• MeetInPotatoes@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      Today’s phrase is “garnish your wages.” If their protest doesn’t involve moving to another country it’s not going to happen. I’ve thought about it too, but my contingency,for that definitely involves moving to Scandinavia.

      • bobs_monkey@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Ah bullshit. Civil rights weren’t achieved by threatening to leave and not be the oppressor’s problem anymore, they were achieved by standing ones ground damned the consequences. No one wants to be a martyr, but that’s how battles are unfortunately won, especially against today’s brand of fascists.

          • pinkdrunkenelephants@sopuli.xyz
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            1 year ago

            Then people will just take their checks through an LLC and be independent contractors. Or go into business for themselves. Or just revolt.

            The last one is the most worrisome.

              • pinkdrunkenelephants@sopuli.xyz
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                1 year ago

                That’s partly why it’s so worrisome. 10 years ago, it would have meant something, but now it’s too late, and I fear now it will only negatively contribute to climate collapse and cause the genocide we hope to avoid.

                I think it might be too late to save the country and we all ought to get several state governments to secede… and if a civil war brews because of that, then it would at least have some semblance of a positive outcome.

        • ineedaunion @lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          More of this. It’s time for mass protests instead of complaining and then working a 9 to 5 and browsing Instagram.

      • PeterPoopshit@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        The US government: let’s enable the economy to get to the point where it’s basically impossible for young people to even participate in society.

        Also the US government: damn, why do people keep going on suicidal mass shootings? If only there was anything we could do about it.

        • CADmonkey@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I’m so glad you’re willing to sponsor people who want to leave the US, when can I expect the check?

          • Zuberi 👀@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            1 year ago

            Read my other comments on it. You can get well more then enough to move from the gov (unemployment/food stamps/etc)

  • evatronic@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Is it really a boycott if you simply can’t make the payments?

    Not that I mind.

  • Fraylor@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    I’m just confused as to why it’s all fine and dandy that PPP loans were all forgiven regardless of the corrupt practices used for disbursement, but student loans, which impact the economy as a whole far more than PPP ever will, is a must repay.

    • Cleverdawny@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Because Republicans will fight so that the rich can get richer by getting handed free money, and Republican will fight so that the working class has to pay back every cent.

      • holland@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        Please remember that the Dems are doing this too. Neither party is our friend here.

        • Cleverdawny@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          The opposite is the truth. If Republicans were as supportive of student debt reform as Democrats were, we would have a major reform bill of some form passed and signed. Maybe it wouldn’t be cancellation, but interest free student loans would probably be a thing.

          Democrats may disagree and aren’t universally behind cancellation, but didn’t have enough votes by themselves anyways to make anything happen. Biden tried to enact his personal proposal through executive order, but that got shut down by Republican justices.

          So. No. It’s not a both parties thing. It’s one sided. And if you aren’t willing to tell the truth about that, then I have to wonder about your motivations and what you seek to do.

          • holland@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            Dems aren’t your friends but the GOP is fascist and we don’t vote for fascists ever. So slag off with the slander.

            You can work with people who aren’t your friends towards some goals. You can’t ever work with fascists who want you dead.

    • Chriskmee@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Well one big difference is that PPP loans were a one time thing, they are gone now and not coming back for a very long time.

      If you paid off all student loans today, there would be more tomorrow, and every day after that. If we do it once, we basically have to keep doing it until school is completely paid for and student loans are no longer a thing.

      Forgiving student loans just has a much bigger and longer lasting financial obligation than one time PPP loans.

      • Fraylor@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        It didn’t seem to be an issue when previous generations went to college essentially for free.

        • nednobbins@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          The problem is that we never bothered to create a system where free education would actually work.

          Producers always like to sell their goods for as much as they can get. Normally, a consumer looks at a product, decides if it’s worth the price and then either buys it or doesn’t. If prices are too high, producers are forced to lower them to stay in business.

          The current system essentially created a 3 way business transaction that guarantees runaway education costs.

          The universities provide a service. It’s really hard to determine the value of that service since there isn’t a liquid market for “an education” or “a Harvard degree” that you can easily look up.

          The government then says they’ll cover a percentage of that cost. This is a bit tricky. A normal subsidy is effectively a paying a fraction of the cost. Once you introduce loan forgiveness, either as a frequent or guaranteed event, that fraction effectively goes to 100%.

          The student is getting a degree of unknown value but since they don’t have to pay (at least not the whole thing) they’ll just agree to the purchase, even if they don’t personally think the good is worth as much as the provider is charging. There’s no reason to if someone is picking up the bill.

