Quote:
Originally Posted by Scanner
Well, that's what I kind of wanted to avoid - the moral dimensions of this proposal,because for some reason, it strikes people as more morally acceptable to give out a tax break to a solar panel company supposedly making jobs (even though there is usually no accountablity on that), then it does to a bunch of new grads saddled with debt.
Morality aside, I wonder what would have the biggest impact economically.
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Well as you've learned, it's unavoidable.
It's hard to believe but part of the reason our country remains mired in political and financial gridlock is due to emotion. Everyone's angry and feels they've been screwed while someone else is getting something for nothing - usually at the expense of the angry person. Therefore no one is willing to make a concession for the greater good if they think someone might not have it as bad as they did. So here we are.
In terms of your proposal, I am not sure if it would make a significant positive difference. The issue is jobs creation. Loan or no loan, you are not going to spend money if you don't have a job. And if your degree is in women's history and leaf science, you're not going to have a job to spend extra money on anyway.
Besides,if we are going to reform education we should return to an emphasis on vocational education and trade skills. Nowadays, it seems like kids are steered to college or nothing. There's no in between. That's a significant factor in the loss of the middle class that doesn't get enough attention.
Perhaps instead of forgiving student loan debt outright there could be an exchange: we'll forgive the loan if you apprentice yourself to XYZ trade and spend XYZ years working for the feds/state/local government applying those skills.
10-22-2011, 06:19 AM
