The greedy rich owe their ill gotten gains to three factors

[Traianvs]

200k in student debt? Phew, no wonder only the rich (or brightest) people in the US take a shot at university. From what I understand it's pretty standard there, but still that can't be a a stable, sustainable way to organise higher education, right?

What if you fail your studies because of some illness or you find out the courses are too hard for you? Sounds like you'd be pretty fvcked then!

[chequita guevara]

Quite fvcked, actually. And we can't declare bankruptcy on our student loans. We are stuck with them until we pay them off.

[DanS]

Are you sure that Newport News rents are as expensive as DC rents? A two bedroom apartment in my neighborhood will set you back roughly $2,400/mo. Further, my sense is that a 0.5 hour commute each way would make your Newport News rent costs go way down. Not so with DC.

Also consider that the first $15,500 in retirement savings per wage earner can be made pre-tax and is tax-deferred. You will not be living like you are making minimum wage in order to be rich using my definition upon retirement.

[Ben Kenobi]

200k in student debt? Phew, no wonder only the rich (or brightest) people in the US take a shot at university. From what I understand it's pretty standard there, but still that can't be a a stable, sustainable way to organise higher education, right?

It would do better if it were entirely privatised. Then we'd start to see costs drop.

You don't need to pay 200k to get a degree, this is simply for a medical degree, which is one of the largest and most difficult. Others are much cheaper depending on the factors of where you go and how you pay for your school.

Knowing what I know now, I could have finished much sooner, but then I had to learn things the hard way! I don't owe a penny and I am just starting to work my way along.

[Jon Miller]

Are you sure that Newport News rents are as expensive as DC rents? A two bedroom apartment in my neighborhood will set you back roughly $2,400/mo. Further, my sense is that a 0.5 hour commute each way would make your Newport News rent costs go way down. Not so with DC.

It is ~$2000 a month for the nicer areas.

The cheap areas I know are in real bad areas (much worse than college park where people got shot a block away/etc), it is true that they are only 30 minutes away though.

It is probably cheaper than the more expensive areas of DC. It is about college park level though, and not at all dirt cheap (which is 400 or so for a two bedroom, I know, I have siblings who pay that).

Also consider that the first $15,500 in retirement savings per wage earner can be made pre-tax and is tax-deferred. You will not be living like you are making minimum wage in order to be rich using my definition upon retirement.

I really don't see the point of living cheaply now and being rich when I am old. The point in live is doing what you can for others, following God, raising kids, and enjoying while you live. Saving for some time when you could be dead is foolish.

JM

[Patroklos]

Are you sure that Newport News rents are as expensive as DC rents? A two bedroom apartment in my neighborhood will set you back roughly $2,400/mo. Further, my sense is that a 0.5 hour commute each way would make your Newport News rent costs go way down. Not so with DC.

It is nothing like DC. I had a three bedroom apartment in Downtown Norfolk in an area called Freemason that is right by the battleship/Nauticus, a far more expensive ditrict than almost anywhere in Newport News, and it cost us $1400 two years ago. Thats a block away from th Granby Street too, where a good portion of the bar scene is. You can easily get a perfectly safe one bedroom in Hampton or VB for $500-$700, though it won't have all the bells and whistles.

Are you by yourself Jon? If you are then you are most certainly living grand from any students perspective.

[Zkribbler]

200k in student debt? Phew, no wonder only the rich (or brightest) people in the US take a shot at university. From what I understand it's pretty standard there, but still that can't be a a stable, sustainable way to organise higher education, right?

What if you fail your studies because of some illness or you find out the courses are too hard for you? Sounds like you'd be pretty fvcked then!

When I was at UCLA, in the before time, tuition was free. Then tuition was instituded by Governor Ronald Reagan. Now, because it takes a 2/3 vote to increase any tax, everytime there's a budget crunch, tuition goes up 15-20-25% percent because tuition isn't a tax.

[DinoDoc]

tuition goes up 15-20-25% percent because tuition isn't a tax.

If it makes you feel any better, it goes up everywhere and not just CA.

[Zkribbler]

It doesn't. IMHO, undergraduate tuition should be free...but that's just because I'm a crazy liberal.

[DanS]

Patroklos: Why is your experience so different than Jon's? These are wildly different prices.

[Guynemer]

A quick google search listed the average family doctor making 160K a year gross. Is that not considered paying them well in your book?

The specialists, obviously, were making MUCH more.

Family practice docs do a lot of OB/GYN stuff, so tend to make quite a bit more.

A pediatrician in an urban setting seeing mostly patients on Medicare will make roughly half that. For example.

[DanS]

I really don't see the point of living cheaply now and being rich when I am old.

Why do you think this would be necessary? It's a straw man that you are putting in place, perhaps to discourage yourself from doing a little saving.

[DinoDoc]

It doesn't. IMHO, undergraduate tuition should be free...but that's just because I'm a crazy liberal.

There's no such thing as a free lunch, Zk.

[DanS]

.

[Patroklos]

Patroklos: Why is your experience so different than Jon's? These are wildly different prices.

I am not sure. I suspect his housing tastes are not actually as low brow as he says, just like when we examined his food choices he was hardly the model the frugal student diet. I guess it is just expectations. I live in an up and coming neighborhood that is beautiful and historic right now, yet a block away there are shootings weekly. I don't consider that an all to bad situation, some people would say I am living in the ghetto.

Hampton Roads has a lot in the way of housing options. I lived in downtown Norfolk, which besides the gated suburban communities is easily the highest cost housing in the area. Newport News has some nice areas in its downtown but it is really just a satillite of the Southside, nothing that should be demanding the price Jon is paying as an average rent.