Am I Getting a Refund?

Why am I again paying for someone else’s kid? Weren’t the real estate taxes I paid for a horrible school system I never used enough?

I usually send one newsletter per week but this current event really ticks me off and I have stuff to say.

I did the right thing. I saved for my child’s college. My neighbors bought cars and borrowed from the government. And now you’re going to penalize me?

The current administration wants to forgive $10,000 in student loan debt, $20,000 if you got a Pell Grant for all students from families making up to $125,000. But it is not that they are forgiving the debt, the money will somehow need to be repaid and it will be taxpayers who repay the money. Only about a third of Americans can afford to attend college. This means that the bulk of the taxes repaying these loans will fall on Americans who make significantly less than the people who took out the loans. According to scoring, each taxpayer is responsible for $2000 if this really happens.

This alone could cause a civil war. Things are very fragile right now and making average Americans pay for stupid choices is just wrong.

I have read several pieces here on Substack and other places where authors say that $10,000 is not enough.

Are they insane?

How is this fair? I homeschooled a student who got into a top ten engineering school and became an Aerospace engineer. I paid cash, each semester, for a five-year STEM program totaling $130,000, and my Millennial is employed currently and has been since graduation.

Why am I again paying for someone else’s kid?  Especially if they are from a family making $125,000?

Weren’t the real estate taxes I paid for a horrible school system I never used enough?

I’m retired. I would like a $10,000 refund.

Elizabeth Warren dismissed and laughed at a man who wanted to know if he was getting a refund, clueless to the reason he asked. Search on it, you’ll find it.

I read a particularly scathing article recently where the Millennial author ranted on and on about the idea that the Boomers are actually the wealthiest generation ever and asked “OK, Boomer, if that’s actually true, then why the hell do we owe you a generational wealth transfer in the form of Social Security?” She reasoned that we’re “leaving them with $23 trillion (and counting) in national debt, and inescapable cycle of fatherless children and a collapsing social fabric”. I wonder what this Millennial would say to the idea that now we’re going forgive student debt. Probably “yay!”, with no clue about how the government works.

Did you know that prior to 2010, students could get their loans from places other than the Federal government?

Now, when you take a student loan, it’s from a loan program administered by the US government. If that’s not frightening enough, the average cost of a four-year program in 2010 was $7600 per semester (it was $2100 per semester in 1980). With the government backing the student loans, Universities have no problem charging obscene dollars for inadequate programs. The government, to them, is a bottomless pit of money, so accountability and thrift are not on the radar – anywhere. Add to that the idea that these universities are sitting on billion dollar endowments.

There should have been a class action suit against the government when they took over loaning. Universities feel they can charge whatever they want because its a endless pool of money.

The average 4 year tuition these days is very close to $100,000 these days. If you got a degree that only makes you $40,000 and your student loan debt is far more than that, you’re an idiot.

And you want me to pay for it?

So, here’s what I have to say to you with student debt.

I’m sorry.

I hope you can get it paid off.

But don’t make me pay for your dumb choices.

If you feel like you’re drowning in debt, look at a trade school. There are many programs where you can earn a very useful degree quickly. There’s also a great nonprofit organization that promotes skilled labor, headed by Mike Rowe (search on “Dirty Jobs with Mile Rowe”), at www.mikeroweworks.org. You can see if you qualify for a scholarship, you can look at actual job postings that are in demand.

There is going to be a serious need for plumbers, electricians, masons, builders, physicians’ assistants, lab technicians, Ambulance drivers, car mechanics, and truck drivers when the Boomers retire. All of these pay really, really, well and will be in serious demand in the very near future.