Half of 18-34 year olds would give up the right to vote, in exchange for no student loan debt

www.independent.co.uk... 47101.html

Been debating where to post this one all day. A study came out the other day that half of all millenials who are in college or have finished college would willingly forfeit their right to vote forever, in exchange for their student loan debt to be removed.

My reactions to this range between bewilderment, sympathy, rage, and contempt.

First of all, bewilderment at the reasoning here. If you lose the right to vote, other debts will be placed on you to repay. Additionally, if you can vote you always have the option of voting away your student loan debt, which we will likely see with the next Democrat president.

Then sympathy. I've been very lucky that I have no student loan debt. But, many aren't that lucky and they wind up in debt. I really cannot imagine how bad things must be that people would sell something so important for so little.

Rage. Mainly at the system for being so disfunctional that this is even a consideration.

Finally, contempt for everyone involved who thinks this is reasonable.

Every university involved here has failed their students. They taught them poorly, they over charged them, they failed to make the students employable. Failure at every step of the way.

a reply to: Aazadan

Voting is meaningless, debt is forever.

a reply to: Aazadan

I'm not bewildered. I wouldn't think twice about giving up my vote to pay off my student loan debt.

I'm completely disenfranchised anyway, so my vote has pretty much no value to me.

I say do it! If you were gullible enough to take a high interest federal loan for a less than adequate education then you probably shouldn't be allowed to vote.

a reply to: Aazadan

A lot of people become burdened for life by their student loans. I'd take this deal in a heartbeat.

Easy peasy..

Im mixed on this as I've already paid mine off.. with that being said, I didn't get the degree I changed my mind midway through. I would probably give up the right to vote if it meant going forward I could have no student loan debt with a new enrollment

originally posted by: JAY1980
I say do it! If you were gullible enough to take a high interest federal loan for a less than adequate education then you probably shouldn't be allowed to vote.

Yeah. Stupid 18 year olds that aren't wise to the world and clairvoyant!

I think this is a great idea. It filters out those that are dumb enough to think it's a good choice from ever having any impact on the direction of their country.

I ended up having my PhD dragged out for four years for refusing to let an international student get credit for my work. That sunk me into a £8000 credit card debt because my stipend ran out, and on top of that I ended up paying £20K in PPI payments. In turn that blocks me from buying a new PC and then getting a research position.

Keeping out of debt is now my highest priority.

In the UK, many students are avoiding going for degrees and going for industrial internships instead.

a reply to: stormcell

Hey at least once you do get into research you can let us all know who the frauds are, and which fields are hocus pocus! It would be pretty useful to have some eyes on the inside...

originally posted by: hombero
I think this is a great idea. It filters out those that are dumb enough to think it's a good choice from ever having any impact on the direction of their country.

You think your vote has an impact on the direction of the country and you feel you are in a position to call others dumb?

LOL.

I don't have student loans but I also don't vote...if I did owe 100k yea I think I'd take that deal. I'm not convinced voting with anything other than your dollar will change anything anyway.

a reply to: Aazadan

WOW!!!!

Being way past the age of a millennial...I cannot imagine the debt, nor never being able to vote.
I wonder if the younger people in this country see little benefit to voting and feel they are not giving up a sacred duty???

Even though I tend to vote for the lesser of two evils nationally...there are many local elections that are important....and giving those up may be something they have not thought about....those local contests do have more impact on our lives.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

I almost excluded local elections from my comment, but then I decided I still owe enough that I would forfeit that, too.

Admittedly, I have trouble understanding how anyone can go into so much debt from college. I never helped my daughters financially, with the exception of providing refundable cans. They did not begin to take loans out until university and working towards their bachelors or masters. They wrote essays like crazy and won scholarships the whole way. They worked 2-3 jobs and went to school. Life became easier when they seemed out positions in their field of education, Psychology and criminal juvenile fields. Their employers were more than helpful in working with their educational schedules. They only needed 1 job. They took out loans, but minimal ones. They save and researched how to get the biggest bang for their $$$! Not just my daughter, I know many other students who do the same. Yet, they all complain about the immature 'kids' in class who are completely clueless that they are there to educate and prepare for the real world. Sigh.

Naturally, I am proud of them, but beside that...it is a shame that so many kids don't take more responsibility. My daughters would never give up their ability to vote. I can understand that some may have made some really bad choices...but why add another bad one on top! Government will bite you in the ass eventually and you will have totally sold your soul.

Edit add: a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

You are so right! Local elections is where it all begins.

a reply to: Aazadan

I honestly don't blame them. They bought into a foolish idea that all education is rewarding and worth the price... it's not. Meanwhile, virtually nobody sits in a situation where their individual vote means squat.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

I can't imagine either of those, either.

As soon as I realized that college wasn't going to be cheap, I quit. Today, I wouldn't have even bothered starting. But not voting, or being involved, however peripherally, is nothing I'd ever contemplate.

a reply to: CynConcepts

I didn't get any guidance on college or financial aid -- my mother didn't have any advice and my dad passed away while I was still in high school. My high school guidance counselor never discussed it with me, either, so I ended up going with what my college financial aid guidance counselor recommended...which was advice that benefitted the college, but not me.

a reply to: Aazadan

If you think the government will ever forgive student loan debt now that it services all those loans, you're crazy.

It's like getting a certain segment of the population in your debt on two ends: monthly debt payments of a significant chunk of disposable income for darn near life AND their taxes before that income becomes disposable.

Democrats NEVER met a revenue stream they didn't like, and they'll never vote to give it up.

I don't blame them.

Given that the experiment regarding voting has been an absolute failure, it's like giving up a bag of fresh air for a bag of life.

Voting changes absolutely nothing!!!

Kids aren't that stupid after all.