Gwen Snyder is uncivil

Now that I'm a parent, I'm suddenly realizing what huge feminist issue student loans are.

My loans are around 130k, which means I'm HEAVILY incentivized to stay out of the workforce to keep them in deferment. I don't even know that I'd bring home an income working, between childcare costs and loan payments.

In principle this should be a both-genders problem, but of course it ends up amplifying the pressure on women to stay home.

Jul 27, 2023 at 3:12pmWeb
Show threadGwen Snyder is uncivilJul 27, 2023

And the issue is magnified in the nonprofit world, which is disproportionately populated by women and much lower-paying.

Many of us who built our careers at nonprofits got degrees with the assumption that we'd get our loans forgiven through the service program.

Show threadGwen Snyder is uncivilJul 27, 2023

At nonprofit jobs I've had in the past, I would have brought home NEGATIVE income after loan payments and childcare.

Not only that, the service program requires solidly FULL TIME work for 10 years.

Which rules out a whole lot of flexible scheduling to accommodate parenting needs.

Show threadarchlentilJul 27, 2023

@gwensnyder the childcare industry is such a crock of shit. it's both an underpaid job and entirely unaffordable at almost every nonprofit salary I've ever had.

and of course it's absolutely necessary bc we have to work these full time jobs. I hate it here.

Show threadNed YeungJul 27, 2023

@archlentil @gwensnyder
Yeah, we have to live in poverty as a single-income family, because childcare would make my spouse unable to contribute to our income by working. Basically, she takes care of the kids or somebody else does. Household income can't grow either way.

And of course me bringing home a significantly better wage makes that a gendered problem too, even though I would be fine with staying home if that were reversed, but society has made that choice for us. We don't get to choose.

Show threadKevin Karhan Jul 27, 2023
@ned @archlentil @gwensnyder and I think these are systemic failing that must be called out as such, and not be shamed against individuals!
Show threadMaria PetrielloJul 27, 2023
@gwensnyder I agree
Show threadCat WestJul 29, 2023
@gwensnyder Ever notice that men in NP admins get paid sometimes outrageous amounts? Women seldom make ends meet
Show threadHuntn00Jul 27, 2023
@gwensnyder You’ve got huge loans because of Capitalists who put profits above society and we collectively have allowed that. 😐
Show threadJeff Shaffer CBET, retJul 27, 2023
@Huntn00 @gwensnyder I attended SF State from 1969 to 1971 while Reagan with CA governor. My student loan was for $1500 and besides my college expenses, I also used it to buy a stereo (a record player with an amplifier and AM/FM radio), and covered my rent and food. The students then were demonstrating against the Viet Nam war and for civil rights, which conservatives found appalling. In the years following, they pursued the policies to raise tuition and cut public spending on higher education to cause financial pain to anyone seeking an education because those are the folks whom they know are their enemy.
Show threadYorgus (Old white Guy)Jul 27, 2023
@CivilityFan @Huntn00 @gwensnyder Interesting spin on the reasons for cutting appropriations and increasing tuition. I don’t disagree. I went to Utah St. Univ from 1969-72, then graduated in 1975. Then worked on MA at BYU 1976-78, and PhD at UoAz 1978-82. Didn’t finish either grad degree. Later went back to USU for MEd degree (2006). I’ve taken out no loans, but that would be impossible today. My kids made it thru on scholarships, so no loans.
Show threadHuntn00Jul 27, 2023
@CivilityFan @gwensnyder I grew up Middle Class, I had a 4 year USAF ROTC scholarship and my parents could easily afford room and board at Syracuse University. I want to say that tuition if I had to have paid it was about $1500 a semester. I had no college loans to pay. I graduated in 1975. Now think about college tuition today. How higher educational has changed. 🤔
Show threadmekka okereke Jul 27, 2023

@CivilityFan @Huntn00 @gwensnyder

Yup...

https://theintercept.com/2022/08/25/student-loans-debt-reagan/

The Origin of Student Debt: Reagan Adviser Warned Free College Would Create a Dangerous “Educated Proletariat”

In 1970, Roger Freeman, who also worked for Nixon, revealed the right’s motivation for coming decades of attacks on higher education.

The Intercept
Show threadmaladyJul 27, 2023
@gwensnyder oh, so what you mean to say is that it's specifically a men's issue because society doesn't provide for them to stay home and not pay off loans like for women? I'd personally not separate things that are the same for everyone, but if you see it otherwise, that's your call...
Show threadDonna LanclosJul 27, 2023
@gwensnyder hah, we just figured out that with our consolidated loan, we still have to pay 1K back from "my" part even though my husband has worked in the public sector for more than 20 years and we got the remaining part of the loan forgiven, except for that last bit that is "mine." I don't have that many consecutive years in the public sector because...I was home with the kids.
Show threadwasabi brainJul 27, 2023
@gwensnyder appreciate this thread for making me think of topic in a way I hadn’t thought about before. Thank you!