Politics And Current Events

[Freddy Rumsen]

[MR25]

Wait 5% of people still voted for Roy Moore?

[Dickie Dunn]

The economic house of cards grows taller. An entire generation crippled by student loan debt, still living with their parents, and needs 8 year car loans can now add crippling credit card debt to their accomplishments.

Like a true pitt/pirate fan, I appreciate your ability to find the negative.

On that note, I was thinking about the economy yesterday.

I think we can all agree on a few things:

a. Presidents, in general, get credit/blame for the economy
b. Trump in particular takes its it upon himself to cite himself as the reason the economy is doing well
c. Thatat being said, Trump's tax cuts probably did tangibly boost the economy

With those things said, here is an open ended question for all in the thread:

Why has the economy been doing well for the past decade?

I hesitate to give trump too much credit for a lot of reasons, but id be curious to hear everyone's thoughts.

Low interest rates, consumer debt boosted demand forces.

This is the correct answer.

[Trip McNeely]

Wait 5% of people still voted for Roy Moore?

Just about to post that. America

[Freddy Rumsen]

On the black vote...

[Pavel Bure]

I will say though in regards to student loans. My wife actually owes more now than she did when she graduated 6 years ago even paying a bit more than the minimum monthly payment. That is insane to me, and I just don't get it.

It's also why we can't file taxes together even though we are married because her income based student loan payment that is about 900$ a month would basically double if they factored in my income. I think between federal and private loans its around 1k a month she pays back in student loans. My student loans will finally be paid off this year, but I owed way less than she did overall.

I say this not to complain, but more just talking outloud. We are more well off than alot of people. We both have very good paying jobs. We don't live paycheck to paycheck even with her student loan debt. We live within our means, but it's still just crazy to me.

Consolidate, asked for extended fixed plan. That will give you a manageable payment that you can pay way above but give you flexibility as well. Technically, if ours paying the min on that it will take 25 years however the goal here is to give you some breathing room in your budget, a loan who’s payment rate won’t change, the “protections” of student loans in terms of economic hardships, and finally as I said pay more than the min.

Note: you must have at least 30k in student debt to do this. It can be done through Studentaid.gov without talking to anyone. You do need your FSAID to login. Lastly if you pursue this the loans will defer for about a month while the paperwork processes.

Source: I worked in higher ed for 4 years on the back end of recruiting and financial aid.

PM me if you have questions.

[skullman80]

I will say though in regards to student loans. My wife actually owes more now than she did when she graduated 6 years ago even paying a bit more than the minimum monthly payment. That is insane to me, and I just don't get it.

It's also why we can't file taxes together even though we are married because her income based student loan payment that is about 900$ a month would basically double if they factored in my income. I think between federal and private loans its around 1k a month she pays back in student loans. My student loans will finally be paid off this year, but I owed way less than she did overall.

I say this not to complain, but more just talking outloud. We are more well off than alot of people. We both have very good paying jobs. We don't live paycheck to paycheck even with her student loan debt. We live within our means, but it's still just crazy to me.

Consolidate, asked for extended fixed plan. That will give you a manageable payment that you can pay way above but give you flexibility as well. Technically, if ours paying the min on that it will take 25 years however the goal here is to give you some breathing room in your budget, a loan who’s payment rate won’t change, the “protections” of student loans in terms of economic hardships, and finally as I said pay more than the min.

Note: you must have at least 30k in student debt to do this. It can be done through Studentaid.gov without talking to anyone. You do need your FSAID to login. Lastly if you pursue this the loans will defer for about a month while the paperwork processes.

Source: I worked in higher ed for 4 years on the back end of recruiting and financial aid.

PM me if you have questions.

I'm pretty sure her loans are already consolidated. I'll double check, but when you have over 200k in loans the payment is going to be high regardless even if it's based on just her income. In theory her loans will get forgiven in like 10 or 15 years if she stays in her field as a PA, it just sucks that the first 5 years didn't count towards that because her job was paid out of a separate private entity within the hospital and not the hospital itself.

[Freddy Rumsen]

#MAGA crowd showed up yesterday.

[Pavel Bure]

I will say though in regards to student loans. My wife actually owes more now than she did when she graduated 6 years ago even paying a bit more than the minimum monthly payment. That is insane to me, and I just don't get it.

It's also why we can't file taxes together even though we are married because her income based student loan payment that is about 900$ a month would basically double if they factored in my income. I think between federal and private loans its around 1k a month she pays back in student loans. My student loans will finally be paid off this year, but I owed way less than she did overall.

