Who Will Pay My Student Loans?

For the past week or so there's been an Obama radio ad running in this area that just infuriates me. I get worked up and end up yelling for half an hour or so, much to my husband's delight.

I haven't been able to locate the ad online to share, but it features a young female saying something like, "I'm a 25 year old with so much student loan debt. Who is going to help me?!" The ad goes on with the usual speil about Obama and change.

I'm not anti-Obama, but this ad pisses me RIGHT OFF, and I surprised there's not state-wide outrage over it. Is there anyone in Texas who feels that it's the PRESIDENT'S JOB to PAY OFF YOUR STUDENT LOANS?

Consider your ass lucky to have a college education and be responsible and pay your bills or suffer the consequences. On what planet is a healthy, college-educated 20-something (presumably single and childless) considered in need or in some kind of dire situation just because she has to make student loan payments?

In my family the payments we make on various debts including our vehicle, student loans, (soon!) mortgage, and good old fashioned credit card debt would make your hair curl. Is the solution to our on-the-brink-of-over-extended-ness some sort of Presidential proclamation?

Of all the many, many problems in our nation, is THIS the one that's important enough to be run in a radio ad prior to a Primary vote? REALLY?!?!?!

What, exactly, does Obama feel he (or more accurately, the American taxpayers) should do about a healthy, educated 25 year old who is being asked to pay back (at low interest rate) the money she borrowed to educate herself to prepare for a satisfying and financially beneficial career?

EVERYONE has student loans! (Ok, not literally everyone, but most of us fortunate enough to have been able to attend a college/university/trade school, left school with some amount of student loans.) We all have to suck it up and pay for it!

Obama, I'm a 29 year old mother of 3, and I have student loans and a car payment, and a cell phone, and credit card debt for unneccessary crap I bought years ago, AND I have to buy food every day! Who will help me? It's just not fair that I have expenses and that I have to be responsible for financial choices I make! Isn't there something the President of the United States can do to make sure I can afford to take my kids to Disney World this summer?!? Where's the justice in this world?

ARRRRGGHGHHHH!!

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Tags: democrat

Comments 26 - 50 (62)

His entire message is "let me take care of it, because you shouldn't have to". Which is why he seems to be so popular among those who have never had to take care of themselves in their lives.

Unless someone is supporting you, it would be really tough to get through college without being deep in debt when you're finished because the cost of living is so high now.

Not true. When you were in college, the minimum wage was a lot lower (as were costs). SO nothing has really changed. I ran up (what for me was astronomical) debt when I was in college in the 70s. And paid it off. It was the price of putting myself through college because I wanted it. And my parents could not afford it.

Gee an alleged ad you can find no evidence of. Way to start a post with such "sterling" evidence.

Second. If you look at the facts college is indeed many times more expensive now than it was when our parents or grandparents attended. The tuition at the school I attended has gone up over 150% in the ten years since I graduated.

At that rate when I have kids it will likely cost what would have been a year in the ivy league for me to send my kids for a year of a state school.

How many previous generations spent thirty to forty years paying off their loans?

Unless someone is supporting you, it would be really tough to get through college without being deep in debt when you're finished because the cost of living is so high now.Not true. When you were in college, the minimum wage was a lot lower (as were costs). SO nothing has really changed. I ran up (what for me was astronomical) debt when I was in college in the 70s. And paid it off. It was the price of putting myself through college because I wanted it. And my parents could not afford it.

Except that every year since you graduated the cost of college has gone up exponentially higher than the rate of inflation or cost of living. Its mathematically impossible for college to equal out to what it cost even ten years ago, let alone the 70's.

So I guess we need Obama to pay tuition then, huh.

So because it is more expensive the gov should pay for it?

Sorry I don't think so.

There are numerous programs, the military GI Bill being one, which really go along way (if not all the way) in paying for a college degree. In fact while you are in the military they will pay 75% to all of your tuition while on active duty, and you STILL get the GI Bill once you're out. A double payday.

