# Student loans are the work of Satan **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 12, 2014, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-loans-are-the-work-of-satan/698323 "2014-09-12T18:23:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-loans-are-the-work-of-satan/698323/1 "2014-09-12T18:23:46Z")
Boy, I thought the UK was bad but I read that American student loans can never be forgiven ? Why should student loans be different from other ones ? ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-loans-are-the-work-of-satan/698323/2 "2014-09-12T18:38:06Z")
I don’t know where you read that, but a bare little bit of Googling will tell you it’s totally [false](https://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/charts/public-service). You need much better sources. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-loans-are-the-work-of-satan/698323/3 "2014-09-12T18:38:13Z")
[Apparently not true.](http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1894445) ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-loans-are-the-work-of-satan/698323/4 "2014-09-12T18:56:34Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > Boy, I thought the UK was bad but I read that American student loans can never be forgiven ? Why should student loans be different from other ones ? Why should student loans be forgiven in the first place? More precisely, I guess they should be in the same category as any other investment or speculation such as borrowing money for the stock market. As long as they are in that category, I’d be OK with it. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-loans-are-the-work-of-satan/698323/5 "2014-09-12T19:19:32Z")
Not seeing a lot of debate here. Off to the BBQ Pit for outrage. ---
**Author:** ![hyden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/35a633/32.png) [@hyden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hyden)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-loans-are-the-work-of-satan/698323/6 "2014-09-12T19:36:09Z")
My GF works for a callcenter that handles federal student loans. Apparently there is an income based repayment plan that if you qualify you are generally paying less than 100% of your annually accrued interest. Basically your loan totals increase year over year. After 20 years, if you have made your payments on time and still qualify for the program (basically you still make crap money after 20 years), your loan is forgiven. This was a recent (4 years or so) addition by Obama. Assuming you rack up your 50k in debt and actually get a decent job, you’re doomed to live a modest life for a large part of your adult life until its paid off. I didnt go to college, managed to land a decent job at a bank and now they are paying me to go to school…so I can pay off my GF’s 45k in loans for her psych degree she doesnt use at her call center job…lol. I do not feel that we need full goverment paid education, but we do need some controls on what these schools charge. I am going to a community college and 705.00 for 4 books for one semester is outrageous, not to mention the tuition costs. There should be restrictions on what these institutions can charge. Unlike some industries, there is no way to rationalize the increase in costs over the last 20-30 years, other than ‘we did because we can’. ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-loans-are-the-work-of-satan/698323/7 "2014-09-12T19:42:41Z")
God knows I think government involvement in this would be a disaster. A college degree is an investment in a similar vein to stocks and bonds. And if your girlfriend invested $50k in a psych degree, well, that’s a bad investment pure and simple. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-loans-are-the-work-of-satan/698323/8 "2014-09-12T19:47:04Z")
Ten dollars for an Art History degree would be a rip-off. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-loans-are-the-work-of-satan/698323/9 "2014-09-12T19:47:16Z")
Government involvement in what? The student loan program which is a program of the FEDERAL government (with some private exceptions). The universities and colleges which a lot are part of the state government? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-loans-are-the-work-of-satan/698323/10 "2014-09-12T20:29:34Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > Boy, I thought the UK was bad but I read that American student loans can never be forgiven ? Why should student loans be different from other ones ? Same reason you can’t get out of income-tax debt by declaring bankruptcy: Student loans are federally guaranteed, so it would cost the federal government money, so Congress decided, no. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-loans-are-the-work-of-satan/698323/11 "2014-09-12T20:31:49Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Government involvement in what? The student loan program which is a program of the FEDERAL government (with some private exceptions). The universities and colleges which a lot are part of the state government? Do not muddy the waters with statements of fact, sir. If gov’t had any credible role to play in education they’d create public schools. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-loans-are-the-work-of-satan/698323/12 "2014-09-12T20:34:02Z")
Did you even read the thread **BrainGlutton**? There have been two cites, one even directly from the horse’s mouth (the federal government), that say student loans can be forgiven in certain circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-loans-are-the-work-of-satan/698323/13 "2014-09-12T20:41:39Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Did you even read the thread **BrainGlutton**? There have been two cites, one even directly from the horse’s mouth (the federal government), that say student loans can be forgiven in certain circumstances. Did you read the cites? The circumstances are extremely narrow. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-loans-are-the-work-of-satan/698323/14 "2014-09-12T20:54:31Z")
Yes I did, I even came up with one. The fact that they can be forgiven in even those narrow circumstances negates the statement that they can ‘ **never** be forgiven’. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-loans-are-the-work-of-satan/698323/15 "2014-09-12T21:03:57Z")
Interesting to see the American ideology of having no government help coming to the fore. It’s a strange thing to see people arguing for a more expensive education. There are plenty of people from the States on the web saying that student loans stick with you forever - like this [http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/15/us-student-loan-crisis-idUSBRE87E13L20120815](http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/15/us-student-loan-crisis-idUSBRE87E13L20120815) Seems like a self destructive way to live. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-loans-are-the-work-of-satan/698323/16 "2014-09-12T21:09:24Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > Interesting to see the American ideology of having no government help coming to the fore. It’s a strange thing to see people arguing for a more expensive education. > > There are plenty of people from the States on the web saying that student loans stick with you forever - like this [http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/15/us-student-loan-crisis-idUSBRE87E13L20120815](http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/15/us-student-loan-crisis-idUSBRE87E13L20120815) > > Seems like a self destructive way to live. Did you read the link I provided? ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-loans-are-the-work-of-satan/698323/17 "2014-09-12T21:11:18Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Did you read the link I provided? No. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-loans-are-the-work-of-satan/698323/18 "2014-09-12T21:12:35Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Yes I did, I even came up with one. The fact that they can be forgiven in even those narrow circumstances negates the statement that they can ‘ **never** be forgiven’. No more than the fact that Charles is going to be king of England and William after him negates the fact that none of us can ever be king of England. Not that I advocate making it easy to get school debts forgiven. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-loans-are-the-work-of-satan/698323/19 "2014-09-12T21:13:05Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > Why should student loans be different from other ones ? I have student loans and I am very glad they cannot be easily forgiven. Here is why: it helps to lower the interest rate. The loans are no-collateral loans. If you get a loan for a house or a car, and then don’t pay it, they come and repossess those things. This helps keep the interest rate down. But for education loans, there is nothing for them to repossess (they don’t wan’t your diploma). So they would have to jack up the interest rate on all the people who actually repay their loans to cover their losses from the people who don’t repay them. Rates for other non-collateral loans tend to be pretty high. Credit card rates are 12-20% Do I want to pay 15% interest on my student loans because some slackers decided they don’t want to repay theirs? No thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-loans-are-the-work-of-satan/698323/20 "2014-09-12T21:17:54Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Did you read the link I provided? > [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > No. So you are just going to spew a bunch of nonsense and expect everyone to read your links and just agree with you? Even though what you posted is pure nonsense and not the least bit true? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-loans-are-the-work-of-satan/698323.md?page=2)