Cost of schools not that important?

Just wondering, with the implementation of income based repayment programs, why are the costs that important? Also, if you work for a government agency, school, etc., after 120 payments (10 years) whatever is left on the loan is forgiven. So essentially you could go into a monstrous amount of debt, yet only pay a fraction of the total cost.

 

And what if you loose that government or school job after 5 or so years? What if congress changes their mind about loan forgiveness? What if you actually get a very good paying job, or married to a spouse that has the high paying job? You can be stuck paying huge bills under IBR if you take on enourmous college debt.

 

To me, disregarding the cost and taking on a mountain of student loan debt with the intent that you are going to pay as little as possible for 10 years with a large portion of it getting washed away is unethical.

 

Issues of ethics are always up for debate. But if it was THAT unethical, it wouldn't be offered.

If you lose that government job then it changes to 25 years instead of 10. And if you get another government job at the 119th payment, you can change it to the 10 year plan again and the very next month your student debt is erased.

If you get a higher paying job, you do pay more in loan payments, but your making more money. Your payment will go up at a fraction of what your overall gross income increase is. So in the end you're still making more money than you were before.

I just fail to see how this can be a bad thing. It's easy to see how people are willing to take on 100k of loans or more in order to obtain the terminal degrees they desire. If you are a teacher, government worker, county worker, etc., you can go get an online degree that costs 60k and pay back 30k of it before it's forgiven. Sounds like a winning situation for the borrower (not so much for the tax payer, though).

 

And I think the idea is that some government jobs, such as teachers, require additional schooling to become certified. These programs aren't cheap, and so the government steps in and says, "hey, thanks for the service you're providing. We know you had to take on tons of debt for jack-crap pay, so we're going to give you a break on what you owe if you continue to offer this service." Doesn't sound that unethical to me.

 

OK, then you're all set.

 

Thanks for the insight and in depth analysis.

 

To me cost is very important. The idea that "someone else will pay my way through life" seems irresponsible. Transferring my debt onto the American taxpayer seems akin to welfare fraud.

 

You're probably right, but the problem here is it's legal. There's no fraud at all. You're taking out loans to pay for higher education so you can be a better civil servant and contribute more to society, and the gov't is offering a way to relieve you of that debt for service to them.

In fact, it's really no different than a dentist or doctor having the military pay for their schooling, which could cost up to 300k when all is said and done, in exchange for 4 years of service to them.

 

Does the loan forgiveness apply to local public school teachers?

 

Yes. It applies to anyone working for a government, local, county, state, federal. So if you were teaching for a Christian school or a private university, you'd have to continue to pay for 25 years. Public school teachers are eligible for the 10 year forgiveness option.

 

But it's not "the government," it's me, the taxpayer, and I'd like you to pay your own bills.

 

It also applies to employees of 501(c)3 organizations, so you can be an employee of a private, nonprofit university.

 

Here's the link to the requirements:

http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/attachments/siteresources/LoanForgivenessv4.pdf

I plan to exercise the forgiveness option in 8 more years. IMHO, there is no ethical dilemma.

 

Loan Forgiveness:

1. If you are working for the government in any capacity and you are making over a certain amount per year in salary, say 85k per year and accepting government benefits which are usually excellent, I'd say that you should not be eligible for loan forgiveness on the grounds that there are people with educations making similar salaries in private positions with worse benefits that don't get the same deal.

2. If you are working for the government in a role that is less in demand and your salary reflects it.. say 60k or less per year and you're making a real difference in people's lives, then I'm all for loan forgiveness.. especially if you're teaching or doing civil service work. (family care etc.)

3. If your job requires you to take the risk of being shot at and you're in public safety, or active service front line military, we should be paying your tuition and your children's no questions asked.

The problem is the host of people in government service that may be getting the benefit while also bringing in a large salary or while doing work that is only civil service in association. If those people are receiving the benefit.

 

OK, here's my in-depth analysis. You're a newbie on this board and you enter by making a series of provocative statements/questions and then when you're challenged you slowly back away from your original premise. You ask people for their opinions and when these are offered you only want to argue with them. Put it all together and it spells T-R-O-L-L. It doesn't need to go deeper than that.

 

I love you, Kiz. I really do.

My statements have hardly been provocative. Sure, I can come off as a bit strong, but in an online forum it can be good for debate. And I can absolutely back off of previous statements if I feel I've been provided with enough information and I've decided I was wrong, at least partially. Is there something wrong with that?

I love to have people pick apart my opinions with fact. I also like to pick apart others. I have no problem with that, as long as if someone tells me I'm wrong they back it up with some sort of fact (unless of course they state that it's purely their own opinion). If you can't have a discussion with me without being offended by rebuttals, then I'm sorry. I'm not sure what else to say.

But I really do think you're the cat's meow.

 

I never said I was offended. Frankly, I'm bored.

 

And that's why we love you. A sense of humor to go along with the wit of a degreeinfo mod genius.

 

Don't forget that the remaining debt after 25 years under the IBR plan will count as taxable income. So after years of paying the minimum down on 100K worth of loans...it's now ballooned to over 200K. Add that to whatever you're making that year and you'll be paying a lot in taxes. I like to call these TAX BOMBS.