I say this not to complain, but more just talking outloud. We are more well off than alot of people. We both have very good paying jobs. We don't live paycheck to paycheck even with her student loan debt. We live within our means, but it's still just crazy to me.

Consolidate, asked for extended fixed plan. That will give you a manageable payment that you can pay way above but give you flexibility as well. Technically, if ours paying the min on that it will take 25 years however the goal here is to give you some breathing room in your budget, a loan who’s payment rate won’t change, the “protections” of student loans in terms of economic hardships, and finally as I said pay more than the min.

Note: you must have at least 30k in student debt to do this. It can be done through Studentaid.gov without talking to anyone. You do need your FSAID to login. Lastly if you pursue this the loans will defer for about a month while the paperwork processes.

Source: I worked in higher ed for 4 years on the back end of recruiting and financial aid.

PM me if you have questions.

I'm pretty sure her loans are already consolidated. I'll double check, but when you have over 200k in loans the payment is going to be high regardless even if it's based on just her income. In theory her loans will get forgiven in like 10 or 15 years if she stays in her field as a PA, it just sucks that the first 5 years didn't count towards that because her job was paid out of a separate private entity within the hospital and not the hospital itself.

That’s a whole different thing then. If she’s on the path to forgiveness she’ll want to confirm that. Typically it’s after making the standard payments after 10 years if you’re in a qualifying field.

[skullman80]

I will say though in regards to student loans. My wife actually owes more now than she did when she graduated 6 years ago even paying a bit more than the minimum monthly payment. That is insane to me, and I just don't get it.

It's also why we can't file taxes together even though we are married because her income based student loan payment that is about 900$ a month would basically double if they factored in my income. I think between federal and private loans its around 1k a month she pays back in student loans. My student loans will finally be paid off this year, but I owed way less than she did overall.

I say this not to complain, but more just talking outloud. We are more well off than alot of people. We both have very good paying jobs. We don't live paycheck to paycheck even with her student loan debt. We live within our means, but it's still just crazy to me.

Consolidate, asked for extended fixed plan. That will give you a manageable payment that you can pay way above but give you flexibility as well. Technically, if ours paying the min on that it will take 25 years however the goal here is to give you some breathing room in your budget, a loan who’s payment rate won’t change, the “protections” of student loans in terms of economic hardships, and finally as I said pay more than the min.

Note: you must have at least 30k in student debt to do this. It can be done through Studentaid.gov without talking to anyone. You do need your FSAID to login. Lastly if you pursue this the loans will defer for about a month while the paperwork processes.

Source: I worked in higher ed for 4 years on the back end of recruiting and financial aid.

PM me if you have questions.

I'm pretty sure her loans are already consolidated. I'll double check, but when you have over 200k in loans the payment is going to be high regardless even if it's based on just her income. In theory her loans will get forgiven in like 10 or 15 years if she stays in her field as a PA, it just sucks that the first 5 years didn't count towards that because her job was paid out of a separate private entity within the hospital and not the hospital itself.

That’s a whole different thing then. If she’s on the path to forgiveness she’ll want to confirm that. Typically it’s after making the standard payments after 10 years if you’re in a qualifying field.

It's 10 I believe, but I say 15 because like I said her first 5 years didn't count because of how she was "paid" by the hospital. The clock only started Oct of 18 when she moved to a different part of the hospital and got paid by them directly etc. In any event that doesn't help now with the extra 1000$ put out every month, but like I said it is what it is.

[shafnutz05]

Dude, Bernie is not a "national socialist".

I apologize...I meant to type "democratic socialist" and that was an honest to God mistake. I've been watching High Castle and listening to the Hardcore History about the pre-WWII era so clearly that's been on my brain.

That said, my point still stands. Most of the electorate is not going to differentiate between "socialism" and "democratic socialism". He has a strong base of young people that, quite frankly, love his "free stuff and make the rich pay for it" message. The rest of the electorate is largely not going to buy that.

[Beveridge]

At least if it's Sanders vs Trump we will get 4 more years of "Not a Cult" so a win for this thread.

[grunthy]

And young people don’t vote.

[Gaucho]

Dude, Bernie is not a "national socialist".

I apologize...I meant to type "democratic socialist" and that was an honest to God mistake. I've been watching High Castle and listening to the Hardcore History about the pre-WWII era so clearly that's been on my brain.

