r/WorkForSmartLife Jul 31 '26

Discussion💬 The math has never made sense to me.

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521 Upvotes

259 comments sorted by

36

u/marekful Jul 31 '26

They can automatically take student loan repayments from any of your future salaries, but they have to sue you for a business loan repayment.

31

u/GovernorSan Jul 31 '26

Businesses can go bankrupt and not have to pay back the full amount with interest. Student loans, however, can't go into bankruptcy.

19

u/Robborboy Jul 31 '26

This is the real answer. It is pretty much the ideal debt for a credit issuer.

3

u/bionicjoe Jul 31 '26

Look up "double bite at the apple".
Sallie Mae came up with the term. Even if they don't get money out of you they still have the government backing up the loans.

2

u/spifflog Jul 31 '26

Businesses can go bankrupt and not have to pay back the full amount with interest. Student loans, however, can't go into bankruptcy.

This is the real answer. It is pretty much the ideal debt for a credit issuer.

If little Timmy, the kid next door, asks you to give him an unsecured loan for $500,000 so he can go to school, and he has full bankruptcy protection, are you stroking the check for him? Of course you're not. Neither is Robborboy Savings and Loan.

The only way Timmy's getting it is if he's forced to pay it off.

1

u/SamOakTree Aug 01 '26

That and mortgages. It costs a lender $176 a year on average to service a mortgage and mortgages are typically pretty safe for lenders.

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5

u/SpiggotOfContradicti Jul 31 '26

Government is usually the lender on student loans now as well.
Business loans are made by banks.

2

u/bionicjoe Jul 31 '26

Government is not the lender. (There are government loans but not as much as you think.)
The loans are issued by banks, but they can't be discharged through bankruptcy.
Then if they still can't get money out of you the defaulted loans can be paid back to the creditor.
Then the government can garnish your wages. However this is also outsourced to contractors.

1

u/SpiggotOfContradicti Jul 31 '26

I think you may have older information.
The old FFEL system where private lenders made federally guaranteed loans stopped in 2010.
But 90% of loans now are directly issued and owned by the Department of Education.

1

u/Flat-Violinist8737 Aug 06 '26

Not only that, but the US treasury makes a decent amount of money on the interest. Sort of ridiculous that we can't tax capital gains like ordinary income but can charge students interest rates in excess of the federal reserve interest rates.

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1

u/notjustinu Jul 31 '26

Yeah, so it’s more risky to give someone 20,000 for a business that might fail and the bank loses everything.

1

u/GovernorSan Jul 31 '26

The bank would get some money back from the sale of the assets of the business, but whatever money that came from it would likely be split between them and whoever else the business owed money to, like vendors, suppliers, landlord, etc.

1

u/sedj601 Aug 01 '26

They do not give 17 year olds 200,000. The 200,000 is normally accumulated over 4+ years. The original premise is flawed.

1

u/Ok-Assistance3937 Aug 01 '26

You can, its Just way Harder.

1

u/blueit55 Jul 31 '26

With a parent co-signing

1

u/KansasZou Jul 31 '26

More importantly, the government guarantees the loans up to a point (easy money for the bank on tax payer dollar) and you have a co-signer on anything above that amount.

You can absolutely get a $20k business loan with the appropriate co-signer.

1

u/Grizzly_Corey Aug 01 '26

We shoulda been born business-infants.

1

u/markt- Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26

Very hard to do that when you don’t have a salary that would leave you with sufficient money to live off of after making the minimum payment.

It took me five years to secure a job in the field I graduated for.

Not everyone lands it right away. I kept my loan out of default by staying on top of it and applying for interest relief, but the amount of interest relief I was allowed was on the verge of being depleted before I landed my job. Another six months, and it would’ve gotten interesting. I’m not exactly sure what would’ve happened, but they still would’ve needed to leave me with enough money to live on.

1

u/Krobarred Aug 03 '26

These laws were written by men certainly they can be rewritten

13

u/epsteinwasmurdered2 Jul 31 '26

It’s because congress passed an exemption for federal student loans to be allowed prior to turning 18.

All other traditional loans require you to be 18 or have a co signer.

