[gr33nq]

Correct - both people in your scenario end up having no student loan debt.

But Person A, who paid their $30k loan in full, now has $30k less to spend on a home, a car, savings, etc. Person B, who did not pay their $30k, now has effectively $30k more in buying power either immediately or spread across what would otherwise have been their repayment timeline.

Person A's responsibility for their obligation has set them back $30k, while Person B's lack of responsibility for making payments has put them ahead $30k. Maybe we shouldn't call it a direct punishment, but they're certainly coming out of the scenario worse off than their counterpart.

[31098347]

>Maybe we shouldn't call it a direct punishment, but they're certainly coming out of the scenario worse off than their counterpart.

It's hard for me not to sound flippant when I say this, but -- this is life. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who has the means to pay off their student loans themselves practically won the lottery and they should be thankful they're not totally fucked like those who need the forgiveness.

There's an ugly, underlying impression I get from this discussion that is oddly reminiscent of the "welfare queen" stereotype.

[gr33nq]

>As far as I'm concerned, anyone who has the means to pay off their student loans themselves practically won the lottery and they should be thankful they're not totally fucked like those who need the forgiveness.

Let me share my personal experience with you so I can try to shed some light on our varying interpretations of what "won the lottery" means. I went to college full-time, four days a week, and was a commuter. I was responsible for my entire car payment, my parking pass, my books/material, and for taking out a loan for tuition. I took it upon myself to get a part-time job while continuing to study and go to class for four and a half years. I then got a full-time job upon graduating and lived very frugally for two years with a huge chunk of my paychecks going towards paying off my car and student loans. The thought of paying interest killed me, and I did everything in my power to put every penny I could afford towards paying down my debt. I didn't go on vacations, didn't spend money frivolously on a new iPhone every year, didn't buy anything that wasn't necessary until my obligations were fulfilled.

Now let's revisit Person B (and to be clear, I personally know a Person B who's a close friend of mine who fits this description). They did not consistently work in college, but partied, went to festivals, took vacations, had a much easier schedule not having to factor in a job. They then graduate just like me. They have a few hundred dollars more every month that can go towards more vacations than I had the option to take, a more expensive car that I could not afford to buy, and more discretionary spending power than I had during that time. They work a job now, but have yet to begin repaying their loans yet (I understand the pandemic was a once-in-a-lifetime situation, but even so, there's a grace period after graduating where you aren't forced to pay). And even when payments resume, they will likely pay the bare minimum each month because they now have the prospect of having that debt potentially forgiven in its entirety.

How do you tell me with a straight face that I won the lottery, and that Person B is actually the one who is "fucked" (as you so eloquently put it) and needs the forgiveness?

[Zpalmtree]

Why do you want to encourage people to make bad financial decisions

[31098347]

The massive information asymmetry involved in the student loan system means these kind of black and white judgements not particularly useful.