Easing the burden of student loans

Live chat for Midmorning, Oct 27, 2011

Read coverage of the student debt problem all day long on The Big Story Blog.

by Jon Gordon, MPR News 10/27/2011 2:11:38 PM

The conversation stems from a wider problem. We teach people how to make money in college but we don't guide them on how to spend their money! Part of that is discipline.

by Michael 10/27/2011 2:59:06 PM
Alot of the current conversation is with people with older, outstanding student loan debt. What about those who have older loans. These people are typically either unemployed or underemployed but could be adding to the economy right now if not saddled with so much debt.

by jenkki 10/27/2011 2:59:24 PM
My son enlisted in the Army 2 years ago and for his 8 year commitment he had $60,000 of student loans being paid off by the army and he is receiving excellent training that he will be able to utilize in the private sector.

by Cindy 10/27/2011 2:59:29 PM
@CINDY: :)

by Tom in Uptown 10/27/2011 3:00:07 PM
Joining the military is NOT the answer to this problem. Perhaps mandatory civil service would be a good thing...but not everyone is cut out for the military.

by thepious1 10/27/2011 3:00:34 PM
If your student loans are preventing you from buying a house, you should be looking in North Minneapolis. In my neighborhood, undamaged houses are going for less than $60K, fixer-uppers for less than $40K. And we could really use some recent graduates as new neighbors.

by Gabriel 10/27/2011 3:00:50 PM
As a student at the University of Minnesota, I feel the State Government has failed to provide the funding they once promised college students. Historically the State provided two thirds of the U's budget, but it now only accounts for about 20%. Our State needs to reinvest in one of Minnesota's biggest assets.

by Drake 10/27/2011 3:00:53 PM
@thepious: True. Not everyone is cut out for college as well and shouldn't take out more loans than they will earn in their lifetime.

by Tom in Uptown 10/27/2011 3:01:56 PM
Just paid my 35,000 in school debt in 7 1/2 years. Was a little painful, but I didn't go crazy taking everything offered in school and I paid ahead when I could.

by Jor 10/27/2011 3:02:26 PM
@Drake: The state would need to increase sales tax (which would hurt the poor) or property taxes (which would hurt renters and landlords).

by Tom in Uptown 10/27/2011 3:02:40 PM
There already is a civil service answer- AmeriCorps. I loved my year of service- but it's not realistic to spend a year in poverty, scraping by (but loving the help you give others through service) and then getting about $5000. That might cover a few classes. If you want to entice people to civil service- make it realistic, not Monopoly money.

by Kari 10/27/2011 3:02:44 PM
@Kari Americorps is a great program...but there are many that don't know about programs such as that. Another great option for people that want to go into teaching is the Teach for American program.

by thepious1 10/27/2011 3:03:59 PM
College is extra education above and beyond the requirement. So we should look at it as an investment in ourselves. I wish that some of our answers included holding the schools accountable for out of sight cost increases.

by Jor 10/27/2011 3:04:51 PM
@Jor, again, the only way to drive down costs is to lower demand. You can do this by limiting taxpayer funded loans. Check out Ron Paul's long term plan. It makes sense.

by Tom in Uptown 10/27/2011 3:05:50 PM
@thepious1 Yes- there needs to be more promotion of things like AmeriCorps. But even when I was in college back in the early 2000's and Bush had stripped it down to practically nothing, I knew a lot about it. But I know many grads that can't make the committment with their debt- what is offered doesn't seem like enough to them.

by Kari 10/27/2011 3:06:11 PM
Thanks, folks. Feel free to continue commenting, but we'll continue to cover this issue today on MPR's The Big Story Blog and on MPR's higher-education blog, On Campus

by Alex Friedrich, MPR News 10/27/2011 3:06:20 PM
@Tom in Uptown I totally agree, and because of the "you need to go to college" message that is a part of our society many people go to a college that is either not right for them...or provides the wrong type of education. Unfortunately the "for profit" schools tend to be filled with students such as that.

by thepious1 10/27/2011 3:06:51 PM
Why on MPR do we only get socialistic answers and not capatalistic?

by Jor 10/27/2011 3:07:23 PM
@Jor, I just gave you a very capitalistic approach: RON PAUL. ;)

by Tom in Uptown 10/27/2011 3:07:50 PM
Beacuse there's nothing really capitalistic about having crippling student loan debt that makes it unable for us to move up in the economy.

by Megan 10/27/2011 3:08:13 PM
I like it Tom, just don't know why the answer has to be another unfunded college program

by Jor 10/27/2011 3:08:32 PM
@Megan, look at the root cause of all this debt. Social programs that drive up costs...

