Do you personally know someone who has had student debt forgiven?
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Anonymous
If you borrowed money knowing you’re supposed to pay it off, and you can afford it, why slough it off onto other Americans? Many of whom didn’t even go to college. It’s their tax money being used. Seems rude and entitled. |
Anonymous
I give plenty of my money to other Americans as well through taxes for things I don't benefit from, so do you... |
Anonymous
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Me. About $75K in PSLF and $25K from my federal employer. I put extra money in Roth IRA and TSP. It was a much better deal than paying off the loans early myself, as the power of compounding returns on the investments has put me in a good position for retirement.
For those who say people should pay them off. PSLF is an employment benefit for public service employees. It’s part of our total compensation. No one would ask an employee to give back a bonus because it takes money away from a company employee that could go to stockholder dividends. |
Anonymous
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I’m just a few years away from cancellation after working for two decades in public interest jobs - victims advocate, legal aid attorney, public defender, prosecutor, hospice care worker now transitioning to public school teaching.
Many of my years of public interest jobs did not count toward PSLF because the program didn’t exist. I’d have done this career journey anyway, it’s how I’m hard wired - but I’m grateful for the programs that forgive loans because otherwise I would probably still have student loan debt when I die. |
Anonymous
| Yes, a STEM teacher. About 110k. |
Anonymous
So before, she was an idiot. Now she’s just a freeloader. |
Anonymous
| Yes, me. PSLF, under the temporary Biden waiver. I applied for forgiveness when I hit 10 years of paying after the program was first established only to find out I had “the wrong” kind of federal loans. At that point it made zero sense financially to restructure and try for another 10 years so I just kept paying until Biden announced in 2021 that people with the wrong loans or wrong payment plans could qualify under the waiver. So 14.5 years (17 years of actually paying) later of payments post program enactment my balance was forgiven. Just over $34k forgiven from an original balance of $84k. I did not receive a refund of the additional 4.5 years of payments because they were made on the wrong type of federal loans, but given I never expected to have anything forgiven, I’ll take the win I got. |
Anonymous
| I know two people. One is a teacher, the other in public service. Both were partially forgiven based on when they got their jobs or left. The teacher didn’t stay teaching so they all didn’t get forgiven. |
Anonymous
Thank you +1. Absolutely! |
Anonymous
| I had about 14k forgiven during the temporary PSLF phase. By that point, I’d worked at a qualifying non-profit for over 15 years. I still can’t quite believe it happened—it’s a wonderful feeling to have zero debt outside of our mortgage. |
Anonymous
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A few people - lots of folks who work for non profits or government; one friend who had a stroke and is extremely disabled and can't work (she blew up at a lot of us about loan forgiveness and didn't realize she had been absolved for ages); a few friends who don't make a lot and got forgiveness through one of biden's programs.
All a grateful; all contribute to society and all are brilliant. |
Anonymous
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I don't have any bad feelings or judgment for anyone who makes use of the various student loan forgiveness programs. The criteria to qualify mean that the majority of recipients are of lower income, and the higher income you are the smaller will be your total forgiveness because you will have paid so much in the decade or more of payments you are required to make before qualifying for cancellation.
My experience is of a working class/lower middle class kid whose mother was OBSESSED with me going to college, despite my many protestations. I was essentially threatened with disowning at the tender age of 18 if I didn't drop my own dreams and follow the path she had determined for me probably when I was only in the womb. LOTS of kids get bullied into college, and massive student loan debt, by the parents and other adult mentors who are 'guiding' them at end of high school. We know now from irrefutable neuroscience that our brains aren't fully developed in terms of consequence comprehension and it is cruel to bully kids into mountains of student loan debt - a mortgage! - so they can start their lives in shackles and chains. The better educated a society, the better the society does. We should all want to invest in educated citizens, and our colleges should be accessible to all with an interest in education and the demonstrated aptitude to study at the collegiate level. Fees should be minimal. Our economy would thrive much more if we had millions of contributing taxpaying citizens free of the shackles of student loan debt and the associated stress, and with money available to buy homes and furnish them and have children. Our attitude toward higher education financing is really quite stupid, and crippling. We could learn lessons on this subject from some of our European cousins. |
Anonymous
| Doctor 250k |
Anonymous
That’s why there’s a ten year mark, so be it. |
Anonymous
Exactly—thank you! There are all kinds of government loan forgiveness programs too, not just student loans. Plenty of business and corporate loan and tax breaks exist. PPP and SBA loans come to mind. Consumers should also get some financial benefits along the way. I don’t understand the mindset of those that want regular people to be saddled with punishing debt for pursuing an education. Ultimately, it’s to society’s benefit to have an educated populace. |