That's just one avenue.

This whole "have to get a loan to go to college" line is crap. College may have to be delayed for four years or so while accumulating the money to attend, but it certainly isn't the gov's responsibility to pay for it.

If a kid can't afford college they have other choices besides loans. Granted, they are usually harder, require more effort and time, but then who ever said a college education was supposed to be free and easy?

So I guess we need Obama to pay tuition then, huh.

You need Obama so we actually have a President who gives a DAMN about someone who makes less than a million dollars a year. We need Obama so we can have a VP who doesn't have a profit incentive to destroy the US economy like Cheney does. We need Obama so we have a President who is actually capable of comprehending the difference between dissent and treason.

There are numerous programs, the military GI Bill being one, which really go along way (if not all the way) in paying for a college degree.

Except that the GI Bills maximum benefits won't even pay for the costs of most state schools anymore, let alone a quality education. I work in student financial aid, I know what Bush's robber baron bretheren are doing to the students of this country and they deserve prison sentences.

I work in student financial aid, I know what Bush's robber baron bretheren are doing to the students of this country and they deserve prison sentences.

So do a lot of people working in college financial offices. ;~D

No but tuition assistance while AD will cover it nicely.

My GI bill covered three years at a great university, then the fourth I was on academic scholarship.

If you truly believe that you have no idea what the actual cost of attendance is at schools anymore.

I work in student financial aid, I know what Bush's robber baron bretheren are doing to the students of this country and they deserve prison sentences.So do a lot of people working in college financial offices. ;~D

Not true at all, there are specific federal regulations as to how those funds have to be handled. When you see federally secured stafford loans where the lenders are charging 5% for the loan to even occur when they bear no risk is utterly criminal.

If you truly believe that you have no idea what the actual cost of attendance is at schools anymore.

Well since I am starting my Master's Degree in the fall I guess you're right.

I'm doing it without borrowing a single dollar....imagine that!

If you truly believe that you have no idea what the actual cost of attendance is at schools anymore.Well since I am starting my Master's Degree in the fall I guess you're right.I'm doing it without borrowing a single dollar....imagine that!

Your profile says you are 39, so you are saying they should put school off for twenty years? How much money do you suppose they are going to make trying to actually have a family with no degree in this day and age?

Granted with the Bush junta in charge soon people with a degree will be lucky to make over minimum wage.

Your profile says you are 39, so you are saying they should put school off for twenty years?

No, I put off college for four years while I was WORKING in the military and getting the GI bill so I wouldn't have to take out a loan.

I used that degree for years, working, saving, until my kids came. They are old enough now I can go back for a masters...and you know what? I'm paying almost the same for my Masters as my BA some twelve years later (and at different universities in diff states).

The point is, everyone has the opportunity to attend college in this country. No one is promised the RIGHT to it. No one is promised a free ride.

There are alternatives to borrowing money...are they as easy?

No.

But they are there.

No, I put off college for four years while I was WORKING in the military and getting the GI bill so I wouldn't have to take out a loan.

Just say you work for four years, making 20,000 a year and saved EVERY SINGLE PENNY without paying a single cent of taxes. Then maybe you could pay for school in four years.

If you have any pesky little things like food, rent, taxes or any single expense then you can forget about it.

I don't know where you want to go to college...but maybe you should consider one within your budget..there are lots of them cheaper than $20,000 a year. That's ridiculous.

About 56 percent of students enrolled at four-year colleges or universities attend institutions that charge tuition and fees of less than $9,000 per year. 43 percent of full-time students enrolled in public four-year colleges and universities attend institutions that charge tuition and fees between $3,000 and $6,000.
While private four-year institutions have a much wider range of tuition and fee charges, only about 6 percent of all students attend colleges with tuition and fees totaling $33,000 or higher per year.