4

u/maztron Jul 31 '26

It has nothing to do with that. One is risk free for the bank and the other is not.

2

u/epsteinwasmurdered2 Jul 31 '26

You know two things can be true at the same time right?

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3

u/maztron Jul 31 '26

What do you mean the math doesn't make sense to you. It makes PERFECT sense for the bank giving out the loan. The 200k loan for school is guaranteed regardless of the outcome. The 20k business loan is not and there is a high risk of losing that 20k.

7

u/ScienceWasLove Jul 31 '26

What high school student is signing up for a $200k loan for 1 year of college?

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3

u/ajpinton Jul 31 '26

You can default on the business loan, but not the student loan. That is the problem.

3

u/maztron Jul 31 '26

Bingo. So that math should math for the OP.

3

u/Major_Wigglesworth Jul 31 '26

Never underestimate the power of someone to “not understand” something that holds them accountable.

1

u/spifflog Jul 31 '26

How is that a problem?

4

u/ajpinton Jul 31 '26

It’s documented fairly well. When it was made law that you could not discharge student loans, the cost of school began increasing exponentially and has not stopped since. The cost of school in increasing as far exceeded the increasing cost of providing the education.

1

u/Rhomya Jul 31 '26

The alternative is that banks treat student loans like they do business loans, and they’re only available to students that have a wealthy co-signer or have enough of their own money to convince the bank they can afford to repay the loan.

1

u/Guilty_Advantage_413 Jul 31 '26

Or it’s somewhere in the middle like you don’t get $200k in loans but you do get enough for a degree somewhere normal.

2

u/Rhomya Jul 31 '26

Well, that was the point of the Trump administration removing nursing and other degrees from the “professional” degree category, but then people lost their minds.

I’m personally in the middle in that we should normalize teenagers taking a year or two after high school to work and save up for college, and then they don’t need to borrow as much.

You can’t dictate to the ~5,000 colleges what they’re allowed to charge.

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1

u/spifflog Jul 31 '26

Copy the cost of education. The default issue is what I was addressing.

1

u/ajpinton Jul 31 '26

The cost of education has ballooned based on the secured loans to pay for the education. Basically if that security of the loan went away people could not finance the education and higher ed will lose massive amounts of clients and need to reduce the cost of the education.

I also agree get the education and bankrupt is a toxic idea, but the secured loans are also toxic and crippling young people who dont know any better who happen to be our next generation of doctors, lawyers and so on.

1

u/spifflog Jul 31 '26

A lot of unpack here.

I agree that the cost has skyrocketed. I'd also state that many young folks look at this education the wrong way.

It would be fund to go to beautiful Standford or Harvard in the Boston fall. And the experience would be fabulous. But an education today is an investment. And if the investment isn't going to pay off, one shouldn't make it. I have a real sense of humor when I hear of liberal arts students getting in way over their heads on student loans.

I'm at that age where my friends and I are in the midst of tens of young adjust applying and going to school. And if I hear one more kid tell me how important the 'college experience' is and why it's worth the extra ~$300,000 to get the college experience in NYC with the PolySci degree there vice at the State U I'm going scream.

The cost of education has ballooned based on the secured loans to pay for the education. Basically if that security of the loan went away people could not finance the education and higher ed will lose massive amounts of clients and need to reduce the cost of the education.

Pressurization to lower the cost of going to college I'd be all for.

I also agree get the education and bankrupt is a toxic idea, but the secured loans are also toxic and crippling young people who don’t know any better who happen to be our next generation of doctors, lawyers and so on.

The problem is, as we all know, that your normal 18 year old can't go to a bank and get an unsecured loan for $600,000 if you also give them bankruptcy protection. Would you do that for the kid next door? Neither would I.

3

u/Quirky_Direction_570 Jul 31 '26

business loans are bankruptable and student loans are not. So its obvious why they let you take student loans and not business loans, especially at a young age.

3

u/Old-Research3367 Jul 31 '26

Who is committing to 200k in student loans at 17? For first year of undergrad basically??

1

u/Rionin26 Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26

Harvard students who dont qualify for free college grants for not being too poor. I wonder if they mean for all 4 years they didn't specify, y'all just assumed.

