08-25-2022, 01:15 PM
C(-)ris wrote:
[quote=Acer]
[quote=C(-)ris]
[quote=Acer]
It seems rather unChristian to begrudge the good fortune of others.
It isn't the good fortune that is begrudged. If they had funded this via lottery sales or a settlement against private colleges, or any other revenue source besides taxes that would be one thing. Even if they would have made it a tax deduction to reduce income taxes to zero that would have been more agreeable. But straight up gifting $20k to someone who made the conscious choice to be irresponsible with their future is....well, irresponsible with others money.
OK, I take issue with "irresponsible with their future." These are young people who made an investment in their future. They borrowed money to do it. BIG, DEAL. We borrow money to invest in a house, why not invest in a career--something that will bring returns for the rest of their lives? Most of them are up to date on their loans. Most of them are having to pay those loans back when they are at the lowest earning years of their new careers, while also getting married, having children, paying rent, saving for a house, repairing their cars. You may disagree that they need or deserve loan forgiveness, but there's no call to insult them.
We certainly do borrow money to invest in many things. Can I get $20k because I have a mortgage or a car loan? Perhaps a better idea than giving out free money would be to defer the payments(and no interest) 5 years from graduation.
I thought the point of the forgiveness was because the recipients weren't able to pay for the loans and keep a roof over their head. As in, they took out WAY to much in loans than they could possibly afford and it will take a lifetime to pay them back.
The people you are describing have the ability to pay the loans back and should continue to pay them on the normal payment schedule. They are not irresponsible, they are doing exactly what they should be doing. Investing in their future. However, if the government gives them a gift of $20k of taxpayer money the government is the irresponsible one. These aren't the people who need the $20k so they can eat and put a roof over the heads. They are just getting a nice chunk of change giving them an advantage over others for no reason.
The American mortgage system is one of the biggest government giveaways in our country's history. It has mostly benefitted white middle and upper income people and is a major driver of wealth inequality. You get a huge discount off taxes you would normally owe simply because you can afford to buy a house. And the bigger your loan, the more others with less money are picking up the slack.
Having the govt give handouts to wealthy people and corporations is so normailzed in our society that when the rest finally get a small piece of that, people lose their minds.
It's interesting.
