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Topic: 'No Tolerance' For Grads With Student Loans to Pay
no photo
Wed 04/25/12 09:25 AM
Does anyone see the irony here? The chair of the subcommittee for higher education thinks that people should be graduating with no debt at all? I mean, that would be awesome if that could happen, but most will have some debt.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/17/representative-virginia-fox-on-student-debt_n_1431050.html

WASHINGTON -- Representative Virginia Foxx (R - N.C.) expressed either tough love or ambivalence toward students who find themselves deep in debt, depending on who you ask.

Foxx, who is chairwoman of the house Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training, said on the Gordon Liddy Radio Show that it took her seven years to finish school. She added that over those seven years, she borrowed nothing.

"I have very little tolerance for people who tell me that they graduate with $200,000 of debt or even $80,000 of debt because there's no reason for that," Foxx continued. "We live in an opportunity society and people are forgetting that. I remind folks all the time that the Declaration of Independence says 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.' You don't sit on your butt and have it dumped in your lap."

The Bronx native worked as one of her high school’s janitors before she enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She graduated in 1968, according to her congressional biography.

Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) responded to her comments on Monday afternoon from the house floor.

"Incredibly, the chair of the Subcommittee for Higher Education spoke last week in North Carolina and said, 'I have very little tolerance for people who tell me they graduate with $200,000 in debt or even $80,000 of debt.' Really?

"It is a sad statement when today's Republican party turns its back on a program that helps millions of Americans fulfill their dreams, and that is named after a Republican Senator, Robert Stafford of Vermont," Courtney said.

Foxx’s spokesperson told The Huffington Post via email, “Congresswoman Foxx is concerned about rising college costs and the burdensome effect a large sum of debt can have on a student's future. She believes the focus should be on making college more affordable and providing students and parents with the information necessary to make informed decisions about college and understand the cost and the implications of those personal decisions.”

USmale47374's photo
Wed 04/25/12 09:29 AM

Foxx is an idiot.

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Wed 04/25/12 09:32 AM
Yea cause her experience of going to collage in the 60's is going to be representative of current day costs . . . .

Idiot indeed.

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Wed 04/25/12 09:44 AM
Another Misquote


The “we trust you” turns out to have been a mistake. Here’s what Congresswoman Virginia Fox actually said:

I have very little tolerance for people who tell me that they graduate with $200,000 of debt or even $80,000 of debt because there’s no reason for that.

That strikes me as quite different from “very little tolerance for people who tell me that they graduate with debt because there’s no reason for that,” without the “$200,000 or even $80,000″ qualifier. Indeed, as of 2007-08, the 90th percentile for total undergraduate student loans was $44,500, so $80,000 would be a very high student loan amount indeed, at least for undergraduates (likely the people whom both the President and Congresswoman Fox was targeting). Today, the amounts would likely be a bit higher — the 2007-08 data gives the median 4-year student debt at $20,000, and President Obama said in his speech it was $25,000 — but not by enough to make $80,000 a normal student debt.

So Congresswoman Fox was expressing a lack of sympathy for students who take on unusually large — perhaps 95th or higher percentile — levels of debt. President Obama, though, quoted her as if she was expressing a lack of sympathy for students who take on any debt at all.

One can certainly disagree with the Congresswoman’s views. But if one wants to disagree with those views, one should at least quote them correctly.


If most students only take on 20-25k in debt, what is wrong with having "little tolerance" for someone who takes on 80k to 200k in debt? Yes, pursue your dreams, but that doesn't mean you can be reckless and expect the Government to feel sympathy for the vast amounts of debt you have acquired.

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Wed 04/25/12 09:55 AM
I would guess it depends on the school you attend as to how much debt you have when it's over. Who are these people you're talking about that are being reckless?

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Wed 04/25/12 09:59 AM

I would guess it depends on the school you attend as to how much debt you have when it's over. Who are these people you're talking about that are being reckless?


If you get 200k in debt to get a college degree, that's reckless. The loan payments are going to be huge and take years to pay off. That's a house for crying out loud.

boredinaz06's photo
Wed 04/25/12 10:38 AM




Universities get away with charging way too much, the average class at the UofA is right at $2500, it will cost you approximately $160,000.00 for a bachelors degree then on top of that you need a place to live and food is always nice to have. I don't know where the University of Arizona ranks as far as tuition goes but I do know there are state run schools that are more expensive and some less so if your a resident of said state. You can go a cheaper route in regards to tuition by taking some courses at a jr. college but you still need housing and food so it is real easy to rack up debt.

Sojourning_Soul's photo
Wed 04/25/12 10:57 AM

It's just like congress! When money is printed as needed by the FED, loaned to crony banks at 0% interest, then students are freely loaned said money by gov't entitlement programs, the fees will go higher and higher, quality will decrease as schools cut back on cirriculum and staff to meet those rising costs.....just like medical insurance, housing costs, and everything else the gov't tries to (control) subsidize.

The FED is the root of all evil, and will be the masters of our destruction with their lack of remorse for such actions!

All about a buck!

no photo
Wed 04/25/12 10:59 AM


I would guess it depends on the school you attend as to how much debt you have when it's over. Who are these people you're talking about that are being reckless?


