77% of graduates won't pay all of their student loan back before they die

[Hobosapien]

So one problem is that despite having places for students to earn a degree there's often not the demand to offer them a job later.

Maybe they should get job guarantees at the end of the course (via part time placement like an apprentice during the course) and if no job forthcoming their debt is wiped anyway. An improvement on the old sandwich courses if they are still one year in the real world between the years of study.

[Whorty]

It's not a social ladder, it's a debt ladder.

It is today, but it shouldn't be. I feel so ashamed that my generation, that could do whatever degree it chose had their Uni education for free, yet we feel it OK to lumber future generations with this debt.

Obviously one issue is too many kids today go to Uni and we couldn't possibly give the 50% or so of 18 year olds free Uni education. This should be closer to 10-15% given this is how many true graduate jobs are out there. Governments however need kids to go to Uni to get them off the unemployed numbers.

Personally I'd bring in a graduate tax; all students should, from day one of working, pay an extra x% on all earnings to cover student fees. This should include all of us who have ever been to Uni. What % should it be? No idea! 1%, 2% ??? I'm sure someone can work out a suitable figure.

Like I say, I'm ashamed that we had this for free yet tell kids today that they can't. So utterly wrong.

[BrilloPad]

It is today, but it shouldn't be. I feel so ashamed that my generation, that could do whatever degree it chose had their Uni education for free, yet we feel it OK to lumber future generations with this debt.

Obviously one issue is too many kids today go to Uni and we couldn't possibly give the 50% or so of 18 year olds free Uni education. This should be closer to 10-15% given this is how many true graduate jobs are out there. Governments however need kids to go to Uni to get them off the unemployed numbers.

Personally I'd bring in a graduate tax; all students should, from day one of working, pay an extra x% on all earnings to cover student fees. This should include all of us who have ever been to Uni. What % should it be? No idea! 1%, 2% ??? I'm sure someone can work out a suitable figure.

Like I say, I'm ashamed that we had this for free yet tell kids today that they can't. So utterly wrong.

You solution still relies on taking money from (ex) students. So a sort of NI.

Pension age should be raised so only 40% live to receive it.

Houses need to be made alot cheaper.

And a good dose of hyper inflation is needed too....

[vetran]

It is today, but it shouldn't be. I feel so ashamed that my generation, that could do whatever degree it chose had their Uni education for free, yet we feel it OK to lumber future generations with this debt.

Obviously one issue is too many kids today go to Uni and we couldn't possibly give the 50% or so of 18 year olds free Uni education. This should be closer to 10-15% given this is how many true graduate jobs are out there. Governments however need kids to go to Uni to get them off the unemployed numbers.

Personally I'd bring in a graduate tax; all students should, from day one of working, pay an extra x% on all earnings to cover student fees. This should include all of us who have ever been to Uni. What % should it be? No idea! 1%, 2% ??? I'm sure someone can work out a suitable figure.

Like I say, I'm ashamed that we had this for free yet tell kids today that they can't. So utterly wrong.

When you had it for free it was 10% of the young people that year Tony B'Liar wanted to make it 50%.

Now studies suggest that far from meaning the less wealthy families don't go to University it is actually helping as they get significant financial help directly from the University paid for by the richer students. This does seem to have stalled last year though.

Number of disadvantaged students attending university falls for the first time | The Independent

Around 22 per cent of 19-year-olds who had been claiming free school meals at the age of 15 went onto university 2013/14, down from 23 per cent the previous year.

Since the 2005/06 academic year, the number of poor students heading into higher education has risen year-on-year from as low as 13 per cent. The percentage of state students not eligible for the meals who went to university also fell in 2013/2014, down from 40 per cent to 39 per cent, but are still above the 33 per cent low in 2005/06.

The Government, however, said the figures show the number of young, poor students is at “a record high.” Universities Minister, Jo Johnson, said: “We are seeing record numbers of disadvantaged young people going to university and benefitting from the real opportunities our world-class universities can offer.”

Now if five times as many students go to University than did before and they earn a premium why shouldn't they pay? The none graduates shouldn't have to subsidise them.

The loan arrangement means that from day one of receiving a reasonable wage the Graduates pay back their loans which are directly related to how much they personally spent! If they do not earn enough to repay them they are written off after 30 years. All that seems incredibly fair to me.

The only issue I see is the interest rate is exorbitant 1% over bank base rate would be more reasonable IMHO.

[billybiro]

Spend your life in a series of easy monthly repayments, and get the remainder written off as a death bonus!

What have we become?

We've become a nation of no ownership. Everything we have, we "rent". Houses, cars, mobile phones. Soon, even the most commoditised items will be rented to us via a "subscription". Nothing is or will ever be fully paid for or owned, and you'll spend your entire life "in debt" and dying with nothing.

You know, they say that communism and capitalism are simply two sides of the same coin. Welcome to Soviet Britain circa the early twentieth century. Only difference is that instead of the state owning everything of "ours" it's the private corporations (who are ultimately in bed with the state anyway).

Вперёд, Иосиф Сталин!

[BrilloPad]

dying with nothing.

A worrying thought. Nothing to take to the "after life".

[Hobosapien]

A worrying thought. Nothing to take to the "after life".

I'm drawing up a will that says if it's ever proven we are re-incarnated I can reclaim all I left behind in the previous life(s), plus interest.

[BrilloPad]

I'm drawing up a will that says if it's ever proven we are re-incarnated I can reclaim all I left behind in the previous life(s), plus interest.

Are you sure you aren't Howard Hughes come back?

I guess if you try that it will all be eaten up in legal fees.....

[The_Equalizer]

We've become a nation of no ownership. Everything we have, we "rent". Houses, cars, mobile phones. Soon, even the most commoditised items will be rented to us via a "subscription". Nothing is or will ever be fully paid for or owned, and you'll spend your entire life "in debt" and dying with nothing.

You know, they say that communism and capitalism are simply two sides of the same coin. Welcome to Soviet Britain circa the early twentieth century. Only difference is that instead of the state owning everything of "ours" it's the private corporations (who are ultimately in bed with the state anyway).

Вперёд, Иосиф Сталин!

With the exception of houses - and it's a big exception - there's no need to be in debt for anything as far as I can see.

[bobspud]

At the very least, they should reduce to zero the interest rate. I think this is currently 3% + RPI, and so at about 6% it is appallingly high even by today's mortgage standards:

They can't do that because they sold the loan book to an external firm...