks during the school year, and 50-hour weeks during the summer). It’s tough on her, but she has an incredibly bright future ahead because of the hard work.

      If you look at the demographics, the poorest people in our society - those who are food insecure and/or homeless, have a median of 0 DOLLARS of student loan debt. That’s because many of them were too poor to even consider college in the first place! Those with 6-figure debt are often members of the middle class who didn’t come up with a reasonable plan for paying what they owe based on their credentials, and didn’t take measures to reduce their loans during college. Instead of using federal funds on those people, I want it to go to someone who is truly in need.

      • motolav@lemmy.sdf.org
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        It costs the government nothing to forgive the debt as it’s debt they hold, they aren’t buying loans to forgive like some organizations. They’re all department of education loans the government always owned.

        • ViridianNott@kbin.socialOP
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          Not true. The money they receive from loan repayments is factored into the national budget, so forgiving loans means that the government has less money for other programs.

          It’s true that they’re not literally spending money here, but it’s the same end result.