Mastodawn

Not only is there a general problem in the way graduates' student debt is handled (hardly ameliorated yesterdays bounce interest rate cap at 6%), there is also a clear gendered dimension, perhaps most obviously demonstrated in the continued accrual of debt during maternity leave... once again raising the cost of motherhood.

Its a problem entirely the result of a (wilful) political misunderstanding of the social purpose of university education.

#graduates #politics

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/90000-later-what-student-debt-really-does-women-amy-brooker-hvcze/

£90,000 Later: What Student Debt Really Does to Women

It’s taken over a decade for politicians and the media to pay attention to something I have been personally, professionally, and economically aware of since I was a member of the first cohort of students to be hit by the £9k student fees in 2012: student loans were going to be the next social mobili

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Benoît Jones 15h ago

@ChrisMayLA6
I also wish university (and any other form of post-18 training/education) were free.

But calling student loans 'debt' is misleading. For the vast majority, who never pay off the principal before it gets wiped, and who only pay according to their means each month, it is essentially a graduate tax. Whether the amount you 'owe' goes up or not is irrelevant!

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Emeritus Prof Christopher May 14h ago

@huxley

yes, Martin Lewis has been saying for years (rightly) that is is essentially a graduate tax

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Frantic 🇬🇧 + 🇪🇺12h ago

@ChrisMayLA6 @huxley
Not wishing to pick an argument with either of you or the esteemed Martin Lewis.
I personally struggle to understand how money that is lent to a student by a quasi government organisation that has the word loan in its name isn't really a debt.

The money that is given comes with interest.

When sprog 2 went for a mortgage they weren't interested in what her tax rate was but they wanted to know about her student loan.

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Benoît Jones 12h ago

@frantictdrinker @ChrisMayLA6
Unless your child is a very high earner, they won't pay the loan off before the time limit when it gets wiped. They also only pay an amount that is affordable, and don't pay anything below the earnings threshold. Therefore, for the vast majority, the interest rate is irrelevant and the amount they owe is irrelevant.

The biggest error in setting up this system was not understanding how many people will misunderstand how it works.

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Benoît Jones

@frantictdrinker @ChrisMayLA6

In his videos, you can see Martin Lewis almost pulling his hair out in frustration.

A loan where:

1. You only pay an affordable amount each month.

2. If you have a low income or no income, you don't have to pay anything. You’ll repay 9% of your income over the repayment threshold, which is currently £26,900 a year. Below that you pay nothing.

3. After 25 or 30 years (depends on plan), or if you die, the loan is cancelled even if you haven't paid it all back.

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Benoît Jones 12h ago

@frantictdrinker @ChrisMayLA6

This is not like any other loan. Imagine a mortgage where you only paid what you could afford and after 25 years they just cancelled whatever was left? And this applies to the majority of people.

The only caveat is that a future government may unilaterally change the repayment rules. They shouldn't do this, but they have done in the past.