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"Hipsters on Food Stamps" or "Why would someone take out $100k student loan to go to U of Chicago to earn a 'useless' degree? And why does it make me so angry?"

https://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2012/11/hipsters_on_food_sta... https://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2012/11/hipsters_on_food_sta... https://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2012/12/product_review_panas...

> Student debt is a personal responsibility. It is a personal choice.

While I agree with you, to an extent, you cannot ignore than many young people were pressured into going to college, and going to a 'good school' by the authority figures in their life at the time (be it parents or school counselors).

they were sold the lie that college would pay for itself, and for many it has not.

I got lucky, personally, and don't have much in the way of college debt due to scholarships and such, but my degree is still just a very expensive piece of paper since I have done absolutely nothing with it.

Yeah and now they have a good degree from a good school which is advantageous over someone who was more frugal.

I went to get my CompSci master in a public college somewhere in NYC, total cost $20k.

Now I earn more than $250k/yr.

You can get into college without spending insane amount of money. You can also choose a more marketable major.

What year was this?

4 years ago. 2018 graduation.

Interesting. I'm glad to see there are still programs that aren't obscenely expensive. I went to Ohio State in Computer Science in 1984 and full time tuition was $600 per quarter or $1800 per year or $7200 for a 4-year degree.

then you also have to realize that you are in the minority, even within your field. the vast majority of software engineers dont make nearly that much.

But going to my college with just $20k is not a privilege that only a minority can do. Its public college, anyone can get in.

I show my income only to state that people should major in a more marketable major.

> many young people were pressured into going to college

When I was young, drunk, and impressionable, a pit boss pressured me to apply for casino credit and get hosted in Vegas.

Of course, I took out my entire line in markers and lost it all.

If being young is a valid excuse to discharge the consequences of stupid choices, this is great news. I'll be awaiting my check.

Any of you who signed up for those $1000 unsecured "student credit card" offers should be lining up for the gravy train, as well.

Looking forward to teaching my kids that financial responsibility is only for old people, to rack up as much unserviceable debt as humanly possible while they're in whatever government standard age bracket is defined as "young", get it all forgiven, and then start acting like a responsible human being. There's no moral hazard in this line of reasoning whatsoever.

false equivalency.

Many of these students lay at the generational divide between college guaranteeing a great job (during the generation when most people went to high school and then trade) and college being a prerequisite for any job (today). And those universities only became so expensive because the federal govt guaranteed loans in the first place. University is radically more expensive than it was a few decades ago.

It's not as simple as you lay it out to be.

His point still stands that giving everyone 80k is more fair. The people who took out huge loans for degrees still have degrees from nice schools which will likely help them in the future. This shouldn’t be a win-win for people who mismanaged their money

Well, there are many many many problems in this world. Nothing is simple in this world. Including forgiving student loans. Forgiving student loans will create another sets of problems, like Pandora's Box that we can't ever put back.