by Tom in Uptown 10/27/2011 3:08:44 PM
Not to be "heartless", but what ever happened for the non-military bound people who refuse to make their kids work and do the community college to state school thing: SAVE YOUR MONEY. 200 dollars a month for ten years will pay for most 4 year degrees.

by Tom in Uptown 10/27/2011 3:10:11 PM
My college used to be one of the best values, but they have tossed that out the window in exchange for bigger buildings, better sports programs, etc....

by Jor 10/27/2011 3:10:16 PM
Of course with interest...

by Tom in Uptown 10/27/2011 3:10:41 PM
@Jor @Tom in Uptown The socialist/capitalist approach is understandable, but I'd be careful about going down that road. The government has lots of programs to help out businesses, and that's not considered socialist. Plus, much of the demand for four-year degrees comes from business, and many students have the belief (and corporate recruiters in some areas reinforce it) that an expensive, well-known private college opens more doors than a public one. The lack of a capitalist bankruptcy alternative is also a factor here. That said, I think we need to acknowledge effective government aid while shutting down programs that don't work. It's a fuzzy area.

by Alex Friedrich, MPR News 10/27/2011 3:15:19 PM
@Tom- in just doing the math in my head, without interest, saving $200 a month for 10 years would mean $24,000. Even doing the community college-public school route- would that be enough anymore? Of course I didn't take interest into consideration at all. And this is speaking only of undergrad- it would definitely not help get a Master's as well.

by Kari 10/27/2011 3:16:40 PM
@Alex- I think this whole idea of well known private colleges opening more doors needs to be debunked. Anymore, it's all up to the student- you can go to almost college and if you are persistent enough, doors will open.

by Kari 10/27/2011 3:18:29 PM
KARI: I was assuming you put some in equites which would mean about a 5% dividend assuming the stock stays the same and never goes up.

by Tom in Uptown 10/27/2011 3:23:36 PM
So your 24k would be worth about 30k. That is what you need for tuition at most state schools. Work part time for the apt and food. Ditch the car. take the bus. It's not hard.

by Tom in Uptown 10/27/2011 3:24:20 PM
Funny that I am finding that the public schools actually tend to hold more wieght in the more technical higher paid fields.

by Jor 10/27/2011 3:24:57 PM
200 a month for 15 years and you have tuition and a bmw lease paid... ditch the cable tv and there you are...

by Tom in Uptown 10/27/2011 3:26:16 PM
I agree Tom. I could have come out with double my student loans if I had not started working part time for living expenses half way through school. Oh and I never had an awesome apt. Also lived rent free at my Fraternity by becoming the house cook.

by Jor 10/27/2011 3:28:29 PM
@Kari Indeed. I need to find an article I reposted a while back about that. The main idea: Many corporate recruiters love state universities and set up a feeder system with their favorites to recruit engineers, middle managers and other mid-level types. The Ivies, they say, produce great thinkers, but they usually stay for a year or two before wandering off to grad school. That instability makes Ivy grads less attractive in some areas.

by Alex Friedrich, MPR News 10/27/2011 3:31:02 PM
@Jor True. See my last post.

by Alex Friedrich, MPR News 10/27/2011 3:32:10 PM
@Tom in Uptown You have a point. Oddly, community colleges carry an unfortunate (and undeserved) stigma in some areas, though it didn't seem to when I was growing up in Calif. in the early 1980s. And more austerity might be good. That said, some reports/stats indicate that you really can't save up and work for college the way you used to. The jobs aren't there, tuition is higher, and savings don't go as far. And that's just for one student. Families with multiple kids can't do all that.

by Alex Friedrich, MPR News 10/27/2011 3:35:20 PM
I went to commuity college for my first year (freshman) of college. It was like 13th grade, not the same acedemic rigour I experienced at the 4yr state school the next year.

by nsl 10/27/2011 4:00:46 PM
The conversation stems from a wider problem. We teach people how to make money in college but we don't guide them on how to spend their money! Part of that is discipline. Example: Read Dave Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover. Graduated two year ago with 33k in student loans. I'm down to 15k including a period of unemployment.

by Michael 10/27/2011 4:11:30 PM
We are about to close the discussion. Thank you for your great comments and questions.

by Jon Gordon, MPR News 10/27/2011 4:57:49 PM
The conversation will be archived here, so you can still read through it.

by Jon Gordon, MPR News 10/27/2011 4:58:24 PM

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