# Thousands of dollars in student debt cancelled. Good news, right? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 24, 2022, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242 "2022-08-24T19:55:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2022, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/221 "2022-08-26T22:17:13Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > To better state it, the butt-hurt responsible citizen is getting tired of watching the national debt rise because people make poor decisions. It’s just more vote-buying welfare prior to an election. Yes, this butt-hurt responsible citizen is tired of watching the wealthy get tax-cuts and corporations being bailed out, both of which contribute heavily to the national debt. But we’re talking about student loan debt in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Dahnlor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahnlor/32/533_2.png) [@Dahnlor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahnlor)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2022, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/222 "2022-08-26T22:21:09Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Eh, my undergrad degree wasn’t directly job-related. Until I specialized with graduate degrees, no employer cared what my major was, nor did grad programs (including the Ivy League). They cared that I completed a degree. I’ve had the same experience. I was hired for an entry-level call center job that wouldn’t have given me any consideration without a Bachelor’s degree, and the major didn’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2022, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/223 "2022-08-26T22:25:53Z")
This seems to have helped Biden slightly. > **[Biden’s job approval improves but 53% still think he’s doing a bad job: poll](https://nypost.com/2022/08/26/bidens-job-approval-rises-to-44-highest-in-a-year-gallup-poll/)** > > The latest Gallup poll shows that Joe Biden’s rating rose 6 percentage points since July, when his favorability sunk to the lowest level of any modem president at just 38%. The new boost come… The Atlantic thinks it would have been better targeted to students with incomes below 63K or couples below 125K. But these are quibbles. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/224 "2022-08-27T07:16:16Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Yes, this butt-hurt responsible citizen is tired of watching the wealthy get tax-cuts and corporations being bailed out, both of which contribute heavily to the national debt. And who do you think is paying the majority of the taxes? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/225 "2022-08-27T07:50:06Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > And who do you think is paying the majority of the taxes? Uh, the same wealthy people who have been encouraging, and in many cases making, all the bad decisions about under-taxing corporations and the wealthy that have landed us with this ballooning national debt? It continues to mystify me why conservatives still consider the 1% to be trustworthy guardians of the country’s best interests, when they are so clearly willing to drive the country into debt disaster in the long term in order to dodge as much tax as they can in the short term. It’s like they have a permanent grudge about having to be the ones who pay disproportionate amounts of the taxes (yeah, guys, it’s because you have disproportionate amounts of the money, duh). So they figure that anything they can do to weasel their way out of even their most obviously core basic responsibilities—such as not selfishly stiffing the country out of its needed revenues and driving it deeper into massive debt—is permissible. I mean, I can see why the 1% would find it convenient to think that way, but not why ordinary middle-class Republicans would give them a pass on it. But hell, they voted for Donald Trump, which has to be some kind of apotheosis of the attitude that rich people are entitled to do whatever they want, however disastrous it may be for others. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/226 "2022-08-27T08:38:56Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > > [@Broomstick](#): > > > > Yes, this butt-hurt responsible citizen is tired of watching the wealthy get tax-cuts and corporations being bailed out, both of which contribute heavily to the national debt. > > And who do you think is paying the majority of the taxes? The 99% who are not in the 1%, with emphasis on the middle class. Proportional to their income the poor pay a lot in various taxes that are not progressive in nature, but since they have so little it doesn’t amount to that much in absolute terms. We’ve been cutting taxes on the wealthy since Reagan and I don’t like the results. So lets go back to taxing them like we used to and at least pay down the national debt. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/227 "2022-08-27T15:45:03Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > We’ve been cutting taxes on the wealthy since Reagan and I don’t like the results. So lets go back to taxing them like we used to and at least pay down the national debt. Looking at taxes as a proportion of income is a pointless position to take. 10% of nothing is nothing. The wealthy pay most of the taxes and that’s a fact. Trying to take more and more money from them is a losing proposition because they can move their money and the jobs it creates to greener pastures. That will leave the middle class to pay for an economy riddled with national debt. Where are the poor in this scenario? