2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumStudent Debt—Hillary Clinton vs. Bernie Sanders:
#ImWithHer proposal!!
Student DebtHillary Clinton vs. Bernie Sanders:
daleanime
(17,796 posts)Hillary Clinton...check please.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,869 posts)Of course, Bernie's program for college tuition would mean nobody would have to take out student loans at all...
MichMan
(11,978 posts)What about room & board, books, fees, transportation, clothing, and everything else required ? Tuition is just a portion of the expenses of attending a college.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)vintx
(1,748 posts)Recursion
(56,582 posts)But students there still end up with a lot of debt. The average at the beginning of 2013 was roughly 124,000 Swedish krona ($19,000). Sure, the average US student was carrying about 30% more, at $24,800.
But remember: Free. College in Sweden is free. Thats not even all that common in Europe anymore. While the costs of education are far lower than in the US, over the past two decades sometimes-hefty fees have become a fact of life for many European students. Britain got them in 1998. Some German states instituted them after a federal ban on student fees was overturned in the courts. In fact, since 1995 more than half of the 25 OECD countries with available data on higher education have overhauled their college tuition policies at public institions, with many adding or raising fees.
And yet, students in Germany and the UK have far lower debts than in Sweden. And 85% of Swedish students graduate with debt, versus only 50% in the US. Worst of all, new Swedish graduates have the highest debt-to-income ratios of any group of students in the developed world (according to estimates of what theyre expected to earn once they get out of school)somewhere in the neighborhood of 80%. The US, where were constantly being told that student debt is hitting crisis proportions, the average is more like 60%. Why?
College in Sweden is free. But rent isnt. And food isnt. Neither is the beer that fuels the relatively infrequent, yet legendary, binges in which some Swedes partake. Costs of living in Sweden are high, especially in cities such as Stockholm, which regularly ranks among the worlds most expensive places to live. But again, this stuff isnt free for students in other European countries either. So why do Swedish students end up with more debt? Its pretty simple, actually. In Sweden, young people are expected to pay for things themselves instead of sponging off their parents.
vintx
(1,748 posts)This article is more than disingenuous.
The problems with finding jobs in Sweden (what kinds of degrees are these kids getting) and lifestyle choices in Sweden have nothing to do with the fact that students here are being charged for something the government funded up until the 80's.
That Democrats are now contorting themselves to defend Reagan's cuts is eye-opening.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)And that reducing or eliminating tuition, while a good idea, won't fix the student debt problem.
vintx
(1,748 posts)I'd say eliminating that from their burden will do a lot to improve things for college students.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)vintx
(1,748 posts)libtodeath
(2,888 posts)Glad to know Hillary thinks only rich kids should not have to deal with it.
riversedge
(70,311 posts)burden. But Bernie is not.
libtodeath
(2,888 posts)Vinca
(50,310 posts)couldn't help but notice she's stolen material from Bernie. She said something about students graduating from college debt free. Unless she has a plan for money coming out of the sky on a flaming pie, only Bernie's solution does that.
reformist2
(9,841 posts)So much for all those yellow "x"-es!