The public comment period for Biden's student loan forgiveness plan is ending. 63,000 people responded.

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Photo above - Shaw University has the worst net return on tuition of any college in America (negative $121,000). But it has a dozen cheerleaders for its Division II basketball program, and a winning record!

I have to admit, I didn't realize there WAS a public comment period for student loan forgiveness. You may not have either. Perhaps it was by invitation only. Are there other public comment programs taking place? The wars in Ukraine and Gaza? Fed funds rate hikes? The new tax on our 401Ks? Sheesh!

I don't owe any student loans - that may be why I wasn't notified. My parents paid my tuition. I graduated with a dual major in English Lit and Cultural Anthropology. Stop laughing, this is really true. I had to teach myself basic survival skills in the real world. Debt collection. Telemarketing operations. Customer service scripts. How to communicate a change in terms to customers. Yeah . . . those aren't college majors. I know some people who took JAVA coding at college. They feel their degrees were pointless too, because nobody uses that anymore. They wish there'd been courses in videogame programming, like for Fallout.

Back to student loans. The link below provides amusing insights into the 63,000 people who did make comments. Most of them are deeply in hock to Uncle Sam, of course. Right off the bat, 22,000 people insisted – in a joint petition – that they personally and immediately should have all their loans cancelled. Sweet ambition, but not exactly hard to predict. Let's focus on some of the more interesting situations.

“Richard” borrowed $9,800 in 1989. He's 73 now, so that means he was 38 when he went to college, right? In any case, he owes $88,000 now. After 35 years. Apparently, he hasn't been making his minimum monthly payments. But I'm not going here to snark about his lack of diligence over 35 years. Rather, it's the student loan program itself that produces this result. You owe 1,000% more than when you started? WTH!!!! And these loan deals are still available, presumably. Some kid – or 38 year old – can take out a student loan today, end up in the same bottomless pit. How about reforming the actual student loan system before we sentence millions of new borrowers to 35 to - life?

If there was a gas station on fire, certainly someone should show up with hoses and extinguishers. But you'd also stop delivering new tankers full of gasoline to the site while the inferno was still raging, right?

Some commenters pointed out there was a disconnect between the AGE at which they got their loans (not just Mr. Richard, at 38) and an unrealistic assumption that they were on a midlife success path. I don't know what these middle-aged borrowers were studying. Cultural Anthropology like me? (I graduated at age 22). JAVA, to escape a life as a Starbucks barista? Medical coding, because you can work from home and care for your kids while doing something with a keyboard?

More than half the republicans in congress don't want to cancel anything. 70% of democrats do want to cancel, typically everything. But if that's off the table, then at least $10,000. Which won't help 73-year-old Richard and his $88,000 cement overshoes.

There's clearly no relationship between the course/degree you pick, and the amounts being loaned. Or the time left in the debtor's life to repay it. I'd be interested if ANYONE got turned down for anything.

Colleges got ALL the money. Students got huge loan bills, but evidently not degrees that could give them a chance at repayment. Let's start with three ideas, since the gummint has asked for comments.

- Stop handing out loans for degrees which are NOT related to earning a living. Art history, music theory, French literature, and cultural anthropology should be off limits.

- Put an age limit on this. If you're 40 years old and have suddenly been inspired to become a programmer, or medical coder, the odds of this working out are slim to none.

- Put colleges on the hook for some of these unpaid loans. At least HALF the balance, maybe more. If colleges had more skin in the game maybe they wouldn't be installing rock climbing walls at the student union building and concocting cafeteria menus with gourmet entrees.

I'm just sayin' . . .

~Biden’s student-loan forgiveness plan comment period is ending. Here’s what people are saying. (msn.com)~

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windinhishair · 61-69, M

You might want to get a copy of the Federal Register (FR) or at least read it frequently. All significant federal regulations go through a process of proposal, revision, and promulgation and include at least one public comment period. The dates for public comment are published. When a new regulation is promulgated, the FR will include a summary of public comments and how they were addressed. That information is invaluable in understanding the rationale for the regulations and any changes that were made to them during the rulemaking process.

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windinhishair · 61-69, M

@SusanInFlorida I don't typically read it, but I have used the FR extensively for work, particularly in discussions with regulatory agencies. Sometimes they will give me bullshit (gasp!) about a particular regulatory interpretation and I will go back to the FR to show them that their interpretation was considered and rejected.