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/228 "2022-08-27T16:13:02Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > The wealthy pay most of the taxes and that’s a fact. That’s because they have taken most of the money, and that’s a fact. > [@Magiver](#): > > Trying to take more and more money from them is a losing proposition because they can move their money and the jobs it creates to greener pastures. So, you buy into the deification of the wealthy as being the only source of jobs? I’ve never been wealthy, but I’ve created quite a number of jobs. > [@Magiver](#): > > That will leave the middle class to pay for an economy riddled with national debt. So, basically no change then? > [@Magiver](#): > > Where are the poor in this scenario? Well, if the wealthy have all taken their ball and gone home, then the poor now have an opportunity to make the money that used to be funnelled into the coffers of the wealthy. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/229 "2022-08-27T17:58:52Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > The wealthy pay most of the taxes and that’s a fact. Trying to take more and more money from them is a losing proposition because they can move their money and the jobs it creates to greener pastures. That will leave the middle class to pay for an economy riddled with national debt. Since continually cutting taxes on the rich has already resulted in that scenario - the middle class being saddled with the bills for an economy riddled with national debt AND the wealthy moving business over seas where they can exploit workers and mess up the environment even more than they do here - what the _fuck_ do we have left to lose by taxing the rich to at least the same percentage of their income and assets as already happens to classes lower than the mega-wealthy? Ever since Regan the party line for the Republicans has been “cut taxes on the wealthy and it will be better for everyone”. Instead of _trickle down_ the rest of us have been _trickled ON_. The middle class has shrunk, the poor can’t find housing, and the world is going to hell. Since the rich have never done anything for me or mine why should I care about them? I am merely treating them with the same consideration they have treated me and mine: nothing but contempt. Since the mega-wealthy have no compunctions about extracting wealth from the environment or from other people and leaving nothing but ash and ruin in their wake how dare they object when others seek to do the same to them. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/230 "2022-08-27T18:03:02Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Ever since Regan the party line for the Republicans has been “cut taxes on the wealthy and it will be better for everyone”. Instead of _trickle down_ the rest of us have been _trickled ON_. The middle class has shrunk, the poor can’t find housing, and the world is going to hell. the world is going to hell because stupid people have children they can’t afford and collectively raise them to repeat the process. Lather, rinse, institutional poverty. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/231 "2022-08-27T18:20:30Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > the world is going to hell because stupid people have children they can’t afford and collectively raise them to repeat the process. Lather, rinse, institutional poverty. Ah, yes, blame the victims - all the while the “conservatives” are banning abortion for women who would choose NOT to have those children while their own daughters and wives can jet off to where such things are legal, discussing going after birth control next, buying up distressed real estate to jack up rents and costs so those beneath them can’t afford a roof over their head anymore, screaming any time anyone anywhere gets a raise of any sort, and otherwise squeezing every drop of blood out of the ~~serfs~~ ~~peasants~~ “little people”. All the while convincing people to vote for them. Well played! No, the world is going to hell because the wealthy stopped giving a damn about the “lesser” classes, forgetting that, at some point, there will be a reckoning and the poor vastly outnumber the rich. The world is going to hell because wealthy people consumed by greed are determined to keep burning fossil fuels because they make money at it, and to hell with the drowning cities and burned up farms and all the other fall out of climate change, which they continue to deny even when it’s staring them in the face. The world is going to hell because the people in Congress care more about appeasing big money and kow-towing to an orange Hitler-wannabe than actually governing the country and working in the interests of the _world_ they have to live in too. The world is going to hell because the rich are more interested in extracting yet one more penny than they are in keeping the roads paved and the lights on (hey - the rich have off-grid power for that) and the water drinkable and the air breathable. I didn’t believe that bullshit back in the 1980’s and I believe even less now, 40 years later. