Thanks, Jim, for your thoughtful comments! You're correct that the compounding interest is a major culprit. Your observation of the shifting of the burden from the state to the student also is a significant factor. That goes back to the era when the state perceived that education was a common good that we all should invest in. Thank you for keeping me on my toes, too; the word "not" is pretty important to the comparison made to 1968-9! Thanks again, Jim, I'm glad that you caught up with this column in the Iowa Capital Dispatch!
I somehow missed this when it originally came out, but saw it in the Capital Dispatch this morning. If I was in charge (ha!),my preference would be to make the loans interest free retroactively and in the future rather than forgive now and leave the existing system in place. It seems like a lot of people are in trouble from the compounding interest rather than the initial borrowing. I also noticed an error in your post. You stated that the $1545 cost was adjusted for inflation, but it should say not adjusted for inflation. The figure comes from the current, not the constant dollar column in the NCES table. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d17/tables/dt17_330.10.asp
One other thing that is a problem for today’s students in public institutions is how the distribution of costs has moved from the state to the student. I seem to remember reading, but I couldn’t find a citation, that old guys like me paid about 30% and the state picked up 70%. The article said that those percentages are now switched.
Is this accurate? "To date, about four billion borrowers in more than 40 states already have had nearly $153 billion cancelled by the two dozen executive steps taken by the Biden administration." Four billion borrowers?
This comment is especially important: "But luck, timing, and the mere accident of birth play a huge role in our success. Very few of us are self-made."
Can we not attribute most of our life's existence to accident of birth: our socioeconomic status, our opportunities, our family stability/instability, and even our religious beliefs?
Thank you for your perceptive and relevant article.
Thanks, Jim, for your thoughtful comments! You're correct that the compounding interest is a major culprit. Your observation of the shifting of the burden from the state to the student also is a significant factor. That goes back to the era when the state perceived that education was a common good that we all should invest in. Thank you for keeping me on my toes, too; the word "not" is pretty important to the comparison made to 1968-9! Thanks again, Jim, I'm glad that you caught up with this column in the Iowa Capital Dispatch!
How many people who didn’t inherit farmland pay taxes that support subsidies for people like your friend?
I somehow missed this when it originally came out, but saw it in the Capital Dispatch this morning. If I was in charge (ha!),my preference would be to make the loans interest free retroactively and in the future rather than forgive now and leave the existing system in place. It seems like a lot of people are in trouble from the compounding interest rather than the initial borrowing. I also noticed an error in your post. You stated that the $1545 cost was adjusted for inflation, but it should say not adjusted for inflation. The figure comes from the current, not the constant dollar column in the NCES table. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d17/tables/dt17_330.10.asp
One other thing that is a problem for today’s students in public institutions is how the distribution of costs has moved from the state to the student. I seem to remember reading, but I couldn’t find a citation, that old guys like me paid about 30% and the state picked up 70%. The article said that those percentages are now switched.
Is this accurate? "To date, about four billion borrowers in more than 40 states already have had nearly $153 billion cancelled by the two dozen executive steps taken by the Biden administration." Four billion borrowers?
This comment is especially important: "But luck, timing, and the mere accident of birth play a huge role in our success. Very few of us are self-made."
Can we not attribute most of our life's existence to accident of birth: our socioeconomic status, our opportunities, our family stability/instability, and even our religious beliefs?
Thank you for your perceptive and relevant article.