Name:	lucky67 -	Reply
Subject:	economy
Date:	4/8/2015 5:00:59 PM

Think that student debt is only a college kid’s concern? America’s $1.2 trillion in outstanding college loans has surpassed the country’s $700 billion credit-card bill. That huge liability is a drag on the entire U.S. economy. It’s hardly a coincidence that the number of first-time homebuyers is at a generational low, while student-loan balances are at an all-time high.

Name:	GoneFishin -	Reply
Subject:	economy
Date:	4/8/2015 5:54:22 PM

I see a few solutions.....lower tuition, only the rich go to college and the poorest who receive 100% tuition and R&B, or only atheletes who get free tuition and R&B. Do you see a solution?

Name:	au67 -	Reply
Subject:	economy
Date:	4/8/2015 6:19:42 PM

What about this novel approach.  Students get a job and pay off their debt.  Surely that's not hard to do in this bustling economy.

Name:	Mack -	Reply
Subject:	economy
Date:	4/8/2015 7:59:00 PM

And another approach might be... Not Every High School Grad should be qualified to Attend College??? Nor borrow money to do so, or his gullible parents. Nor should a college accept a student incapable of performing the work required. (God Forbid a FAIL)..

News Flash!! Mikey or Suzy  ain't college material. But... they have other qualities that are very valuable to us.

But, No, Mikey must attend college, at whatever cost... and it is extremely high.

Jeez...

Name:	GoneFishin -	Reply
Subject:	economy
Date:	4/8/2015 7:59:21 PM

I assumed from the original post that the implication was that because of student debt they cannot qualify for a loan.. Anyone with aspirations  as first time homeowner realizes they need a job. 

It’s hardly a coincidence that the number of first-time homebuyers is at a generational low, while student-loan balances are at an all-time high.

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	economy
Date:	4/8/2015 9:39:39 PM

I read an article the other day that said that most college students no longer graduate in 4  years, but go 5-6 years to get an undergraduate degree.  I've also heard about students using their loan money to live to a higher standard (you know, the one that their parents, who gave them everything, established for them?)  And why is it now that everyone has to go to college?  The world still needs trades people, but I suspect that parents would be appalled if anyone dared to suggest that their child was not college material.  The teachers and adminstrators would likely be sued.  I like the English model of kids taking a "gap year" between HS and College.  Let the little dears go out and work for a year and gain some maturity and perspective.  And, then let them work their way through college.  It use d to be that attending college was a privledge, not a right. 

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	economy
Date:	4/8/2015 10:24:21 PM

Bingo.  It doesn't take a college degree to change a tire, drive a truck, work an assembly line, repair a diesel, perform a manicure, sell mattresses, or do many more jobs that are essential to a thriving economy.  Here's to that individual who comes home from work wearing a uniform shirt with the company logo and his first name embroidered on it.  He or she probably doesn't need a college degree to be a success in what he or she does.  The expectation that everyone will have a college degree is Pollyanna-ish and totally misguided.

Name:	Shortbus -	Reply
Subject:	economy
Date:	4/8/2015 11:13:10 PM

While my doctor was hammering away on her laptop, I asked if the obvious lengthy BS was inspired by Obamacare.

She said it was and that she is seeing half the patients now in the same time spent.

I told her there was good money in plumbing, that she might check it out.

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	economy
Date:	4/9/2015 9:14:54 AM

Get the federal government out of the student loan business because it totally distorts the marketplace.  

If we want to encourage low income students that are actually qualified to go to college lets set up private funding that is rewarded with a percentage of their earnings over their lifetime.  That way it will encourage them to major in study areas that will actually make them employable instead of women's studies, gender studies, etc. which are totally worthless.  No one would invest in a bright, low income student that wants to take that kind of crap in college but they would line up to financially support a young black or Hispanic man or woman that wants to get a degree in engineering.  I know I would because if I invested say $150,000 for a chemical engineering degree and took 10% of their earnings I would get a nice return on that investment.  Doing it this way would incentivize the student to get a degree that is actually worth something over taking student loans to graduate and go to work at Starbucks.

But I wouldn't give a dime for some angry feminist to get a degree in gender studies or some other worthless program and we shouldn't be loaning them money to get these worthless degrees either.  

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	OMG
Date:	4/9/2015 6:44:53 PM

Imagine having to pay MM for the rest of your life!!!

Imagine having MM in your life forever???

Engineering isn't the only valuable degree, but I do tend to agree about degree programs that won't lead to a job.

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	OMG
Date:	4/9/2015 9:41:21 PM

Ha ha, very funny. I am quite sure some bright young disadvantaged youth would be grateful and happy for me to benefit from the fruits of their degree assuming I funded it.    It is kind of an ironic idea, isn't it?  But seriously, I really do think this concept (maybe not the exact details I laid out) makes perfect sense and for the record, I did not make this up.  This has been seriously proposed and if I was really smart but didn't have the financial resources for college this might be more appealing than a loan.  If I only make a modest salary I only pay a modest amount. If I hit it big, my benefactor likewise benefits. More importantly, it would motivate talented kids to pursue degrees that investors will support instead of some of the useless crap they are currently teaching in college. 

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	OMG
Date:	4/9/2015 11:06:19 PM

I'm not saying the idea doesn't have merit for kids that are bright and motivated.  Hopefully they don't change their major 3 times and then drop out completely.  There would have to be a legal stipulation like there is for student loans.  Not discharable under bankruptsy.

Name:	Little Gray -	Reply
Subject:	economy
Date:	4/13/2015 6:26:19 PM

What a shame that we have become a more "service" oriented country. The fact is...we don't manufacture much anymore. We have "priced" ourselves out of the maret. Whatever happened to trade schools? A place you could go to learn a trade, i.e. electrical, plumbing, auto repair, electrinic repair, auto body repair, carpentry, to mention a few. Maybe they're still around, I just don't know.

It also seems that today's youngsters, or at least a lot of them, have no work ethic...most don't even know the definition. Sad!

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	economy
Date:	4/13/2015 10:19:16 PM

Have to agree.  Many years ago "made in Japan" or "made in Korea" carried with it a promise of shoddiness.  Unfortunately these days, when it comes to consumer goods, "made in the USA" denotes shoddiness and Samsung, LG, and the Japanese brands denote quality.

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	So
Date:	4/14/2015 6:50:19 PM

What do you think should be done about it?