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/232 "2022-08-27T18:23:28Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > That’s because they have taken most of the money, and that’s a fact. How have they taken all the money? It’s not a finite pile to distribute. > [@k9bfriender](#): > > So, you buy into the deification of the wealthy as being the only source of jobs? I’ve never been wealthy, but I’ve created quite a number of jobs. No, I buy into investments and risk create jobs. If you created a business and it wasn’t successful then that’s part of the risk. > [@k9bfriender](#): > > So, basically no change then? Yes, I’m fine with the wealthy paying most of the taxes now. I’d like to keep that going instead of seeing companies move overseas. > [@k9bfriender](#): > > Well, if the wealthy have all taken their ball and gone home, then the poor now have an opportunity to make the money that used to be funnelled into the coffers of the wealthy. They’ve always had that option. Apple started in a garage. Microsoft started in a garage. Amazon started in a garage. Those are 3 of the biggest companies in the world. I know truck drivers that earn 6 figure incomes. They will retire young and financially secure. They can’t hire enough truck drivers now so there is a lot of money to be made in jobs that are going unfilled. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/233 "2022-08-27T18:26:27Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Ah, yes, blame the victims - Yes, I’m absolutely blaming parents for institutional poverty. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/234 "2022-08-27T18:31:09Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > No, the world is going to hell because the wealthy stopped giving a damn about the “lesser” classes I would say that wealthy people such as Bill Gates do a better job at helping the world (by an order of magnitude) than tax and waste government programs that do nothing to break the cycle of institutional poverty. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/235 "2022-08-27T18:39:19Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Yes, I’m absolutely blaming parents for institutional poverty. I appreciate your honestly regarding your views. Now please explain how, since you and your Republican/conservative buddies so loathe the reproduction of the masses, that abortion is being outlawed and access to birth control attacked. Seems to me allowing both of those free and on demand would greatly diminish that problem for you. Unless, of course, maintaining wealth and power requires a permanent underclass… > [@Magiver](#): > > I would say that wealthy people such as Bill Gates do a better job at helping the world (by an order of magnitude) than tax and waste government programs that do nothing to break the cycle of institutional poverty. Bill Gates is an exception, largely because of his wife Linda. That doesn’t excuse the waste and abuse created by the mega-wealthy as a class. Nice parroting of the party line there - “tax and waste government programs”. Norquist would be proud of you. Rich conservatives would rather simply not pay the bills for what’s already been done, doing more to add to the national debt than all the poor people combined. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/236 "2022-08-27T18:49:09Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Now please explain how, since you and your Republican/conservative buddies so loathe the reproduction of the masses, that abortion is being outlawed and access to birth control attacked. Seems to me allowing both of those free and on demand would greatly diminish that problem for you. It’s not just Republican conservatives who understand personal responsibilities. My Democratic friends (and their parents) went through the same process of personal responsibility. Where babies come from isn’t a goddamn secret so it’s not rocket science to manage the process. If by some rare occurrence the process of birth control fails there is always the option of adoption. It would be a major improvement for a child to be brought up by someone with actual parenting skills than someone who doesn’t have those skills and continues the cycle of institutional poverty. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/237 "2022-08-27T18:50:12Z")
‘I blame individuals suffering from structural problems in our society’ is conservate logic _and_ morality in a nutshell. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/238 "2022-08-27T18:54:36Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Bill Gates is an exception, largely because of his wife Linda. Bull. His success at the programs he funds are based on a business model of achieving a goal instead pre-election vote buying dumpster fires of borrowed money. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/239 "2022-08-27T18:59:22Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > ‘I blame individuals suffering from structural problems in our society’ is conservate logic in a nutshell. I’m a baby-boomer from a generation that was poor during the depression. They understood that they were responsible for their actions. There is nothing conservative about that logic. It was understood regardless of politics. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/240 "2022-08-27T20:12:54Z")
I can think of a modest proposal for dealing with the lower classes overbreeding. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242.md?page=13)