Results 109 to 120 of 120
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02-20-2020, 06:45 PM #109Veteran Poster
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Re: Free College and Cancelling Student Debt
Sounds like you would be encouraging all families to ignore the college savings plan and just count on your neighbors (tax payers) to pay the bill
I have a daughter 1/2 way through college and a son two years away. My wife is a teacher and I don’t make much more. But over the past 20 years, we have avoided the big summer trips, the holiday long weekend at the ski slopes and fancy cars. Instead, we saved everything we could to make sure the kids could afford to go to college. We have enough saved up to pay for 4 years of tuition and housing for each of them. We have already gone through about 25% for her first two years. I am thinking the smart thing to do now, is tell the kids to get loans, and wait for the government to pay them off. I can then pass on 75k to each of them for a house down payment
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02-21-2020, 12:12 PM #110Pro Bowl Poster
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Re: Free College and Cancelling Student Debt
We've been putting money away in 529 plans for each of them. The oldest turns 10 in 2 weeks, so we've got quite a bit of time. With Maryland already covering community colleges for some students, and the general push for education funding reform, the writing is on the wall that things will be changing. We all benefit from a highly educated society (at least in theory).
This also goes back to how society views the role of education in the economy. If it's something to pass the time until a child reaches the legal age of majority, then the status quo is fine (who cares how the vast majority turn out, it's "not my problem.") If we view it as a necessary process to continuously feed capable workers into the economy, high school as it currently exists is insufficient. The remedy is to either make high school more rigorous, or provide funding for education beyond high school.
As for your case, the most prudent course of action may be to pay back loans with a 529 plan (added as a qualified expense in December 2019). If so, see if your kids can get loans, and then just pay the interest at the end of each year. If loans all get paid back by everybody, bank the rest of your 529 for some other purpose. If not, pay it off when they graduate. Unfortunately, only $10,000 (lifetime limit) can be used without penalties/taxes.
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02-21-2020, 12:55 PM #111Hall Of Fame Poster
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02-21-2020, 02:19 PM #112Veteran Poster
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Re: Free College and Cancelling Student Debt
Why use the 529 money, when the left wants to pay off all loans. It makes more sense to save the savings and get a loan.
Also. Most people that have money to pay for college (like I have saved) do not have all of the savings in 529 plans. I opened three accounts for my kids college (because 18 years ago, I didn’t know if they would actually want to go to college )
I put 1/3 into educational IRA/529
I out 1/3 into a custodial account
I out 1/3 into a brokerage account
I am confirmed that most financially secure people did something similar
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02-21-2020, 02:25 PM #113Pro Bowl Poster
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02-21-2020, 03:04 PM #114Hall Of Fame Poster
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02-21-2020, 03:57 PM #115Pro Bowl Poster
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Re: Free College and Cancelling Student Debt
To get this branch of this thread back on to my point - what is the role of education? The rest of the arguments about the role of 529 and other investment accounts is immaterial at the moment.
What is the underlying purpose of a public education system?
And to go just a few steps more - should we even have a public education system? If we don't, how do you reconcile the need for education against impoverished areas and the tendency of people to procreate?
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02-21-2020, 08:43 PM #116
Re: Free College and Cancelling Student Debt
Tuition is rising so fast because of government money. If the government money were removed from education prices would come down because they would have to.
Simple economics. The more money chasing a product or service, the higher the price goes.
You can DIRECTLY correlate the cost of healthcare and education to the federal government's involvement starting in the 1960s. Both have greatly outpaced inflation since.
Meanwhile, the cost of TVs and computers go down while the quality skyrockets.
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02-21-2020, 11:05 PM #117
Re: Free College and Cancelling Student Debt
To turn youth members of society Into productive adults that benefit the future of the nation.
Yes, public schools should be offered as they currently are. Yes, private options should be available as they are.
I believe the K-12 age is sufficient in scope for the public provision, I simply believe that curriculum/structure could certainly use some assistance.
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02-23-2020, 11:30 PM #118Legendary RSR Poster
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Re: Free College and Cancelling Student Debt
I would say to mold children into functional members of society. Yes, teach academics, but also bring back consumer science and auto/metal shop, etc. Catering too hard to industry in school curriculum has in part led to a generation that lacks life skills. The creation of research universities has also contributed to it as those facilities, while not necessarily required for undergraduate programs, do get paid for with undergraduate tuition and are quite expensive.
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02-23-2020, 11:39 PM #119Legendary RSR Poster
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Re: Free College and Cancelling Student Debt
The only way I could see public funded college working is if they treated it like Healthcare and basically set rates they would pay. Then the schools can comply, or have to make the case to parents why they're better than the options that do comply.
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02-26-2020, 11:36 PM #120
Re: Free College and Cancelling Student Debt
But they wouldn't be able to charge what they do and fund research if not for the ridiculous amounts of money from the government through grants, loans, etc.
Tuition would drop considerably if there were no federal funds involved because they would have zero customers at current rates. The federal government is CAUSING the student debt crisis, and giving it away for "FREE" would only make it worse.
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