school loan forgiveness

SCHOOL LOAN FORGIVENESS
its a racket i said when asked about school debt
when you see all those schools and programs advertise on tv and the internet
it should make you cautious
someone somewhere is making money

i looked at the cost per year of going to my undergraduate school
its about $35,000 or about $140,000 for 4 years

i looked at the cost per year of going to my medical school
its about $65,000 or about $260,000 for 4 years

so
without any financial assistance it would cost me $400,000 to get my medical degree today

now i graduated in 1982 from medical school
just the tuition i think that year was about $5,000

could i afford to pay back almost a half a million for student debt if i graduated today
yes
but i would be severely restricted financially through half my career

this is how i did it
i went to junior college and paid my own way for two years
i transferred to a university of california school
there my wife she and i worked about 15-20 hours a week
i received scholarships and grants that paid for much of my tuition and fees and books
i had to make enough money to live on
we also did some loan borrowing

then for medical school
the first year i borrowed money from a relative that i paid back later
my wife she worked all through my medical school and residency
thats 7 years

starting my second year i worked as a morgue attendant on call after hours and weekends checking bodies in and out of the morgue and assisting with autopsies on weekends and holidays
i also got on a national health scholarship that paid all my tuition fees and also paid me a monthly stipend in exchange for a year for a year when i finished training
i had to go to an approved underserved site to work
for me that was three years
so when i finished my residency i spent three years in a small town in southern arkansas

during my medical school and residency and my 3 years as a national health care doctor i was able to delay payments on any loans i had
also the federal government paid my interest that was accumulating

my wife she and i had a total school debt of about $20,000
we paid that off just in time for our oldest to start college
it was about 10+ years

so during my schooling 
i got state and federal funding for scholarships and federal grants
i got federal funded interest payments during deferment status
i got most of my medical school paid for via the federal national health scholarship which closed out the year i graduated

that is a lot of money that the state and federal government paid for me to go to college and medical school
but even after working and borrowing from family i still owed $20,000

so i wonder what my total school debt would be now if i was just finishing
my guess it would be 5 or 6 times what it was in 1982
my guess it would be around $100,000
no it would be even more than that since the program i was on doesnt exist now

so
what about school loan forgiveness 
im not sure how i feel about this
i wouldnt ask for loan forgiveness for my $20,000 since so much of my school cost was already paid for by taxpayers

that said
the real problem behind all this is that it is a racket feel to the financing of school debt
many students have got duped into signing up
you see those ads like i do
thats debt folks who you know wont make it are accumulating
the government has let that happen
we the government has allowed this to happen
all those millennials and generation x folks getting strapped with school loan debt that will probably prevent many from ever being financially stable

there is responsibility on both sides

i will admit that money could sure be used in other places like health care schools etc

the schools and the banks and the other loaners are all making a killing on this
they are not bearing any of the responsibility for letting this happen
neither are the politicians on either side

some responsibility is on the students
is a $30,000-50,000 worth it for a masters degree for a school teacher
dave ramsey the financial guy recommends you attend a local junior college and then attend a state university to finish your degree
eg
here in santa barbara local students attend the junior college for free

so
i would say 
if you quality for loan forgiveness 
go for it
take it

if you dont believe in it and you qualify 
i say either
take it and move on 
or
keep paying on those loans

i cant decide if im for loan forgiveness or not

the organicgreen doctor