tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post772666858497891730..comments2024-03-05T10:52:24.691+00:00Comments on Mark Wadsworth: That's how democracy works.Mark Wadsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07733511175178098449noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-69773333484338542702017-06-17T12:22:00.787+01:002017-06-17T12:22:00.787+01:00P156c
I have always thought that a system of Nati...P156c<br /><br />I have always thought that a system of National Scholarships could be set up, which students could take and, if they passed the exams, the scholarship would pay for their tuition and something towards their board and lodging. The scholarship would have to be renewed at the end of each year. This would mean that only bright, hardworking students got free tertiary education, and if you were dim or lazy or both, you would have to fund your education yourself. After all, why should the state pay for someone to go to university, even if it is to study a stem subject, and then doss about for three years?Bayardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15211150959757982948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-12052250265526510022017-06-16T13:23:11.633+01:002017-06-16T13:23:11.633+01:00Anyone got anecdotal evidence of a Fees affect on ...Anyone got anecdotal evidence of a Fees affect on tuition quality as students now pay for the tuition themselves.Dinerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14632385731642361211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-78260865967203747042017-06-16T12:02:13.349+01:002017-06-16T12:02:13.349+01:00JJ, agreed.
PC, which is pretty much YPP policy, ...JJ, agreed.<br /><br />PC, which is pretty much YPP policy, as it happens. Occasionally, we agree 😀Mark Wadsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07733511175178098449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-35639240398166266932017-06-16T11:55:43.053+01:002017-06-16T11:55:43.053+01:00Accepting that we probably don't need half the... Accepting that we probably don't need half the population to be taking full time degrees and that abolishing university fees is bloody expensive I'd have thought a halfway house arrangement whereby subsidised (interest rate subsidy) loans for students would still occur but with a range of subjects incurring no debt for the student at all. At least this way people would be getting subsidies to take degrees in subjects that might offer a national dividend so to speak. eg.stem subjects.paulc156https://www.blogger.com/profile/12412449043451685404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-44436048927895931062017-06-16T11:18:04.147+01:002017-06-16T11:18:04.147+01:00P.S. I'm one of the lucky folks who paid £3k/y...P.S. I'm one of the lucky folks who paid £3k/year for university. I pay off my student loan next month. The average interest rate has been less than 1%, less than my mortgage. <br /><br />Would I have done it if the fees were £9k/year? Probably. Would I have done it if the interest rate was 5%? Not sure. James Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10487916621748348915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-25060781967314849152017-06-16T11:13:45.184+01:002017-06-16T11:13:45.184+01:00True but then we're starting to use language i...True but then we're starting to use language in a very unconventional way. It doesn't really aid understanding above saying "if you own this land, you will pay this much a year; alternatively you can choose to forfeit the freehold".<br /><br />If I rent a flat, I could say "I have an interest only, non repayable, non recourse loan from my landlord, which ends when I move out", or I could say "I pay this much a month, until I move out". The latter is much clearer, even if they are the same.<br /><br />Everyone knows it's not "really" a loan. It's a liability I acquired by occupying land, not by borrowing money. Whereas in the student loans case, it's a liability I acquired by borrowing money.James Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10487916621748348915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-26244859636407270532017-06-16T10:38:15.628+01:002017-06-16T10:38:15.628+01:00JJ, agreed they are a mix of loan and tax, I say t...JJ, agreed they are a mix of loan and tax, I say the latter outweighs the former.<br /><br />Recurring taxes on land also have loan like aspects - it's like an interest only, non repayable, non recourse loan.Mark Wadsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07733511175178098449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-14247828302564042372017-06-16T10:28:47.233+01:002017-06-16T10:28:47.233+01:00This raises an interesting question: what is going...This raises an interesting question: what is going on with US student loans? They are not dischargeable in bankruptcy. Plenty of them never get paid off. Why are commercial operations lending the money in the first place?James Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10487916621748348915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-22920996786770660872017-06-16T10:20:01.044+01:002017-06-16T10:20:01.044+01:00I see, it has tax-like aspects and loan-like aspec...I see, it has tax-like aspects and loan-like aspects. The loan-like aspects are the interest and the fact you can pay it off, which you cannot do with a tax. The tax-like aspects are that you don't have to pay it off if you don't earn much (though it continues to accrue interest) and it gets written off when you retire (which indicates that no commercial operation would have lent the money in the first place).James Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10487916621748348915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-54118714626667936192017-06-16T09:32:46.036+01:002017-06-16T09:32:46.036+01:00Says Meryl "If it looks like a tax and acts l...Says Meryl "If it looks like a tax and acts like a tax, it is, surely, a tax."Mark Wadsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07733511175178098449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-21613357121203109062017-06-16T09:31:35.278+01:002017-06-16T09:31:35.278+01:00http://moneyweek.com/merryns-blog/the-graduate-tax...http://moneyweek.com/merryns-blog/the-graduate-tax-masquerading-as-student-loans/Mark Wadsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07733511175178098449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-64271719495745905922017-06-16T08:46:24.538+01:002017-06-16T08:46:24.538+01:00"In reality, there are no student loans, it&#..."In reality, there are no student loans, it's a graduate tax on higher earners but for some reason they don't call it that"<br /><br />No it isn't. They charge interest on it, and if you overpay you can pay it off. You can't do that with a tax. With a tax you can't overpay so much that they stop asking permanently. <br /><br />They've even started charging a market interest rate on the latest student loans. <br /><br />If it looks like a loan and quacks like a loan, it's a loan.James Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10487916621748348915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-35193771249607312812017-06-16T07:47:56.410+01:002017-06-16T07:47:56.410+01:00"because Tony doubled student numbers"
... "because Tony doubled student numbers"<br /><br />Something that seems to have been accepted unquestionably as A Good Thing, despite mounting evidence that a lot of graduates have nothing much more to show for three years study than a load of debt.Bayardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15211150959757982948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-80102885827537903402017-06-16T04:33:52.405+01:002017-06-16T04:33:52.405+01:00A lot of older people who have enjoyed house price...A lot of older people who have enjoyed house price rises are just as cross as their children. They fully realise that what they gain their children lose. Georgism has a wider appeal than maybe you realise.Lolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04586735342675041312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-51924625699980063872017-06-15T21:57:25.154+01:002017-06-15T21:57:25.154+01:00B, that's how it works, next time the Tories h...B, that's how it works, next time the Tories have to outbid Labour and so on. Nulab had to introduce fees because Tony doubled student numbers without giving extra funding. The Tories only trebled them to fuck over the Lib Dems. I don't think anybody really supports them, whatever the merits or demerits.Mark Wadsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07733511175178098449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-38214433508088866822017-06-15T21:22:26.476+01:002017-06-15T21:22:26.476+01:00I'd laugh if the Tories cut tuition fees and t...I'd laugh if the Tories cut tuition fees and then, at the next election, all the young people voted Labour again, because their objection to the Tories runs deeper than that.Bayardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15211150959757982948noreply@blogger.com