12-05-2017, 10:09 AM
(12-02-2017, 06:47 PM)Warren Dew Wrote: The student loan and tuition rebate treatment merely levels the playing field with those who save for their own or their kids' education. Why should people who manage their money well be penalized relative to those who save nothing and depend on loans or payment in kind for their education?
I understand how people who are receiving government benefits and fear they might be forced to take jobs they consider to be beneath them might object, but for those of us who actually work, pay taxes, and support the rest of society, it is merely justice.
That said, we are in far more dangerous times than the Civil War because this time, the crisis war is likely to be fought with nuclear weapons.
This is ridiculous! PhD candidates, especially those in STEM programs, tend to work 70 hour weeks pursuing their degrees and the research work they need to complete them. They get paid a pittance as research and teaching assistants, but carry huge burdens for their tuition if they actually have to pay it. They take on these assignments to offset those costs. Let's take a typical case, where tuition is roughly $50,000 a year and the stipend is $25,000. If they have to pay taxes on $75,000, most will have no choice. They will have to quit their programs at the very time we need STEM PhDs in large numbers.
Sorry, but cutting off one's nose to spite one's face is not a solution that has any merit whatsoever.
Intelligence is not knowledge and knowledge is not wisdom, but they all play well together.