That said, my point still stands. Most of the electorate is not going to differentiate between "socialism" and "democratic socialism". He has a strong base of young people that, quite frankly, love his "free stuff and make the rich pay for it" message. The rest of the electorate is largely not going to buy that.

[DigitalGypsy66]

The economic house of cards grows taller. An entire generation crippled by student loan debt, still living with their parents, and needs 8 year car loans can now add crippling credit card debt to their accomplishments.

Like a true pitt/pirate fan, I appreciate your ability to find the negative.

On that note, I was thinking about the economy yesterday.

I think we can all agree on a few things:

a. Presidents, in general, get credit/blame for the economy
b. Trump in particular takes its it upon himself to cite himself as the reason the economy is doing well
c. Thatat being said, Trump's tax cuts probably did tangibly boost the economy

With those things said, here is an open ended question for all in the thread:

Why has the economy been doing well for the past decade?

I hesitate to give trump too much credit for a lot of reasons, but id be curious to hear everyone's thoughts.

Low interest rates, consumer debt boosted demand forces.

Yeah, I was going to post something like this. Someone posted a link about credit card debt skyrocketing. The consumer driven society, where we feel the need to keep up with our neighbors and friends - buying things we don't need with money we don't have.

[tifosi77]

Mrs Tif has a bunion that must be surgically repaired. It's severe enough that it has begun to impact her ability to walk normally and pain-free. She has Cadillac insurance through her employer, but it does not cover this. $10,000 out-of-pocket to fix.

[Shyster]

Why has the economy been doing well for the past decade?

Massive money-pumping by the Fed coupled with the Fed maintaining artificially low interest rates. The economy is a bubble waiting to pop.

[Morkle]

The economic house of cards grows taller. An entire generation crippled by student loan debt, still living with their parents, and needs 8 year car loans can now add crippling credit card debt to their accomplishments.

Like a true pitt/pirate fan, I appreciate your ability to find the negative.

On that note, I was thinking about the economy yesterday.

I think we can all agree on a few things:

a. Presidents, in general, get credit/blame for the economy
b. Trump in particular takes its it upon himself to cite himself as the reason the economy is doing well
c. Thatat being said, Trump's tax cuts probably did tangibly boost the economy

With those things said, here is an open ended question for all in the thread:

Why has the economy been doing well for the past decade?

I hesitate to give trump too much credit for a lot of reasons, but id be curious to hear everyone's thoughts.

Low interest rates, consumer debt boosted demand forces.

Yeah, I was going to post something like this. Someone posted a link about credit card debt skyrocketing. The consumer driven society, where we feel the need to keep up with our neighbors and friends - buying things we don't need with money we don't have.

I mean is this not just a repeat of the 80s? Where it was trendy to just use credit?

[robbiestoupe]

Mrs Tif has a bunion that must be surgically repaired. It's severe enough that it has begun to impact her ability to walk normally and pain-free. She has Cadillac insurance through her employer, but it does not cover this. $10,000 out-of-pocket to fix.

She should visit the "feeling old" thread

[Gaucho]

It says here Deval Patrick is dropping out of the presidential race.

Deval Patrick ...?

[Troy Loney]

I mean is this not just a repeat of the 80s? Where it was trendy to just use credit?

No, in a lot of ways it's a rehash of the 2008 financial collapse.

The feds used monetary stimulus in the early 2000's in response to the dot com bubble and the 9/11 economic crash.

A period of prolonged low interest rates pushing cash out of savings accounts and into equities and other assets. Banks start getting creative when the rates are low because their margins shrink with low interest rates. We saw that with the mortgage crisis where the lenders got creative to get unqualified borrowers into mortgage loans to prop up the MBS market. The artificial mortgage demand fueled the higher home prices, which fueled the artificial wealth, which fueled consumer demand.

This was discussed on here before, but I fear the new market manipulation is taking place with the index funds. Think about it like this, there is a constant stream of cash going into these financial products via 401K contributions. These are equities that people are buying, whose values will be tied to both the underlying asset and price demand.

People's 401k's jumped up like what 20% last year? So guess what people think? That they are more wealthy than they actually are.

Everyday I'm tempted to dump my 401K into a money market account or something, I fear a market shock is going to happen.

[Gaucho]

[Morkle]

In before some obscure use of executive privilege.

[Gaucho]

[MR25]

Man, Bloomberg is **** up