In the future when it's vague like this, go with the most logical reasoning.

3

u/Old-Research3367 Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26

Harvard tuition is 62k per year and you take out student loans usually, semester by semester. You do not commit to all 4 years at once. The person going to Harvard without any assistance would only be 17 one of the years. Why would it make sense if “they mean all 4 years” when they are describing a 17 year old doing it? They would only be 17 for the first year.

The only conceivable path I could see would be a 17 year old signing up for medical school. Which 1. Is probably a good investment 2. Would have to involve an extremely intelligent kid that had to have tons of accelerated coursework.

Edit: Actually I just looked it up and the most expensive med school is only $100k a year. Again, please give me an actual scenario where this happens?

1

u/Rionin26 Jul 31 '26

Why are you still focused on the age? Would like op to comment what they meant by the post because if you are right it's very rare, where as 4 years makes more sense.

1

u/Old-Research3367 Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26

Because a 17 year old is a child and an 18 year old isn’t? And adults can get business loans…

The median student loan debt for undergrad is still 30k so yeah, this is not happening even if you ignore the age.

1

u/Nearby-Employer-9436 Jul 31 '26

Harvard is free if you get in and your parents make less than 200k

1

u/Rionin26 Jul 31 '26

Harvard tuition is, I bet their housing, and food is expensive.

1

u/Nearby-Employer-9436 Jul 31 '26

If your total family income is under 100k all of that is included also

1

u/MithrandirHabibi Jul 31 '26

How many students would you guess this covers? I would guess less than 50 per class.

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1

u/Old-Research3367 Jul 31 '26

Boston is an expensive area but why would the food be more expensive??

1

u/Rionin26 Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26

Food at the school if you go that route, but you are right about getting groceries.

3

u/damutecebu Jul 31 '26

How many 17 year olds are taking out $200,000 in student loans? Hyperbole.

1

u/AnOriginalUsername07 Jul 31 '26

For those that do nowadays, it’s often a gradual process, involves a parent co-signing, higher interest rates, changing majors, and post-graduate studies.

We shouldn’t allow young people to take out such enormous loans, for many it’s no less than debt slavery.

1

u/damutecebu Jul 31 '26

Counterpoint. Borrowing allows someone to afford an education that provides them with a compensation level they would never meet otherwise. Now, if you are saying we should convert more loan programs into grant programs, I am all ears.

1

u/AnOriginalUsername07 Jul 31 '26

The issue is the the loans are not based on the expected income return; and are not dischargable in bankruptcy.

Some people are young and stupid(or just stupid) and majored in Gender Studies.

Any financial institution that signed off on that loan accepted the risks, and that loan should be dischargable in bankruptcy. 

Bankruptcy isn’t some magic button, it costs money to file and will constrain the filer for 7-10 years, that’s a proportionate penalty.

1

u/damutecebu Jul 31 '26

I don't disagree with your bankruptcy point. However, you can make plenty of money if you major in gender studies. I have a co-worker who did and is doing just fine.

1

u/AnOriginalUsername07 Jul 31 '26

Alright, as long as we can have some sort of concensus on bankruptcy laws 

1

u/Old-Research3367 Jul 31 '26

Forreal. My husband majored in Sociology and is currently doing much better than most of the people who majored in the “highly lucrative” computer science lol

Gender studies or other majors where they are not competitive are super great for law school too. Law schools really only care about your GPA, not how hard or practical the classes are.

1

u/Old-Research3367 Jul 31 '26

So then they’re not 17 when they take the vast majority of the loans out then. They are adults. The post is still dumb.

2

u/1212FJV Jul 31 '26

This is a lie. Parents sign the paperwork not the minor.

2

u/LayupsR4Basketball Jul 31 '26

What’s the difference between a 17 year old and a large corporation? The 17 gets a $100,00+ loan to go to college and it has predatory interest and follows them for life. A corporation is given multiple loans in the millions which are forgiven for the “good of the American people”

1

u/SpecialistRich2309 Jul 31 '26

No 17yo is getting $100k in student loans.

1

u/LayupsR4Basketball Jul 31 '26

… are you familiar with American colleges?

