Current Events > Will resuming student loan payments help lower inflation?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Maybe companies won't be able to charge as much if people have to allocate some of their income to student loans

No

No.

:'(

It will probably go up and up again just to fuck with us

Lol no. Only rich people would say that.

Inflation is based entirely on the value of currency. Anything else is just corporate greed.

Id hazard a guess it wont noticeably move the needle, definitely wouldnt hurt though

less discretionary consumer spending will lower demand will lower inflation

Compared to our national budget none of that will make a dent. Our spending is just to high and theres nothing anyone is able, or at least willing to do about it.

Pay your loans, deadbeats

g980 posted...

less discretionary consumer spending will lower demand will lower inflation

This seems logical but the extent of it is the question.

g980 posted...

Id hazard a guess it wont noticeably move the needle, definitely wouldnt hurt though

less discretionary consumer spending will lower demand will lower inflation

This was my thought process, but yeah it's a small portion of the consumer base

Thud posted...

Pay your loans, deadbeats

true

the expectation that you can just take out real 5 or 6 figure dollars for education and that you can just treat that like monopoly money largely symbolizes entitlement culture. Do a valid pathway for student loan forgiveness--there are several--or, as you say, pay your loans deadbeats.

It will make inflation higher

Thud posted...

Pay your loans, deadbeats

Unless you're a billionaire, multinational bank, or the federal government.

Dat_Cracka_Jax posted...

This was my thought process, but yeah it's a small portion of the consumer base

Well depending on who you ask, student loans are financially crippling entire generations

In which case i think you'd have to acknowledge that it would have a material impact on inflation

But im sure someone is doing the mental gymnastics to pretend otherwise

What will slow growth and reduce inflation is removing money from private circulation. The simplest method of doing this is through taxation.

Since most student loans (and all federally guaranteed student loans since 2010) originate from, are owned by, and repaid to the Treasury, reinstating loan repayments would essentially function as such a taxmore accurately a repayment of an advance tax creditand reduce the currency in circulation. So yes, it would in theory help lower inflation.

However, I feel if we are looking for avenues to draw private currency from, I think there are much better options to look at.

Id be amenable to a resumption of payments if certain conditions were put in place to ease the burden on those in repayment, and if the loan system were re-written to more closely resemble the tax credit system that it actually functions. Specifically, automatic income-based payment plans capped at 5ish percent of discretionary income, a removal of student loan debts from credit reporting requirements, and automatic cessation of payments after a specified period or amount.

ModernPost posted...

Unless you're a billionaire, multinational bank, or the federal government.

Exactly, we're just doing things The American Way

Maybe it will lead to repos from suckers who bought a car after graduation

No.

Thud posted...

Pay your loans, deadbeats

As soon as the people above me start doing the same, then deal.

Pay people's student loans, and like... help normal people? What, like they are millionaires that deserve handouts or something? Are you crazy!

NightingaleMD posted...

true

the expectation that you can just take out real 5 or 6 figure dollars for education and that you can just treat that like monopoly money largely symbolizes entitlement culture. Do a valid pathway for student loan forgiveness--there are several--or, as you say, pay your loans deadbeats.

.
Or you know. You could create a affordable college system that does not require student to take out loans.

We could make it so that you need to prove that you can pay the loan back rather then loan trapping people.

But this country loves to their predatory lending practices, they are so fiscal responsible.

Bold of you to assume that our 10% inflation is the cause of 200% price increases. While companies report record profits.

As opposed to the obvious answer.

It would be a drop in the bucket

DarkBuster22904 posted...

Bold of you to assume that our 10% inflation is the cause of 200% price increases. While companies report record profits.

As opposed to the obvious answer.

It's the covid relief checks, isn't it? That's what you're saying caused inflation? Everybody is rich now and nobody wants to work!

DarkBuster22904 posted...

Bold of you to assume that our 10% inflation is the cause of 200% price increases. While companies report record profits.

As opposed to the obvious answer.

Wut? I said that companies are charging more in the OP

Dat_Cracka_Jax posted...

Wut? I said that companies are charging more in the OP

you suggested that companies are charging more due to both inflation, and people having more money than they would if they were paying back loans.

This is not the case. Companies are charging more because they want to.

DarkBuster22904 posted...

you suggested that companies are charging more due to both inflation, and people having more money than they would if they were paying back loans.

This is not the case. Companies are charging more because they want to.

I suggested inflation was due to companies charging more. They're charging more because they want to and apparently are able to while still making record profits.

DarkBuster22904 posted...

you suggested that companies are charging more due to both inflation, and people having more money than they would if they were paying back loans.

This is not the case. Companies are charging more because they want to.

Do you think that they *didnt* want to charge more before?

Dat_Cracka_Jax posted...

I suggested inflation was due to companies charging more. They're charging more because they want to and apparently are able to while still making record profits.

And they will still want to no matter how many people are paying back student loans. And because things like food, shelter, and life necessities outweigh nebulous loan money in terms of priority, the only thing we'll see are people defaulting on loans, credit scores tanking, and prices remaining high.

Starving out poor people is not the answer. Getting the obscene dragon hoards out of the hands of billionaires doing fuck-all with it is.

g980 posted...

Do you think that they *didnt* want to charge more before?

Of course they did.

Ukraine gave a lot of them an excuse.

No. The only thing that will lower inflation is if the government quits printing money.

DarkBuster22904 posted...

Of course they did.

Ukraine gave a lot of them an excuse.

Why did they need an excuse?

g980 posted...

Why did they need an excuse?

Because optics still matter. Arbitrarily increasing prices just to line your pockets is what gets you Martin Shkreli'd. Point to some external cause, like a war, a supply chain issue, or the pandemic, and they get free reign to say their hands are tied and put their hats out for as much extra cash as they want. They get 8mplicit permission to gouge as much as they want, because they can throw the blame elsewhere, and most people will just blame the government.

It's not a coincidence profits for a lot of these global corporations doubled to tripled in the EXACT time frame when they were telling us they had no choice but to skyrocket prices "just to keep the lights on"

DarkBuster22904 posted...

Because optics still matter. Arbitrarily increasing prices just to line your pockets is what gets you Martin Shkreli'd. Point to some external cause, like a war, a supply chain issue, or the pandemic, and they get free reign to say their hands are tied and put their hats out for as much extra cash as they want. They get 8mplicit permission to gouge as much as they want, because they can throw the blame elsewhere, and most people will just blame the government.

I remember back when the ACA first passed. You just know companies loved it because it gave them a convenient excuse for cutting the staff from full time to part time.

loafy013 posted...

I remember back when the ACA first passed. You just know companies loved it because it gave them a convenient excuse for cutting the staff from full time to part time.

Most companies hated ACA