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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe House Just Voted to Bankrupt Graduate Students
I hope all are calling their Reps and Senators about this stupidity!
The House Just Voted to Bankrupt Graduate Students
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/16/opinion/house-tax-bill-graduate-students.html?action=click&contentCollection=Asia%20Pacific&module=Trending&version=Full®ion=Marginalia&pgtype=article
Erin Rousseau
5-6 minutes
Republicans in the House of Representatives have just passed a tax bill that would devastate graduate research in the United States. Hidden in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is a repeal of Section 117(d)(5) of the current tax code, a provision that is vital to all students who pursue masters degrees or doctorates and are not independently wealthy.
Im a graduate student at M.I.T., where I study the neurological basis of mental health disorders. My peers and I work between 40 and 80 hours a week as classroom teachers and laboratory researchers, and in return, our universities provide us with a tuition waiver for school. For M.I.T. students, this waiver keeps us from having to pay a tuition bill of about $50,000 every year a staggering amount, but one that is similar to the fees at many other colleges and universities. No money from the tuition waivers actually ends up in our pockets, so under Section 117(d)(5), it isnt counted as taxable income.
But under the Houses tax bill, our waivers will be taxed. This means that M.I.T. graduate students would be responsible for paying taxes on an $80,000 annual salary, when we actually earn $33,000 a year. Thats an increase of our tax burden by at least $10,000 annually.
.........................................
In a horrible twist, the repeal of Section 117 (d)(5) isnt the only part of the tax bill that would hurt college students. The House bill would also end the student loan interest deduction, which allows individuals who make up to $80,000 and are repaying student loans to decrease their debt. It also eliminates the Lifetime Learning Credit, which is instrumental for many nontraditional students..........................
Republicans held a news conference on Capitol Hill after the House of Representatives passed a tax reform bill. Al Drago for The New York Times
MattP
(3,304 posts)questionseverything
(9,666 posts)their heirs have already had every possible advantage
and the dead don't miss it
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)Can't be having too many smart people in this country, ya know.
Girard442
(6,088 posts)Not like there's anybody out there like that.
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)hueymahl
(2,510 posts)Truly is Bizzaro World.
samnsara
(17,658 posts)..unlimited! its free but try to donate a bit if you can
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)sinkingfeeling
(51,493 posts)underpants
(183,007 posts)They couldn't be more obvious
world wide wally
(21,760 posts)SergeStorms
(19,204 posts)through the TV screen last night when I saw him pontificating about how this bill is not a hand out to the wealthy. I would have strangled him had I been able to get within range of him. He obviously hasn't read the bill. There is no way in hell he read that bill before voting on it. He probably had some lying aide read it to him, but that damned bill never touched his stupid, old hands.
mythology
(9,527 posts)Republicans seem to sit around and think "how can I screw the most number of people at once?".
BigmanPigman
(51,651 posts)The small tax breaks that people who make $10,000-30,000 will actually get will make them end up paying more in taxes. Those who earn more than that will see a tax increase in a few years when the time expires for them under the bill. The only permanent tax cuts are for the uber rich. For those who do get a tax break it will be an actual increase since all of the former deductions that benefited them are not in this bill. Medical expenses, state and city taxes written off, student loans, teachers out of pocket classroom supplies, etc are no longer write offs. Therefore the small tax breaks will be zero and people will once again have to pay more to the government and receive less. The ACA changes will make everyone's insurance increase, whether you have the ACA or not. Increased costs of premiums will be passed onto employees from their employers (good bye Christmas bonus and next year's raise) and co pays will increase too. The GOP, the Mergers and the Kochs win again. Goodie!
Now, WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?
We can DELAY the vote in the Senate. That is the goal. MoveOn.org, Bernie, Indivisible, etc have a plan and called people last Wed night. After the Thanksgiving Recess there is a "Week of Action" starting Nov 29th. While the senators are home during recess protest their homes, offices, attend town halls... When they return call, write their DC offices too. Go to protests and start protests. Sign petitions, do SOMETHING!
We did it before with the ACA repeal but this is getting pushed through fast and we do not have a lot of time so get up and get going.
