Wall Street Protests

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

And when you start to tell me that my tax money has to go to paying off your college debt, you are a god damm fool. Does anyone think these protests are going to get any multi-million dollar Corporation anywhere to suddenly change the way they do business?

The protests aren't going to change anything but I'm guessing a lot of the calls for government to pay off student debts has to do with the fact that many large Corporations had their debts paid off by the government for making bad decisions while these students will not. I disagree with the logic, I do believe in personal responsibility, but student debt is going to be a very large problem that has the chance of affecting everyone either directly or indirectly, so it shouldn't just instantly be dismissed. Also, it isn't a 30 year experienced CEO making mistakes, they are kids who can't even legally drink that are being exploited by the Universities to pay for research, which is actually very true. I don't necessarily feel bad for them but I will acknowledge that the entire University system is pretty messed up.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

The protests aren't going to change anything but I'm guessing a lot of the calls for government to pay off student debts has to do with the fact that many large Corporations had their debts paid off by the government for making bad decisions while these students will not. I disagree with the logic, I do believe in personal responsibility, but student debt is going to be a very large problem that has the chance of affecting everyone either directly or indirectly, so it shouldn't just instantly be dismissed.

Does not change the fact that these FOOLS think I, a tax payer should pay off THEIR debt. Screw them. I am paying for my own kids to go to college. Don't think for one minute that I am going to pay off their debt, regardless of the reason or some other esoteric bull shit reason.

Also, it isn't a 30 year experienced CEO making mistakes, they are kids who can't even legally drink that are being exploited by the Universities to pay for research, which is actually very true. I don't necessarily feel bad for them but I will acknowledge that the entire University system is pretty messed up.

I don't know. Don't the universities exploit their athlete's that they make millions of dollars off of and the athlete gets nothing for their service, other than on some occasions, a scholarship?

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Does not change the fact that these FOOLS think I, a tax payer should pay off THEIR debt. Screw them. I am paying for my own kids to go to college. Don't think for one minute that I am going to pay off their debt, regardless of the reason or some other esoteric bull shit reason.

Esoteric? C'mon. It is obvious that the housing bubble was bad for everyone and the recession probably would have been much worse if many of the big finance corporations went under. College graduates make up a large portion of the middle class so it is pretty clear that if many graduates cannot pay off their debt, there are going to large economic issues that will affect everyone.

The question of whether we should do anything about it is a completely topic though.

I don't know. Don't the universities exploit their athlete's that they make millions of dollars off of and the athlete gets nothing for their service, other than on some occasions, a scholarship?

Of course they exploit collegiate athletes. They also exploit most of the liberal arts undergraduate students as well. Assuming we are talking about a research university, their reputation depends almost entirely on research and graduate programs. So in order to pay for the research, professors, and graduate programs, along with a lot of other things, a large stream of undergraduates are needed for tuition money. Then they proceed to offer student loans to everyone which can be used for anything the students want.

That is why it is recommended to go to a community college for the first two years, and maybe even a smaller college to finish an undergraduate degree. You basically get the same education for a lot cheaper.

As I said earlier, in general I don't necessarily feel bad for the students with loans that they can't pay off. They should be mature enough at age 18, especially 20, to realize that college is considered an investment and the risks involved with picking a liberal arts major. But, unfortunately, research colleges do not emphasize the practical aspect of picking a major but the "follow your dreams" type argument (which is legitimate but impractical at times).

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

Esoteric? C'mon. It is obvious that the housing bubble was bad for everyone and the recession probably would have been much worse if many of the big finance corporations went under. College graduates make up a large portion of the middle class so it is pretty clear that if many graduates cannot pay off their debt, there are going to large economic issues that will affect everyone.

Well that still is no reason for my tax payer dollars to go to a single penny of paying off some fools debt.

[Stormieweather]

And yet, that is precisely what your tax dollars did with TARP. Pay off some fool's debt...some "too big to fail" fools.

Bailout Status

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Stormieweather

And yet, that is precisely what your tax dollars did with TARP. Pay off some fool's debt...some "too big to fail" fools.

I can't agree more. They should have allowed them to go bankrupt.