          The universities see that their price elasticity of demand (how much their sales suffer when they overcharge) is essentially 0. That means they can raise them with impunity. The end result is that Universities can essentially help themselves to large government grants without any requirement to show the public how we benefit from those grants.

          If we consider education to be a public good then we should treat it as such. That would mean that we cancel the student loan program, get rid of tax subsidies for educational institutions and just have the federal government create a competing educational system. Take the money we’re spending on outsourcing education to the private sector and add to it. For the system to work it would need to attract top tier professors and that means good research facilities and salaries. It’s not a complicated idea but it would be a massive undertaking.

          As a bonus we’d get some great initialisms. The federal universities would obviously be the FU system. State campuses might have names like FUNY and FUCA.

          And yes, the point of such a system is that it would be paid entirely by taxes and would be free to students.

  • Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Wouldn’t our wages just get garnished or shit repo’d or something? I’m 100% for forgiveness cuz fuck that predatory shit, but this route seems like a guarantee to just exacerbate harm to the borrowers.

    • Neuromancer@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Nothing will be repoed. They may garnish your wages but at the end of the day, there is no collateral.

      • cbarrick@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Garnished wages is still a huge problem.

        Student loans are not forgiven in bankruptcy.

        The federal government will garnish borrowers wages until they are paid, even if the borrower is bankrupt.

        • Neuromancer@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          They look at your wages and expenses. I knew a dentist who got garnished 10 dollars a month. That’s all he could afford.

          You can’t take blood from a turnip

          • jpreston2005@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            i applied for income based repayment program 3-4 different times, always denied. I was making around 2k/month, and they wanted me to pay $1000/month. after getting rejected the third or fourth time, I just stopped even attempting to handle the debt in good faith.

            • Neuromancer@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              That is insane. I don’t think college should be free but it needs to be less expensive. It shouldn’t cost an arm and leg to go to college and cost more than a car. I strongly support a subsidized school system that is reasonably priced. Free just means fewer people would be able to go. That is how most other countries handle the situation. I want everyone to have access to a low cost education to better themselves either for a job or just for personal enjoyment. I am always taking college classes but it has become a strain on my budget.

              • girlfreddy@mastodon.social
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                1 year ago

                @wintermute_oregon @jpreston2005

                Why shouldn’t it be free? I mean if businesses are making A LOT of money from the labour of those who’ve paid extraordinary amounts for their education - and are no where near providing equal compensation for that labour - then businesses should be paying for ALL education.

                • Neuromancer@lemm.ee
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                  1 year ago

                  I explained why it shouldn’t be free. We would have to limit the number of students like the rest of the world does to control the cost. We would close it off to only the brightest and most people would be excluded from a college education. That is how most countries handle college. Only the best get to go and the rest go to trade school or just work other jobs. I want people here to have the chance to better themselves. That is the American dream.

          • grue@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Where are you going to get the money or skills to get some other country to accept you, though? If you had those, you wouldn’t be trying to leave (at least for this reason) in the first place!

            • Zuberi 👀@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              1 year ago

              This is a fictional situation where a person loaned money to go/finish school. If you went to school, have a shit ton of debt, AND don’t want to do anything to improve, sure.

              Plenty (PLENTY) of countries take Americans no questions asked. The tough ones to get into are the ones that check your skin color before entry. But for those in particular, just be white and you’ll likely get in anyway. Such is life :/

              • grue@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                It’s not a question of getting in; it’s a question of getting in with the kind of visa that allows you to work and being allowed to stay long-term.

                For example, even a white engineer like me would have trouble immigrating to somewhere like New Zealand without already having an employer lined up beforehand. The relevant type of visa isn’t even accepting new “expressions of interest” right now, LOL.

  • Worstdriver@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    "And with enough evaders,

    Escaping from the game,

    The rule becomes an empty shell

    That rules in only name…"

    • Leslie Fish, “Zero Game”
  • Confused_Emus@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I’m considering not paying as long as they’re doing the “ease you back into it” stuff like not reporting to credit agencies or garnishing wages. Seems essentially like a forbearance without the interest freeze. It really just depends on what my new payments end up being. But until that dog gets its teeth back, Nelnet can have what’s left after I pay my actual bills and buy my weed.

  • SeaJ@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Boycotting only works when there is a noticeable financial hit to the producer. The federal government is not going to notice this. This can be good for campaigning though. Tell people that the reason they are not getting some forgiveness is because Republicans are doing everything they can to block it. Send out some flyers to everyone who has a federal student loan with a list of every Republican official who has had a PPP loan forgiven.

  • unaredon@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Not from America so please someone explain to me, I read Biden wanted to forgive student loans but somehow it didn’t get through. Sure it would be much better if the loan is forgiven, but now it is not, shouldn’t you still pay back what is owned? They really think they can just not pay and expect no consequences?