Johnson (WI) and Collins (ME) are on the record for saying they aren't happy with the bill. Call them (202)224-3121.
PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,927 posts)His tuition is waived and I believe his stipend for his research duties is about $18,000/year. And yes, his tuition would be 50k a year, were it not forgiven.
It's beyond ludicrous that money that does not pass through their hands is to be taxed.
SergeStorms
(19,204 posts)rich kids never earned isn't to be taxed. GOP world, where up is down, back is front, good is bad, etc.
I HATE THESE GOD-DAMNED PEOPLE!
mopinko
(70,337 posts)i have a son in a phd program, too.
ChubbyStar
(3,191 posts)He and fellow phd students are livid.
mopinko
(70,337 posts)that is where my son is. math nerd.
ChubbyStar
(3,191 posts)My son is Ian maybe they know each other!
mopinko
(70,337 posts)and smart aleck. he is really happy being out there. finally found his tribe.
ChubbyStar
(3,191 posts)Loves the beauty of Utah not cool with the politics of the sate
Gravitycollapse
(8,155 posts)I barely see money back after tax season and this new "plan" would probably mean that I will owe money I simply don't have. It would be like making food stamps taxable income.
anneboleyn
(5,611 posts)time although the entire job market was collapsing around 05 and finding a job of any type was almost impossible.
In the old days because of my field and our school (top five university), and my publications and awards, I would have walked into a choice job at an Ivy League school. But not now! It all became a huge nightmare for all of us. Many people I know left academia after fruitlessly searching for three or even four years on the job market. They now work for private corporations and the government (there are many drawbacks but both private companies and the gov pay FAR FAR better than universities do for the same work).
Others are still drifting along in adjunct jobs that are really far beneath their ability level. It has been tragic and crushing. Truly. You work so incredibly hard for that degree, over many tough years, in a profession you plan to devote your life to and with the way things have been going (what I saw under Bush II and now Trump & his clown car 🚗 has been...well...devastating.
Blecht
(3,803 posts)Last edited Fri Nov 17, 2017, 07:31 PM - Edit history (1)
When I started graduate school in the 1980s, my stipend itself was tax-free.
That changed under Reagan when it became taxable. It just meant that the school had to increase the amount, because it was barely enough to survive on as it was.
I don't think schools will be able to increase the amount enough to cover this insanity.
PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,927 posts)The PhD students all need to buy their own airplanes so they can deduct the storage fees! Yeah, that'll work!
Somehow the sarcasm thingy seems entirely inadequate.
anneboleyn
(5,611 posts)happened (when the economy started going south a lot of those ideas were dropped by the republicans). It got close enough that we were all terrified as even though my degree was in a humanity rather than a science we still faced the same problem -- taxes on a $55,000 tuition waver -- paying for money that NEVER PASSED THROUGH OUR HANDS.
Our stipends plus income from teaching and working as research assistants totaled about $15,000 a year. And out of that came rent (which in 99% of cities means at least one roommate), food, medical care, car payments, clothing, pet food, etc, travel $$$ for conferences, $$$ for suits/skirts to attend job interviews, research travel (international travel in my case) and items for research such as extremely expensive but rare texts that we needed to have on hand for research. We walked our asses off because we were idealists and believed in the merits of our dream professions. If Trump and his cronies keep smashing these groups with these absurd and unfair tax laws we will lose generations of the brightest young students who wanted to go to Harvard for a Ph.D. or M.D. but who will be denied the chance because of these utterly shameful cash grabs by Trump and his totally corrupt team of big money swamp morons.
This will be a TERRIBLE blow to graduate students. I hope this gets more media coverage -- the universities should also be doing everything they can to defend their graduate students and expose this evil.
The Genealogist
(4,723 posts)No doubt this is part of their plan to tear down education. More than one reason for this. First, they see universities as nothing but liberals breeding more liberals. There is nothing they can do about that, so they come up with crap like this to destroy high education financially. Second, they want an entire country full of nothing but low-information deplorables, serfs who will never question their authority, or try to overthrow them. They are evil people. Evil.