Free College and Cancelling Student Debt

[wickedsolo]

State college is about 10k/yr

Really? I remember U of MD being more than that...like in the 20-25k range?


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[NCRAVEN]

Really? I remember U of MD being more than that...like in the 20-25k range?


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Is that a State school? I thought a true state school would be something like, Frostburg State, or Salisbury State.

[NCRAVEN]

Is that a State school? I thought a true state school would be something like, Frostburg State, or Salisbury State.

Disregard, UMD is a public university.

[Ortizer]

Yep

It was hard work too!

They put you in a tractor trailer and it’s nonstop loading/stacking boxes as they come down the shoot at a rapid pace. I was responsible for 6 zip code ranges and scanning every box in my patch. My boss’ name was John Goodman (not the actor) and he would throw in wrong packages every now and then to make sure I was scanning correctly. I loaded everything from giant desktop computer screens to really small items too.

I worked there as a sophomore/junior. I used some of the tuition money to buy a 2000 Jeep Wrangler. Lol.

One of the guys I worked with and went to school with stayed there and moved up to become a pretty high-up manager even after he graduated.

That's actually how my dad worked his way through college. Loaded ups trucks at night in Columbus.

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[wickedsolo]

Is that a State school? I thought a true state school would be something like, Frostburg State, or Salisbury State.

Salisbury is now Salisbury University. In-state is $9,800/yr and out of state is just under $20K/yr.

I remember Salisbury being like $3,000 a year....and that wasn't that long ago.

[Ortizer]

I’m pretty sure Maryland school teachers aren’t living in Manhattan

Extreme case, but so is comparing MD teacher pay to the national median. If you prefer to use Maryland, that would be 83k. Still less than 95k,but not the disparity you were going for.

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[blah3]

Extreme case, but so is comparing MD teacher pay to the national median. If you prefer to use Maryland, that would be 83k. Still less than 95k,but not the disparity you were going for.

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The original post I replied to lamenting that Maryland teachers st the high end may not make it to 100k. My point was that even at 95k they are on the top 5 percent. Costs in Manhattan are
Not relevant to Maryland teachers.

[ravenmaniac4life]

That's actually how my dad worked his way through college. Loaded ups trucks at night in Columbus.

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Ortizer, I didn’t want to do this through the forum, but....

I’m your father.

[Ortizer]

Ortizer, I didn’t want to do this through the forum, but....

I’m your father.

Lol. Nice try. He likes the Bengals.

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[CarrollCoRaven]

Ortizer, I didn’t want to do this through the forum, but....

I’m your father.

Didn't I see you guys on an episode of Maury Povich?

[Laxdad24]

Didn't I see you guys on an episode of Maury Povich?

Lol. Along with me and USMC Charles. Lmao.


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[cvilleRaven]

Before we can identify a solution to funding for higher education, we have to reach an understanding on what the purpose of education is in the first place. The primary purpose of education should be to prepare the next generation of people for entry into the economy in the manner that they find most rewarding (whatever that means to them, but presumably one that allows them to pay their own bills at the very least - NOTHING is free). STEM is a huge portion of that, but so are arts (music, dance, literature, painting, sculpting, etc.) If we are to continue to believe in a free society where a person can choose their own economic path, we, as a society, can't force even one person down a pre-determined path.

Without a public education system, this responsibility falls entirely on the parents of this person until they reach the age of majority (currently, 18 under US law). Hey, I'd love for my property taxes to drop, but I also enjoy knowing that every single child gets at least a minimal level of education. If I had a significantly reduced property tax rate, I could very easily send my kids to private schools. You might not be able to. Now your kid is illiterate and unemployable. Sure, my kids get a boost, but I still have to deal with your idiot spawn. I'd rather pay a little bit over time and dramatically reduce the number of economically less than useful people.

So, we accept public education as a necessary expense (codified as a guaranteed right of children in the state of Maryland to get a publicly funded education), instead of allowing millions of uneducated cretin who can't fit a round peg in a round hole.

The education requirements of our modern economy are VASTLY different than the economy of 100 years ago. Maryland only recently (3 years ago) made enrollment in a school program (either public, private, or home) until 18 compulsory. The exception being you have passed the GED, but you cannot sit for the test until you are 16. To be realistic, how many 18 year olds are educationally equipped to handle a full time job beyond retail or food service?

So, if we accept that high school is insufficient to prepare a functional work force, what do we do about it?

I'm in the boat for "expand public education funding for qualified applicants." Show academic aptitude (grades), and a reason for local society (read: your home state) to invest in you, get an education, and pay it back - get a job, pay taxes, contribute to your local society and economy. Left the local economy? Pay it back directly - cold hard cash. I don't care what you do, so long as it's A) legal, and B) something that someone else values (could mean literally anything - it just requires a transfer of money for goods or services).

We either need to increase the rigors of k-12 education to the point that a high school diploma is worth more than the piece of paper it's printed on, or we need to accept that post-secondary education is a requirement for basic employment beyond all but the lowest tiers of work.

I also may be a bit biased here, because I have 4 kids. I'm going to be spending a fortune educating these kids. I paid my way through college - a combination of scholarship money, student loans, and working full time while attending undergrad classes full time. It took me 5 1/2 years, partially because of taking time to settle on a major, partially due to the restricted time because of needing to work full time. I also paid back my loans in 7 years (3 years early, under the standard 10 year repayment plan).

Another quick note - anyone already has an existing loan must pay it back, but cap rates at reasonable amounts. If the loans are not dischargeable through bankruptcy (a big risk to the borrower), the lender should be willing to take a reduced lending fee (they have a higher chance of being repaid in full). Blanket loan forgiveness ought to be off the table entirely.