Public two-year $2,361 (up 4.2 percent from last year) 22 percent of all full-time students attend public two-year colleges.
For full-time dependent students at public two-year colleges, net tuition and fees are no more than 2% of the family income.

About two-thirds of all full-time undergraduate students receive grant aid. In 2007-08, estimated aid in the form of grants and tax benefits averaged about $2,040 per student at public two-year colleges, about $3,600 at public four-year colleges, and about $9,300 per student at private four-year colleges.

WWW Link

If you are serving your country for four years, you can take advantage of tuition assistance which is 75% - 100% of the cost of classes. Then you get your PAYCHECK to live on. It requires sacrifice, sure, and working around your schedule..so what?

If someone chooses to take out a loan, that's fine. But no whining about paying it back.

It's borrowed money, wasn't theirs in the first place. Not paying it back is akin to stealing.

I don't know where you want to go to college...but maybe you should consider one within your budget..there are lots of them cheaper than $20,000 a year. That's ridiculous.About 56 percent of students enrolled at four-year colleges or universities attend institutions that charge tuition and fees of less than $9,000 per year. 43 percent of full-time students enrolled in public four-year colleges and universities attend institutions that charge tuition and fees between $3,000 and $6,000. While private four-year institutions have a much wider range of tuition and fee charges, only about 6 percent of all students attend colleges with tuition and fees totaling $33,000 or higher per year. Public two-year $2,361 (up 4.2 percent from last year) 22 percent of all full-time students attend public two-year colleges. For full-time dependent students at public two-year colleges, net tuition and fees are no more than 2% of the family income. About two-thirds of all full-time undergraduate students receive grant aid. In 2007-08, estimated aid in the form of grants and tax benefits averaged about $2,040 per student at public two-year colleges, about $3,600 at public four-year colleges, and about $9,300 per student at private four-year colleges. WWW Link

Your "source" is a group that is trying to sell you something. Thats like asking GW thoughts about what someone who actually supports the constitution believes. You are dealing with a biased source with little to no interest in a legitimate view of th eissue.

"Only the military would hand something as deadly as an M-16 to someone who isn't responsible enough to save for college"~ ParaTed2k's (Not So) Famous Sayings. ;~D

Your "source" is a group that is trying to sell you something.

The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the association is composed of more than 5,400 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations. Each year, the College Board serves seven million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools, and 3,500 colleges through major programs and services in college admissions, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and teaching and learning. Among its best-known programs are the SAT®, the PSAT/NMSQT®, and the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®). The College Board is committed to the principles of excellence and equity, and that commitment is embodied in all of its programs, services, activities, and concerns.

What exactly do you have a problem with here? How is this source biased?

You said it takes $20,000 in tuition. That's bogus for all but a small percentage of the population. Your exaggeration makes your argument weak.

I often find people (who want a free ride) over exaggerating their cause, and when called on it revert to attacking the facts as not factual, or the person presenting them.

Please feel free to link an average college tuition site that refutes these numbers and supports your $20,000 a year scenario.

Until then, your opinion on the national average is just that, opinion.

"Only the military would hand something as deadly as an M-16 to someone who isn't responsible enough to save for college"~

Or allow someone to drive nuclear and conventional weapons around with a driver's permit.

The average tuition at four-year public colleges and universities is $5,836 for the 2006-07 school year.

This source should make you happy, its from a liberal news media site...

WWW Link

You mean the one that quotes THE EXACT SAME SITE YOU TRIED TO QUOTE EARLIER?

I didn't try, I actually did quote it.

Your contention is that they are trying to sell me something and therefore bias.

So what is CNN money trying to sell me?

The purpose of the second link (which obviously eludes you) is to show that even LIBERAL NEWS MEDIA consider it a legitimate source. Which nips your whole bias theory right in the butt.

Your $20,000 a year scenario is bogus. You want champagne taste on a beer budget, and worse think it all should be free....

I'm so glad it's not.

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Obama Says, Send ME the Bill!