    • Sl00k@programming.dev
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      1 year ago

      These loans are out right predatory. I was offered a 12% interest rate 7 years ago and have friends who’ve been offered 16%!!!

      Yes you can say just don’t sign it, but we’re 17 years old we can’t comprehend how much affect a 16% interest rate will have on you in 8 years and you’ve been told all your life college is the goto life path and you have to do this to get a “good job” and live a good life.

      I agree we should payback the money we loaned, but taking advantage of genz via predatory loans for wanting a higher education is downright criminal in itself.

      Adding onto this a lot of us will struggle to make these payments. I have 20k in loans and I haven’t paid a dime on EVER. Now I suddenly have a second car payment out of nowhere!

    • doggle@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Of course everyone involved knows they will face consequences, but they may feel those consequences are better than the payments. Courts can’t garnish paychecks that don’t exist and a ruined credit rating only matters if you were ever going to be able to afford to buy a house or car in the first place. Afaik actual jail time isn’t really a thing for defaulting on a loan. If the only leverage the government has to get people to pay the loan is to threaten their future financial security, then anyone who thinks the initial promises of security is bogus has nothing to lose.

      There’s also some people who are willing to take the hit just to send a political message.

      That said, I suspect nowhere near 62% of borrowers will actually meaningfully boycott in any way.

    • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      He didn’t want to. He wanted to go thru the motions. If this mattered he would have executive ordered it and forced Congress to override. Even the Supreme Court can’t force the federal government to collect a debt/tax. And given the state of Congress there was no way Congress would override it.

      • mommykink@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        This. For all the shit he did, Trump expanded the executive powers through EO more than any modern president ever has. Biden could have 100% EO’d student loan forgiveness, damned the consequences but chose not to.

      • TheWoozy@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Biden not only wanted too, but he made sure he had a backup plan. He found a loophole in Clinton era legislation that allows a president to create income based repayment plans. It’s not quite forgiveness, but it’s the best he can do with Republicans controlling the house. https://apnews.com/article/student-loans-debt-college-cancellation-forgiveness-34152bb5000128a413efd2287887a37a

        If you want true loan forgiveness, vote Democratic.

        • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          As I said, he could have instructed them to just not act on or pursue any payments. Let Congress vote to force the executive to do something deeply unpopular.

          • singron@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            If the next president reverses the order, then all these people are in the same position and might owe additional interest. Banks know this, so they will hold it against anyone seeking credit. Congress doesn’t even have to vote.

            With the income based repayment, they aren’t considered delinquent on their loans, interest doesn’t build, and there is a path towards having the debt forgiven eventually.

        • StunningGoggles@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          The Democrats controlled both the house and the Senate for a time and didn’t get it done, or am I misremembering the Democrats controlling both?

          • TheWoozy@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            When you take Sens Manchin & Sinema into concideration, their control was very weak. It’s a miracle the got the IRA done. It was a big F*ing deal.

  • WhyDoesntThisThingWork@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I would love this to be true, but when it comes down to it, I think most of that 63% will make payments as expected. This is just something they can tell a surveyor to make themselves feel better unfortunately.

  • bauhaus@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    I’m really glad I’m not going through this now, but I would boycott if I were. I fully support these people and hope to goodness they get the relief they need!

    • Riyria@sopuli.xyz
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      1 year ago

      They will take your house. As someone else said, with student loans there is no collateral. With a mortgage, your home is collateral, so you will forfeit it.

        • Riyria@sopuli.xyz
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          1 year ago

          No, your income isn’t collateral. Garnishment is sought because there is no collateral to claim. Collateral is explicitly put up to guarantee a loan.

    • doggle@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Bad move; the house is collateral. The bank can’t foreclose on an education, they definitely can take the house.

      • Elw@lemmy.sdf.org
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        1 year ago

        Nope, but they sure can garnish wages, claiming they’re entitled to it since they paid for the education that lead to the job

          • CADmonkey@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            And it starts to be a strain when enough people refuse to pay. If it takes multiple court cases, amd there are a few thousand in a court’s district, it’s going to get where you can’t do anything else because of all the student loan repayment cases.

            • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
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              Plus the possibility of it going to heck. They screw up somewhere, lose, and it multiples. Everyone who took out a loan in PA in 2006 is now eligible to get it discharged for example.

              What debt collectors and traffic court people don’t want you to know is that as long as you are willing to fight them chances are you will eventually win. And once someone wins a single time it gets established. There was a reason for a while Uber settled everything out of court.

              We are going to see an army of lawyers over the next few years suing the government over this while the US government has to spend more and more to get less and less.