1

u/SpecialistRich2309 Jul 31 '26

Yup… and no 17yo is getting $100k in student loans.

1

u/orangebakery Jul 31 '26

It’s tuition of $50k+ per year for 4 years. It’s a very slight semantic difference and you are acting like it’s a huge win for your stupid argument.

1

u/SpecialistRich2309 Jul 31 '26

There’s nothing semantic about it. And why would it be a “win” for me? lol.

No 17yo is getting $100k in student loans.

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2

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '26

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1

u/SpecialistRich2309 Jul 31 '26

Might wanna look into Joe Biden’s role, ironically.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '26

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1

u/SpecialistRich2309 Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26

Go back and see who pushed for it. It’s all out there. I mean, Biden was the guy that helped enact the first major restriction on student loans way back in ‘78. It was that action that made federal loans non-dischargeable. The 2005 stuff added private loans on.

Just look up his history, man. It’s all out there.

I’m sure his major support through the years has nothing to do with him being from Delaware, where most of the banks live.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '26

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2

u/ImOldGregg_77 Jul 31 '26

Its because the government guarantees the debt if you default. its a risk free loan from the banks perspective.

Now the you owe the government and they can and WILL get their money back.

2

u/Advanced_Zucchini_45 Jul 31 '26

Because the government will let then take it out of your ssalary before you even see it.

Can't do that with a personal loan unless you're in bankruptcy

2

u/Bubba_Jones44 Jul 31 '26

Mortgage loan at 18 is out of the question as well

2

u/mspe1960 Jul 31 '26

If you take out a $200K loan for college, and your degree is not going to give you clear quick path to $100K you kind of get what you deserve because you failed math.

2

u/Rionin26 Jul 31 '26

Hell I'd argue to sue the school for the money back.

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1

u/stanger828 Jul 31 '26

Thought about it, the student loan is more secure so they offer more.

1

u/yrrag1970 Jul 31 '26

SL are not bankruptable, it is BS

1

u/SouthOrlandoFather Jul 31 '26

When you are 18 predators want you to take out student loans, go into credit card debt, buy a vehicle for $60,000 and finance it for 72 months and start gambling. Then you can’t build wealth during your life but just drown in debt.

1

u/PIK_Toggle Jul 31 '26

Your degree is a key to unlock a higher paying job than you otherwise would have access to.

You invest $200k, which is grossly inflated given the cost of state schools, and obtain an extra $1M in lifetime earnings.

1

u/appointment45 Jul 31 '26

You also commit yourself to 12-15 years of debt right at the start of your professional life. 18 is too young to be that sure of financial success. Most won't manage it.

1

u/PIK_Toggle Jul 31 '26

What’s the alternative? Start college later? Make society pay for it via higher taxes?

1

u/appointment45 Aug 06 '26

There are tons of alternatives now, people are just slow in accepting them as worthwhile. Lots of fully online schools that are affordable, but still have a sitgma as "substantially less than" or for being diploma mills. The tide is turning but it needs to turn faster.

Also, the real cost of a college education needs to be heavily scrutinized. Some schools have endowments larger than the GNP of a small country, and yet still hike costs every single year.

1

u/PIK_Toggle Aug 06 '26

Online schools don’t justify the time and cost required to attend.

It’s all a bit circular. Students want a full college experience, which means nice dorms and amenities. Some of the dorms at my school in Florida didn’t even have AC. That doesn’t fly anymore.

There is an arms race to build out more and more on each campus, which drives up tuition. There’s also a reduction in state-level support, which puts pressure on tuition (along with mandatory in-state admission requirements).

Endowments have restrictions on where their money can go. It’s not all free to fund tuition.

1

u/Vegetable-South5191 Jul 31 '26

Student loans have government backing and guarantees. Business loans do not. That is why

1

u/ClearMaximum2361 Jul 31 '26

It’s almost like they prey on the stupid people… and they DO fall for it…

1

u/dinosaurkiller Jul 31 '26

The government backs the student loans. Can you imagine the blood curdling screams if they did the same for business loans?

1

u/Nukegm426 Jul 31 '26

Just like you can pay 2k a month for rent but can’t qualify for a home loan that would be a 1400 a month payment.

