Above is the US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics data....
Read my post. I am not disputing the claim that the unemployment rate for post-grads is in the 6% range. Nor does it make sense to suggest that the unemployment rate will have a 1-to-1 correlation with student loan default rates.
What I'm saying is that the default rate, which is 12.8%, is not out of line with that 6% unemployment range.
Yes, Obama is 52. He is the poster child for young people who believe paying off your debt is not a big deal.
No, he really isn't.
The reason he mentioned it was not to encourage anyone to slack off paying their loans. It's to point out how student loans are a huge burden, and to tell the audience that he was once in their position. To wit:
"I just want everybody here to understand. I didn’t just read about this. I didn’t just get some talking points about this. I didn’t just get a policy briefing on this.... Michelle and I, we've been in your shoes. We didn't come from wealthy families. So, when we graduated from college and law school we had a mountain of debt."
Nor was this common knowledge until last year. How could he be a poster child, if no one knew about it? :roll:
Obama believes both in his personal life and his public life that incurring debt that will be paid off decades later, never, or by his and your children, is a great way to live your life.
Where is this nonsense coming from? He never suggested that you shouldn't pay your debts, or that he defaulted. Nor is it "self-centered" to pay your debts on time, even if you can afford to pay off the entire debt in one shot.
For example, my parents -- children of the Great Depression -- bought a home in the early 1960s, with a 30 year mortgage, for around $20,000. They could have easily paid off the balance in the late 70s or the 80s; they were not being "self-centered" because they paid it off on time. Nor was it "self-centered" for them to take out car loans while they still had a mortgage -- or to have kids, buy clothes, go out to restaurants, take vacations....
The obligation is to take out debts you can handle; and to pay your debts on time, not in advance.
Either you don't understand basic family economics, or you're inventing a standard out of whole cloth to try and back up a claim that basically has no evidence. It's rather unpersuasive.
He is the role model for young, irresponsible, self-centered people today. He and his wife are a perfect example of the me-now, hedonistic mindset of today.
So, let me get this straight. If you take out loans to go to Columbia, then work at a bunch of non-profit community organizations, then take out more loans to go to Harvard Law, where you get on the Harvard Law Review, then go to work at a law firm and then teach at U Chicago for a few years before getting into politics -- i.e. pursue a years-long path to enter a competitive and demanding career -- that's evidence of a "me-now hedonistic mindset?"
You're obviously insulting Obama because he's Obama. Again, not persuasive.
What's your explanation for why student loans aren't being repaid in a timely manner?
1) Yet again, the rate of default is only 12.8%.
2) Some are unemployed.
3) Many are underemployed.
4) Some got screwed by worthless online colleges.
I'm sure that some are financially irresponsible. But there is no evidence that all 12.8% are irresponsible, or that these individuals are running out and buying Jaguar XJ's.
I might add, if the recent grad doesn't pay their loans on time, they're going to face much harsher consequences than if they can't pay for the Jag.
I've seen no proof offered that the default rate is as you claim...
That's because you didn't bother to click the link. Here it is again.
A closer look at the trillion > Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Scroll down to "Number of recipients in millions" and do the math. Amusingly enough, that site was the source for the article in question.
Even if I accept your claim, that's the rate of defaults, but doesn't reference at all my contention that paying off their student loans is the last thing on the minds of new graduates.....
1) Again, you have zero proof of this claim, and have offered none.
2) As already noted, it doesn't matter if it is the "last thing" on their minds. It's the same as any other debt, except that you can't get out of it by bankruptcy. If you can't pay on time, there can be some pretty stiff penalties.
What's your explanation for why the Obama's, as an example, took about 20 years to pay off their debts yet lived the high life in the meantime?
Reasonable explanations include:
1) They had to take out huge loans to pay for private universities and law school.
2) At some point, they deferred their loans for a few years when their incomes were still low.
3) Long-term (20- or 25-year) student loans are fairly typical, either with extended-payment or income-dependent plans.
4) Yet again, it is perfectly normal to pay off a loan on time, even if you have the wherewithal to pay it in a big lump.