Bernie Sanders will use a tax on Wall Street speculators to wipe out $1.6 trillion in US student debt

[Mindysan33]

@armozel

anyone who tries to call basic Keynesianism socialism I’m gonna just smack them with a copy of General Theory until they shut up and read it.

[armozel]

And I’m the god dang Mutualist anarchist here. I don’t even like Keynes cause his solution is just a band aid for capitalism. I want it all gone but as long as it’s the assumed only game in town better to use the band aid than nothing.

[MarcoE]

@Mangochin

@Mindysan33

Going to college (public colleges/universities) used to be cheap (relatively speaking), back when you had a robust state run set of grants and loans that allowed more people who had less means to go to school. And then there was a massive wave of privatization of the loan system. Couple that with running a university like a corporation, and you have what we have right now, which is an economic disaster looming. It will be worse than the 2008 crash, if we don’t do something now, like some sort of loan forgiveness.

The only reason it isn’t an economic disaster right now is the non-dischargability of these loans. No foreclosure or bankruptcy is possible to relieve people defaulting.

At risk of being badgered for thread derailment, II’d like to point out that the current D frontrunner played a major role in making them non-dischargeable.
Sanders/Warren or Warren/Sanders 2020, please.

[Mangochin]

@MarcoE

Sanders/Warren or Warren/Sanders 2020, please.

[IronEdithKidd]

It’s OK, you can call Biden out by name. The more his role in the current morass is publicized, the lesser his chances of making it far in the Dem primaries.

[Purplecat]

@mmascari

The third one would control actual costs with an ability to keep them down, and eliminate debt, but it has capacity issues. You can only build so much capacity into the system. Integrated community and state college systems help with this, but there’s still only so much capacity. Presumably, for the same total economic cost of the others, you could build enough capacity, but it would take time.

The third one is also what we do in the parts of the parts of the rest of the world that already have tuition-free tertiary education.

Once again, like many other policies that are regarded as “radical” in the USA, this is already normal elsewhere.Likewise the tax on financial transactions:

European Union financial transaction tax

[SamWinston]

Sounds good upfront. But it would also wipe out some University/Teachers pension funds, so they’d be wage slaves well into their late 60’s early 70’s.

Any plan of that nature better be carefully crafted to avoid having retirement funds/pensions as casualty.

[Purplecat]

@SamWinston

But it would also wipe out some University/Teachers pension funds

No.
A 0.5% tax on the purchase of shares is not going to annihilate pension funds, which generally buy and hold assets for the long term, rather than trading frequently. For evidence- please note the continued existence of the UK’s pension industry, despite the existence of stamp duty reserve tax of 0.5 %.

Tax when you buy shares

[Mindysan33]

@SamWinston

But it would also wipe out some University/Teachers pension funds, so they’d be wage slaves well into their late 60’s early 70’s.

Dude… the problem is getting professors to retire so the rest of us can have jobs… most of them DO work into the 60s and 70s.

And in my state at least, most of their pensions were wiped out at least twice after they shifted to 401ks.

[Wanderfound]

@simonize

It also needs some sort of cost controls, or the universities will become the new healtcare industry.

cabral

[Wanderfound]

Justice Democrats (justicedems)

[Lexicat]

@Mindysan33

or the universities will become the new healtcare industry.

they already are? This is why many students are deeply indebt, because the cost of higher ed has been skyrocketing these past 20 years.

[SamWinston]

Yikes. Not here. There’s a state pension plan for Uni/teachers and state employees…even the IT guys.

It’s maintained by the State…and does quite well. They tired to do the 'shift to 401K …but they’d have none of it. The state employees and senate and house are also on the plan.
It’s a pension so unlike a 401K…you get X amount a month based on your pay in for LIFE when you get old enough to tap it. So, it’s not like a tax free deferred savings account
And it’s run by guys that invest the money and if the stock market does well, your pension might go up.

[IronEdithKidd]

Clearly you don’t live in Georgia or Michigan. Maybe we can get others to chime in so we can figure out which unicorn of a US state still has pensions?

[Mindysan33]

@SamWinston

There’s a state pension plan for Uni/teachers and state employees

Lucky them! I know people who’ve retired after retaining their pensions and those who switched to the 401k… guess who is sitting on a very healthy retirement and who is not. they got the choice, at least (people already part of the pension system).

[Brainspore]

Just a reminder that as a member of the US Senate Bernie Sanders has the power to put this proposal forward as legislation NOW. If elected President he will only have the power to encourage others to write such legislation so he can sign it into law.

So why wait?

[IronEdithKidd]

As with everything the Republicans do, or don’t do, cruelty is the point. This proposal would help Americans at a very modest cost to the rentier class, so the man who looks uncannily like a turtle would never allow it to the floor for a vote. Then the turtle-man will shout at Democrats for trying to be “mean to the billionaires.”

I’m so tired of all this winning.

[SamWinston]

Difficulty: Alabama
https://www.rsa-al.gov/

Probably the only reason to live in the state as a educator or support personnel for education or research.

Literally 1 year to being able to tap that. 16 years paid in. Payout will be 1300 month for life. A bit more if I wait 5 more years.
That’s for a lower level IT guy making under 50K for those 16 years.

And I was able to pay off a house a few years ago just outside of BHM so, no mortgage payment. The 1300 will just be for utilities and vacation fund.
3 more years the SO gets his pension which will be 1500 or more a month.
With no rent and just ultilities. That’s a pretty sweet spending money for IT level wirepullers. And I live on 3 Acres of wooded land with a fish pond and property tax is 600 dollars a year. Reduced to zero when I get 60ish. or disabled.

[SamWinston]

Also…

There’s a form you can fill out if you don’t want the government taking your money for Social Security. You have to do this for religious reasons.
And the government will never take the SSI tax again.
And you’ll never get SSI benefits when you get old.
https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.11/handbook-1128.html

This would be a very bad move for most people.

[KingGhidorah]

A financial transaction tax is a great idea. The particulars can be changed here and there but basically it discourages insane speculation (i.e. holding assets for a fraction of a second) and makes lots of money for the government. A much better idea than railing against stock buybacks (thought those, too, could be taxed)