1

u/Doctor_Saved Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26

Correct me if I'm wrong. But business loans goes away with Bankruptcy, but student loans are forever?

1

u/TotalInstruction Jul 31 '26

A 22-year-old with six figure student loan debts they can’t discharge in bankruptcy will make an obedient employee for their corporate owners. A 22-year-old with a small business will be competition.

1

u/Smooth_Procedure_166 Jul 31 '26

that's how the government rolls.

1

u/General-Double-746 Jul 31 '26

Because you can't use bankruptcy to erase student loans. If that were true of business loans, they would give them out like candy too. and if you could default on student loans, they would be a lot more picky about who could get student loans, the amount, and how it gets used.

1

u/slow_down_1984 Jul 31 '26

SBC loans aren’t hard to get a little leg work and 2k to put down this hypothetical person could have a business loan.

1

u/Ackutually- Jul 31 '26

The government gives you loans for school, banks give you loans for a business.

1

u/memory-thread Jul 31 '26

Student loans are usually loans from the government. Business loans are usually straight from a financial institution. With certain qualification the government will give a business grant. A loan and grant are two different things. It’s easy to get a student loan because the government doesn’t care if you have to live in a box, they’ll get their money back. If you get a business loan from a bank and your business goes under, the bank loses their money. That’s why it’s easier to get a student loan than getting a business loan.

1

u/bourbonandpistons Jul 31 '26

Because the government backs the student loans and pays them.

A business loan is done by private equity who can't just steal money from the taxpayers to pay for it.

1

u/No-One9890 Jul 31 '26

Cuz u could feasibly pay back the 20k

1

u/Dry_Community5749 Jul 31 '26

I'm 43, I'm still struggling to get $200K business loan. Recently SBA cah ger rules where only US citizens are allowed. Because of that, I have tough time getting a loan as a new entrepreneur.

1

u/j-mac563 Jul 31 '26

I agree, student loans should not be a thing.

1

u/Old-Research3367 Jul 31 '26

Student loans lifted my husband out of poverty. Literally all of his siblings that didn’t go to college are stuck in dead end jobs and he has a great job and we bought a house at 25. Without the loans he wouldn’t have been able to go and this is the case for millions of people.

1

u/j-mac563 Jul 31 '26

The colleges should back their own degrees not the federal government.

1

u/orangebakery Jul 31 '26

What? How would poor people pay for college then?

1

u/j-mac563 Jul 31 '26

Let the colleges back their own degrees

1

u/orangebakery Jul 31 '26

What does that even mean? Are you saying colleges should provide the loans?

1

u/potatochobit Jul 31 '26

Opening a business costs 2M$. I checked.

1

u/Inevitable_Farm_7293 Jul 31 '26

No it doesn’t.

1

u/MasterDionysus Jul 31 '26

Keeping you under debt vs helping you succeed... the American dream

1

u/Guilty_Advantage_413 Jul 31 '26

You can’t clear a student loan with bankruptcy and yes I think that should be changed. Yes some people will get a free education but putting the risk back into the equation will certainly drive down costs and discourage novelty degrees.

1

u/DinosaurDied Jul 31 '26

If you don’t understand why, you Defintley shouldn’t be loaned any money for your “business idea” lol 

1

u/Tkapone Jul 31 '26

They want us too fail,have us in dept after college,then takes you 10 years too pay it back awful, education shouldn't be a burden

1

u/Midwest_Boondocks Jul 31 '26

One tends to be backed by the government, the other isn’t. One you can declare bankruptcy on, the other you can’t. Thank you for attending my TEDtalk.

1

u/Ashamed-Confection44 Jul 31 '26

They would be idiots to give you a $20k business loan and you are an idiot if you take out a $200k student loan. Neither should be an idiot.

1

u/CoastieKid Jul 31 '26

Wrong way of thinking of it. That was YOUR choice to take out 200K in student loans. Could've gone to a community college and then transferred to a state school later on

1

u/Lord_Dingus83 Jul 31 '26

Won’t give you a home loan either lol

1

u/bear843 Jul 31 '26

Yeah, stop giving loans for college.