It is important to know WHY a certain regulation is written the way it is, and how it changes during the regulatory process. That's what I mean by the rationale, because they are required to show their thought process. Every public comment period results in something called a "responsiveness summary" that summarizes the comments and how they were addressed. If you see something in the future that troubles you, go read the responsiveness summary to public comments. It will enlighten you if nothing else, and may actually give you more to comment on.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@windinhishair in this case, it appears the "public response period" was specifically engineered to create pro-loan bailout responses. 1/3 of the respondents signed the same petition to have all their loans forgiven.

that sort of thing doesn't happen by accident.

thanks for your reply

windinhishair · 61-69, M

@SusanInFlorida No. The public comment period is a set period of time after a regulation is proposed. Respondents often sign petitions that go into the public record. Often that is addressed in the responsiveness summary with a single response to address all of those petitions. The number of like responses doesn't mean that much when it comes from petitions.

SunshineGirl · 36-40, F

What is your opinion on a nursing degree, that is expensive to undertake but produces relatively modest financial returns for most graduates? My wife is a sister nurse (senior grade in the UK) but unless there is a radical uplift in wages she will not have paid off her loan by the time it is automatically written off (after 30 years).

On the subject of age, people need to be able to access education throughout their working lives, esoecially if their job is at risk of elimination by technology.

On the JAVA coding . . shows that it is best to take a general degree covering a wide range of material and knowledge rather than trying to plan your career too far in advance, or at too early an age.

Maths . . now that never goes out of date 🙂

wildbill83 · 36-40, M

@SunshineGirl both of those can be obtained through a 2 year/associates degree at community college; have RN's, LPN's, and Pharmacists that did so on their own while working without loan. Niece is on her final semester of cybersecurity systems (which covers java and python) while working full time 3rd shift without loan. I took engineering through community college & completed credits for bachelors degree online while overseas/deployed while in Army, without loan...

quite frankly, anyone that think's they need an expensive loan to get a common degree is either lazy or getting scammed.

SunshineGirl · 36-40, F

@wildbill83 OK, but I think you are simply transferring the same cost from the loan system to the employer . .

In the UK you need a bachelor's degree to become a registered nurse, there is no short cut. My wife could have got a job as a healthcare assistant and qualified as a nursing apprentice, but that would have taken twice as long and she would have been occupying a position better suited to a person who did not want to become a nurse. Not efficient, especially given the current shortage of nurses.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@SunshineGirl my theory is that nursing is a STEM job, and will be in demand during all parts the economic cycles. no massive layoffs. like teachers degrees, but with higher earning potential.

ten levels higher than "medical coding on your laptop at home". which will soon be done by AI

samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

certain schools got more funds then others, and were less likely to have graduates get jobs that allowed them to repay. I was lucky, I was only $10k in debt in 1967 when graduating from medical school. The average student today is over $250K in debt when at the same place. Even adjusting for inflation it was very reasonable then compared to today:

according to Dr. Google:
$10,000 in 1970 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $80,497.94 today, an increase of $70,497.94 over 54 years1. Adjusted for inflation, it is equal to $81,365 in 2024.

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samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

@SusanInFlorida I disagree, i clearly show how resilient our economy is. We have been through similar inflationary spirals, but always mange to index it with her income. There has often been a recession following an interesting inflation. I don't want to jinx us, but, so far, there is no sign of that and it looks as if inflation is moderating while both job growth and salaries are increasing.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@samueltyler2 out economy is so resilient that we have an affordable housing crisis, millions living in tents and on under bridges, 20% cumulative inflation since inauguration day, and Teamster truckers now earning twice what a teacher does.

samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

@SusanInFlorida do you not know this is part of a cycle that we went through before, several times in the 20th century? The housing problem is more widespread than for "affordable housing.". It is across the range of housing,band related to inflation, yes. It is related to the fed trying to tamp down inflation through raised interest rates. You can't have it both ways.
Currently aging people who want to down size but can't because mortgage rates make it such that down sizing won't save them money. That leads to a shortage of houses on the market.
There are many suggestions about how to rapidly expand the job market, but itself would cost billions if not trillions, and might just cause a crash in the overall market.
Luckily the economy is bouncing back, the housing market must be dealt with and you are correct about that b

wildbill83 · 36-40, M

since military is down on recruitment numbers, start drafting those with student loan debt that can't/won't pay it off otherwise...

I bet that if faced with the possibility of being conscripted to fight in some far flung war the democrats keep starting, college kids would start learning to be more fiscally responsible, or at least living within their means and getting a useful degree for a career that actually exists...

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wildbill83 · 36-40, M

@SusanInFlorida wouldn't bother me any when they're all together in their own company/platoon (cannon fodder company), thousands of miles away.

preferable to forgiving their 100k+ loan at taxpayers expense that they spend on partying for four years & getting a worthless piece of paper...🤔

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@wildbill83 your position is consistent with biologists and behavioral sciences, who assert that deaths of the "not fittest" are the evolutionary method of population control.

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