If you get 200k in debt to get a college degree, that's reckless. The loan payments are going to be huge and take years to pay off. That's a house for crying out loud.


So, rather than choosing a school based on ranking or where they would get the best education, you want students to choose solely on price, otherwise they're reckless?

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Wed 04/25/12 11:02 AM



I would guess it depends on the school you attend as to how much debt you have when it's over. Who are these people you're talking about that are being reckless?


If you get 200k in debt to get a college degree, that's reckless. The loan payments are going to be huge and take years to pay off. That's a house for crying out loud.


So, rather than choosing a school based on ranking or where they would get the best education, you want students to choose solely on price, otherwise they're reckless?


laugh

So, rather than choosing a new home based on ranking of the local school system or where they would get the best view, you want perspective homeowners to choose solely on price, otherwise they're reckless?

Crazy as it sounds, it's always reckless to buy something you can't afford.

no photo
Wed 04/25/12 11:26 AM




I would guess it depends on the school you attend as to how much debt you have when it's over. Who are these people you're talking about that are being reckless?


If you get 200k in debt to get a college degree, that's reckless. The loan payments are going to be huge and take years to pay off. That's a house for crying out loud.


So, rather than choosing a school based on ranking or where they would get the best education, you want students to choose solely on price, otherwise they're reckless?


laugh

So, rather than choosing a new home based on ranking of the local school system or where they would get the best view, you want perspective homeowners to choose solely on price, otherwise they're reckless?

Crazy as it sounds, it's always reckless to buy something you can't afford.


Are you against going to school anywhere you can't afford out of pocket, then?

mightymoe's photo
Wed 04/25/12 11:30 AM
just like a democrat to gripe about republicans wanting people to pay their bills...sorry, utopia doesn't exist, and in the real world, people have to pay their bills...

no photo
Wed 04/25/12 11:34 AM
Edited by singmesweet on Wed 04/25/12 11:34 AM

just like a democrat to gripe about republicans wanting people to pay their bills...sorry, utopia doesn't exist, and in the real world, people have to pay their bills...


Who is talking about not paying their bills? And do you think only democrats go to college?

no photo
Wed 04/25/12 11:34 AM





I would guess it depends on the school you attend as to how much debt you have when it's over. Who are these people you're talking about that are being reckless?


If you get 200k in debt to get a college degree, that's reckless. The loan payments are going to be huge and take years to pay off. That's a house for crying out loud.


So, rather than choosing a school based on ranking or where they would get the best education, you want students to choose solely on price, otherwise they're reckless?


laugh

So, rather than choosing a new home based on ranking of the local school system or where they would get the best view, you want perspective homeowners to choose solely on price, otherwise they're reckless?

Crazy as it sounds, it's always reckless to buy something you can't afford.


Are you against going to school anywhere you can't afford out of pocket, then?


No, I'm not against any behavior that is legal (or many things that are illegal for that matter). I'm simply stating it is reckless to incur 200k in debt for an education.

I am, however, against the Government being in the business of student loans. That should be handled by banks and other private financial institutions. You would see an immediate decrease in the amount of money going into colleges and a commiserate decrease the the cost of a college education.

Sojourning_Soul's photo
Wed 04/25/12 11:36 AM

America was built on risk, and the hope of achieving what you previously couldn't afford.....THE AMERICAN DREAM!

So we should now lay down, give up hopes and dreams because someone else deems it nessessary to submit?

NOT!

The fight is with the system, NOT the people within it!

mightymoe's photo
Wed 04/25/12 11:39 AM


just like a democrat to gripe about republicans wanting people to pay their bills...sorry, utopia doesn't exist, and in the real world, people have to pay their bills...


Who is talking about not paying their bills? And do you think only democrats go to college?

ok, i see...your just wanting to bash republicans ... carry on, have fun...
laugh

no photo
Wed 04/25/12 11:45 AM
Edited by singmesweet on Wed 04/25/12 11:46 AM



just like a democrat to gripe about republicans wanting people to pay their bills...sorry, utopia doesn't exist, and in the real world, people have to pay their bills...


Who is talking about not paying their bills? And do you think only democrats go to college?

ok, i see...your just wanting to bash republicans ... carry on, have fun...
laugh


Not at all. Your response seems to show you wanted to bash democrats, though. Can you answer the questions?

mightymoe's photo
Wed 04/25/12 11:52 AM




just like a democrat to gripe about republicans wanting people to pay their bills...sorry, utopia doesn't exist, and in the real world, people have to pay their bills...


Who is talking about not paying their bills? And do you think only democrats go to college?

ok, i see...your just wanting to bash republicans ... carry on, have fun...
laugh


Not at all. Your response seems to show you wanted to bash democrats, though. Can you answer the questions?


i always want to bash liberals... they are more deserving of it right now. no, i agree with spider on this... anyone that gets that kind of loans to go to school will be in debt the rest of their life with it.

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Wed 04/25/12 11:53 AM
You still didn't answer the questions. Who is talking about not paying their bills? And do you think only democrats go to college? If not, why did you single out democrats?

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Wed 04/25/12 11:56 AM
Just my own .02, but no 4 year education is worth more than a years salary when you get the job.


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