Re: Minimum wage
 

Yep, has happened to me, and is the reason I cannot go to school until next year if the government approves me for loans, they may very well say no.

I know few people who can pay the average 4 to 6k a semester out of pocket that a public college costs around here. ( costs vary by major and program.)

If one only makes 15,000 a year full-time, how can they possibly pay 8k a year for school?

Re: Minimum wage
 

At one time it was pretty easy to discharge student loans in bankruptcy in the US but in the 1990s, congress passed a law making it more difficult to discharge student loans. Student loans can now only be discharged in bankruptcy if there is "undue hardship" and the purpose of the law was to stop doctors, lawyers, etc. from discharging student loans right out of school while they were still broke. The concept of the law was good but the "undue hardship" part was poorly written and the courts have strictly interpreted that part making it very difficult to discharge student loans.

Although it is very difficult to discharge student loans through bankruptcy, many just default on payments but since the default rate is so high due to the recession, republicans want to double the interest rate to make up for the large default rate. I'm sure that would work out real well causing the default rate to double or triple.:rolleyes:

Re: Minimum wage
 

It's similar here, generally student loans can't be discharged in bankruptcy, and even if you go bankrupt and the loans are not included it can prevent you from getting anymore loans.

The interest if I recall correctly is prime + 2% on the government loans here, could be off a bit, but i think its something around there.

Re: Minimum wage
 

You are joking, you like the sound of your own voice on this thread and offer nothing but fluff. Do not come to America expecting UK style child benefits.

Re: Minimum wage
 

You're right. It (mine) was a silly question.

Re: Minimum wage
 

They should have made bankruptcy a bar to holding a professional license, it would have stopped such gaming of the system by potentially high-paid professionals. ..... I certainly wouldn't want to hire a lawyer or accountant who managed his own business affairs so badly that he/she went bankrupt.

Re: Minimum wage
 

Actually that could be described as running them well.

Re: Minimum wage
 

That's what Donald Trump thinks. He's gone bankrupt at least 3 times and still thinks he is "gods" gift to the business community and the "smartest" person you'll ever know.:blink:

Re: Minimum wage
 

Assuming most Students on graduating have nothing in the way of assets and lots of debt then that would be an excellent time to clear the slate, if it was possible.

The problem is more a system that wants students to load up on debt, that seemingly many will never be able to repay. Not sure what the US numbers are but the UK forecast is nearing 50%.

Re: Minimum wage
 

When did we actually start demonising people who just have ordinary jobs? My grandparents generation were not considered pariahs for working at the same level all their lives. I guess the Thatcher era in the UK.

Re: Minimum wage
 

I agree with this - a society is built on the menial jobs. No one to stack selves, or hand you your McDonalds, or wait on your table etc.

I get this where I work - all the other departments, CNAs, Nurse and Doctors, all look down on my housekeepers and maintenance staff as not doing anything of value. As a result, they treat my staff like crap. Well if your floors were covered in blood, or poop, or you were hip deep in trash, you'd have trouble operating on patients wouldn't you?

Re: Minimum wage
 

It wasnt that long ago everyone went to school knowing they were going to leave and work down the pit with their dad. It was a living along with a few pints on a Friday night and a weeks annual holiday down to Butlins Barry Island.

I'm glad the thatcher era put a stop to that misery.

But i don't agree with demonizing people because they have ordinary jobs. The parents who insist their daughter dates a doctor or a lawyer for example, nasty.

Re: Minimum wage
 

Other than right wing conservatives, I don't think most people are demonizing people who work ordinary jobs. When I was young, most of my relatives and neighbors worked in the mines which were considered a good paying blue collar jobs and those high paid workers supported high pay for retail jobs and other service employees. Unfortunately many of the higher paid blue collar jobs have disappeared from developed economies creating a sub class among many retail jobs and service workers.

Re: Minimum wage
 

Yes, we are losing sight of the value of those jobs, and think the people who do them are less than human in that they do not deserve a certain standard of living.
That's true, the economy has changed, and therefore the political clout those groups had has largely gone.

Re: Minimum wage
 

ALL of them? How sad.
I think that speaks to their own quality as human beings. What gives one person the right to look down on someone else regardless of whoever/whatever they are.

I did mention earlier in the thread about "stupidity", but don't get me wrong. I would never ever look down on anybody.