Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 11 to 16 of 16

Thread: Billionaire Pays Student Loans

  1. #11
    Senior Member jp1's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    9,797
    Quote Originally Posted by ApatheticNoMore View Post
    He does some, but I'd rather he just pay and treat his workers decently. I mean supposedly he's involved with some homeless stuff, but some of those who work for Amazon are homeless ...
    Even upper income amazon workers are not treated particularly nicely. Shortly after the NY Times article about this came out a few years ago I asked my sister how accurate it was. Apparently when our father was in the hospital for the last six months of his life she got a crappy annual review for taking too much personal time during the year... It was bad enough that she left after 3 years even though she wouldn't be fully vested in her stock options for another year.

  2. #12
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Vermont
    Posts
    14,635
    I think loan forgiveness is great. I saw a similar situation on 60 Minutes.

    In a way, I hate to say it, but who is this benefiting? In many cases, people who have financial support already.

    Jeffrey Sachs has thrown out a number that would eradicate world poverty, and frankly, it's not that much:

    Jeffrey Sachs, as one of the world’s leading experts on economic development and the fight against poverty, stated that the cost to end poverty is $175 billion per year for 20 years. This yearly amount is less than 1 percent of the combined income of the richest countries in the world, and only four times the United States’ military budget for one year.

    Ending poverty is possible and at a low cost. Now we just need ordinary citizens as well as multinational corporations to start meeting their responsibilities to help the poor and the left behind.
    Source

    I am not criticizing people who pay off student loans, by any means. But a piece of me wonders why a billionaire paying off the loans of medical students warrants a 60 Minutes segment, whereas the sacrifice of many people who live simply so that they can give to the poor and destitute goes unnoticed. I was going to provide one example, but there are so many examples of selfless people working to better the lives of the poor in every city and town. They are my heroes.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
    www.silententry.wordpress.com

  3. #13
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Posts
    2,843
    Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
    Ending poverty is possible and at a low cost. Now we just need ordinary citizens as well as multinational corporations to start meeting their responsibilities to help the poor and the left behind.
    Source
    There is an additional challenge to solving poverty: many are in poverty because of poor financial decisions and/or poor education. That too must be solved. Paying off their debt is only 1 small part of their equation.

  4. #14
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Nevada
    Posts
    12,889
    Also if you look at the bell curve some people will never be smart enough to do anything but very low paying jobs.

  5. #15
    Simpleton Alan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    9,389
    Quote Originally Posted by Teacher Terry View Post
    Also if you look at the bell curve some people will never be smart enough to do anything but very low paying jobs.
    And if we artificially inflate the return on not being smart enough, the number of people you describe will increase exponentially.
    "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein

  6. #16
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    9,656
    Also if you look at the bell curve some people will never be smart enough to do anything but very low paying jobs.
    well the majority of the jobs will always be low paying as well (I mean yes one can change minimum wage etc. but just being realistic about what jobs are actually out there). The world in which everyone would have a good job if only they were "smart enough" is not the U.S. job market.

    And even if all low paying jobs were automated, the number of good paying jobs is not particularly likely to increase, though the unemployment rate might.
    Trees don't grow on money

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •