Sen. Paul offering bill to combat student loan debt

[Swordsmyth]

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul wants to combat the rising debt load engulfing college students by allowing families to use their retirement savings to pay off their loans.The Kentucky Republican introduced federal legislation late Monday that would allow students to dip into retirement accounts to help pay for college or make monthly debt payments. Under his bill, individuals could to take up to $5,250 — tax and penalty free — from their 401(k) or IRA each year, and their parents could divert thousands more.
Americans collectively owe about $1.5 trillion in student loans — more than twice the total of a decade ago. On average, last year’s graduates owed about $29,200 each, leaving college with a long-lasting financial burden, Paul said.
“It’s just hard for people to pay back,” he said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “Even people with graduate-degree educations are struggling to pay it back over a long period of time. We want to do something to try to help these kids pay off their loans.”
Paul’s bill is called the Higher Education Loan Repayment and Enhanced Retirement Act, or HELPER. He plans to pitch it in visits to college campuses in Kentucky in coming weeks.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/sen-paul-offe...093507067.html

[jkr]

Pointless without job

Thanks anyway

[tebowlives]

Pointless without job

Thanks anyway

"If two parents and their college-bound child each put aside the maximum yearly amount, it would generate $15,750 in pre-tax money to help pay for college, he noted. “This fact alone would transform how Americans save for college,” Paul wrote in an op-ed in the Lexington Herald-Leader."

You're welcome.

[Stratovarious]

Not a fan of this plan.

Caveat Emptor to anyone that plans to take on 50k or 100k in debt to get educated, I
think that should be a class taught at the grade and high school levels.
Anything you don't pay cash for indentures you to the banking system.

I also think that attacking your retirement plan just sets a horrible example,
living pattern, and sets us up for another trillion dollar bail out when herds of students fail.

[tebowlives]

Not a fan of this plan.

Caveat Emptor to anyone that plans to take on 50k or 100k in debt to get educated, I
think that should be a class taught at the grade and high school levels.
Anything you don't pay cash for indentures you to the banking system.

I also think that attacking your retirement plan just sets a horrible example,
living pattern, and sets us up for another trillion dollar bail out when herds of students fail.

lol No ones attacking anyones retirement plan. There will be no trillion dollar payout because some people choose to pay down their balance by 5k.

Cherry picking numbers - The option to pay 5k now vs making payments that total 6k over a set amount of months. If I have an option to pay down the debt by 5k vs making payments I'm going to see which one saves me more money. That's what a retirement plan is about, saving money. If I'm making $200 payments over 30 months to reduce the balance by 5k, paying it off in a lump sum, could make sense. If that 5k will turn into more than 6k in 30 months then it wont make sense to pay it down.

[Schifference]

The solution is to remove all the protections given the lender and take the government out of the student loan business. Allow student loans to be included in bankruptcy. Student loans should be more stringent than a home or auto loan which can be repossessed. Students should have to qualify for the loan. If there are no jobs in a particular field the loan should be denied. If a person doesn't have the SAT score denied. Put lenders on the hook for the loan and the problem will go away all on its own. If a person wants to go into a field that is not proven to be sustainable then the borrower would need a cosigner and collateral. Government does not want to fix student loan crisis, it thrives on the non-dischargeable debt and the notion that every person should go to college. This guarantees people are enslaved to the government before they even get their first non-existent job.

[specsaregood]

The solution is to remove all the protections given the lender and take the government out of the student loan business. Allow student loans to be included in bankruptcy. Student loans should be more stringent than a home or auto loan which can be repossessed. Students should have to qualify for the loan. If there are no jobs in a particular field the loan should be denied. If a person doesn't have the SAT score denied. Put lenders on the hook for the loan and the problem will go away all on its own. If a person wants to go into a field that is not proven to be sustainable then the borrower would need a cosigner and collateral. Government does not want to fix student loan crisis, it thrives on the non-dischargeable debt and the notion that every person should go to college. This guarantees people are enslaved to the government before they even get their first non-existent job.

seriously, it couldn't be any more obvious. make it so the lender actually evaluates the investment because it matters.