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qwlauren35

(6,112 posts)
Thu Feb 4, 2021, 12:43 PM Feb 2021

Student Debt - For The People Act Video

https://represent.us/drowning-in-student-debt/?akid=127335.937525.wgsa48&rd=1&source=ak-em-uaeh-20210204-kicker&t=12&utm_campaign=uaeh&utm_content=20210204&utm_medium=em&utm_source=ak&utm_term=kicker

Got this in an e-mail and thought it was cute, so I'm passing it on.

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44 million Americans are carrying over $1.6 trillion in student loan debt. Many can’t become homeowners, afford medical treatment, or even buy groceries because of it. It is a crisis. And like so many of America’s problems, it’s caused by political corruption.
Watch our new short film to see why corruption is at the root of the student debt crisis, and how right now we have a huge, urgent new opportunity in Congress to fix it.

Let’s be clear: Student debt isn’t about irresponsible young people taking out more loans than they’ll be able to pay back, it’s about a corrupt cycle between loan companies, lobbyists, and our lawmakers, designed to make them rich and powerful — at your expense.
President Biden may make some progress on student debt — and while this short term fix would be a big step, it wouldn’t solve the root of the problem: Corruption.

Right now, a new anti-corruption law called the For the People Act is moving through Congress. It would break the cycle of corruption by fixing campaign finance and ethics laws, modernizing and securing our elections and voting systems, and ending the pay-to-play politics that lets big money and special interests co-opt our government for their own gain.

But it won’t solve anything if it doesn’t pass, and that’s where you come in. Check out our brand new short film Unbreaking America: Drowning in Student Debt to learn how corruption created this crisis, how the For the People Act would address it, and how you can make sure it passes.

After years of grassroots action and state and local victories, the anti-corruption movement has built nation-wide momentum for democracy reform. Let’s use it to win big. We have the best opportunity in decades to pass vital legislation at the federal level. Now, the movement has to double down, up the pressure, and take the fight to Congress.

Thank you for being a part of this movement.

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Student Debt - For The People Act Video (Original Post) qwlauren35 Feb 2021 OP
I don't think it's all one way or the other captain queeg Feb 2021 #1

captain queeg

(10,035 posts)
1. I don't think it's all one way or the other
Thu Feb 4, 2021, 01:34 PM
Feb 2021

There’s been a lot of messaging that you need a college education to get some kind of job that pays well enough to live on, but I think that message is not correct. Lots of careers that pay very well don’t require college, like electrician or plumber. They might not have the same status as some college educated jobs, but can pay very well. Young people should be encouraged to look at some of these. Many of these jobs start out as apprenticeships where you are paid while learning rather than going into debt. Also the rise in for profit schools play a big role in the current crises. Add in the spiraling costs of a college education and it’s a bleak picture for someone just starting out. I think at least nowadays kids realize that a college education isn’t an automatic ticket to the good life and are paying more attention to what kind of degree they pursue.

Like a lot of people here, I worked my way thru college incurring minimal debt. But college was way cheaper back then. I could make enough over the summer to pay for tuition. By the time I graduated in 89 tuition was up to $900 per semester which was quite a bit more than when I first started. That was at a state school, and now it’s 10 times that. I really think rather than trying to make it so everyone can go to college we ought to be looking at other career tracks like technical school and apprenticeships. Things are just way different these days. I tell my son, who is in college now, that I don’t really have good advice to give him, other than finding something you like and can make a living at. Not sure I’d do things the same myself today, though it worked for me at the time. I figure he’s a smart guy and will figure it out, and I’ll help as much as I can. I hate seeing kids buried in debt before they really get out and get going in life. But there are certainly some of them that borrow indiscriminately and I don’t see forgiving their debt to the same degree as someone who is working and scraping by to get their education.

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