What's your take on student loan forgiveness?

@REMsleep How the hell does that happen?

@Punches Same happened to my mom but with lesser amounts( still alot to us).
I know several more coworkers in the same situation. This is why we need loan forgiveness and responsible loan practices.
As a student worrying every thing else that stupid 15 minutes loan responsibility video they make you watch online doesn't cover half of what you need to know. Predatory loan practices.

@REMsleep Do you know if his was a federal or private loan by chance?
Also, does the same thing happen with federal loans if someone makes only minimum payments?

@REMsleep this closely resembles the loan my wife (now ex), took out for her Masters, then Doctorate in Nursing, and the very same thing happened to her. The interest is staggering, especially if you can only pay the minimum + a little. And the video - yeah, same thing and basically you sign knowing nothing.

Bottom line, she was going to have to work to 75 - if everything went perfectly. So I said no, you aren't going to work until 75 and started paying it down with her. With this 10k and what I'm adding to her monthly payments we have got it down to 67, but what if I couldn't or wouldn't help pay it?

@Ontheroad Yea first of all. I really appreciate hard working men who honor their familes so kudos for helping YOUR EX WIFE wow!
Secondly contrary to popular belief most of us just want a fair loan that we can pay back reasonably. This whole set up was a racket in the first place. Loan Shark practices.
When I was young I actually thought that because it was Federally Guaranteed that the loan would be super fair, heavily regulated by the government, and transparent.
Boy was I naive.
Thankfully I don't have as much of a horror story. I mean my intrest rate is not great but the loan hasn't changed hands in 9 years since I graduated and now Im down to 24k or so left. I only started with 38 and I opted to pay the highest recommended monthly rate in order to finish faster 430/ month. I think that I paid in for about 6.5 years before it was put on hold for the pandemic and currently is unavailable to pay because all loans serviced by the former Fed Loan Services company is being transferred to a new loan servicer next month I think.
So as you can see most of my money went towards intrest but hey at least I only owe a payable amount now.
I have already paid in approximately 34K.

@Punches Federal Loan
Federal Loans aren't from the government. They are from various banking and lending institutions that are contracted to offer these loans. Once you apply you don't have any say in which bank offers up the loan. You put in your school, expected costs, your income info and then you get offered an amount. My loans were offered by Wells Fargo. Similar to the example that I posted half was unsubsidized and half was subsidized which just means that half had a bad intrest rate and half had a really horrible intrest rate.
Federal student loans can also be sold at any time to a different lender.
They are supposed to keep the terms the same but even paying well over the minimum usually doesn't get you anywhere due to the very high rates some of which are variable. If you pay over the minimum without specifying to apply to the principal they only apply it to your intrest and again you get nowhere.

You know I work around the country in various hospitals and no matter how small the town many of the physicians are foreign born, 1st generation arrivals.
I used to often wonder why but as I spoke to my counterparts in the hospital and considered my own situation I realized that the difference is cost of education.
I paid for half of my own University fees in cash working 2 part time jobs while completing a difficult laboratory science degree which slowed me down and I failed a couple of classes. In the end I was forced to take on debt to finish again only owing 38K.

@REMsleep unfortunately, this is a common situation. Even when things were far less expensive, I graduated from medical school only $10k in debt, in 1967. I earned $1,200 per year as an intern and my monthly load payment was $91.16. I had to virtually live in the hospital, to get a shared "on call room," and 4 meals a day. The second year my income grew to $3,600 for the year when the Committee of Interns and Residents achieved across the board raises. I felt rich, could afford an apartment. It was difficult times, but worse now.

@REMsleep I am helping my ex for many reasons, primarily because she is still my hero and always will be. Too, we are still close, very close and I could not stand by and watch her quietly struggle to pay off such crushing debt while supporting and paying off just not just her college debt, but that of three of her children (my step children who I am still close to).

Her story, unfortunately, is not uncommon and the practices of these predatory loans, plus the outrageous cost of education today is simply not right. I'm tired of not right. I'm tired of what I see and tired of seeing strong people like my ex, your mother and countless others honorably struggle with unbearable loads of debt just so they could better themselves and their children, and thereby rise the value of our nation and people.

Their struggle has to be honored and acknowledged and that's why I'm so much in favor of this loan forgiveness and hope it is the beginning of a correction in righting the cost to millions simply to better themselves and our nation.