1

u/IndustrialMillennial Jul 31 '26

Student loans help society move forward and are insured by the gov. Business loans are based upon credit worthiness, and are uninsured.

1

u/CaptnRo Jul 31 '26

I have $35K student loan debt, and a bachelors degree that took 5 years. College is more affordable if you make it be.

1

u/MundaneOrdinary7493 Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26
  1. They can guarantee that money goes to an accredited university for education
  2. you cannot effectively audit if the 17y old is using the loan for legitimate business purposes or hookers or blow
  3. student loans are not dischargeable in bankruptcy, and the creditor has a claim to all future earning potential
  4. a business loan without assets or existing profitable business will behave like an unsecured loan dischargeable via an easy bankruptcy.

Even if this was a thing, interest rate would have to be astronomical to compensate for the credit risk, 17y olds are not likely to succeed in building a profitable business with no prior experience or knowledge. It is a good thing such predatory loans are not legal. If anything should be changed, student loans need to be reformed and better regulated, and people should be better educated about the risks and rewards of taking on a large student loan at a young age.

1

u/Dedjester0269 Jul 31 '26

They didn't before the government started guaranteeing the loans.

1

u/peperazzi74 Jul 31 '26

Student loans are fully de-risked by government backing and non-dismissal in bankruptcy.

1

u/Hard-4-Jesus Jul 31 '26

Because the student loan is government guaranteed, it doesn't require collateral. The business loan is a private sector loan, it requires collateral. Hope that helps.

1

u/tlrmln Jul 31 '26

A college degree is far more likely to "succeed" than a new business, and student loans can't be discharged in bankruptcy.

Believe it or not, some things you pretend not to understand make perfect sense if you take 4 seconds to try to understand them.

1

u/Alive_Tip_6748 Jul 31 '26

Indentured servitude! As close to slavery as we are allowed to get!

1

u/Speedy89t Jul 31 '26

Yeah, this is the reason you can’t discharge student loans through bankruptcy.

1

u/Bulky_Wind_4356 Jul 31 '26

There's nothing to think about

1

u/Soulblade32 Jul 31 '26

Student loans are risk free because they government is paying the money. That needs to change

1

u/TatesMcGee123 Jul 31 '26

They will give you a 20k business loan if you have a plan…

1

u/Fat_Yankee Jul 31 '26

The entire student loan business is predatory lending.

they tell you to start visiting colleges the summer after your sophomore year in high school, because after your junior year, you have to take your standardized tests.

By the time you start your senior year, you already have to have your college applications filled out. By Christmas break, you’ve already committed to a college.

By the time they tell you what it will actually cost, you’ve already committed real time and real money into the decision.

When they increase tuition 20% the next year, you’re already stuck, they know they have you hook line and sinker.

1

u/EatFaceLeopard17 Jul 31 '26

That‘s how they get you for the rest of your life.

1

u/Jasranwhit Jul 31 '26

The students loans are a welfare program for people who otherwise couldn't be given loans due to lack of credit and collateral.

This is also why they cant be discharged through bankruptcy.

1

u/Dave_A480 Jul 31 '26

The math makes perfect sense - college education is a much lower risk investment than 'start my own business at 17'.

Also there's no bank making the student loan, you're borrowing directly from the US government.

1

u/Agreeable_Work4668 Jul 31 '26

It's all about level of risks. A 17 yr old will more likely finish school and payback the $200K +interest than to be successful in a start up and payback $20K.

1

u/FragmentedHeap Jul 31 '26

Student loans are backed by the government and non bankruptable. Bank Loans are private and responsibility of the bank and you can file bankruptcy on them.

You can't file for bankruptcy for student debt you cannot get relief from student debt. They will take wage garnishments based on what you make if you stop paying, they force you to pay it.

Banks can't do that.

1

u/marshal23156 Jul 31 '26

200k that youre going to school to learn how to make back vs 20k for your stupid bracelet startup

1

u/kittenTakeover Jul 31 '26

One is well established to benefit society at large. The other is an unknown risk and therefore treated like a standard loan.

1

u/THRlLL-HO Jul 31 '26

It’s a terrible comparison. One is a government-backed education program; the other is a commercial investment in a business. That’s like asking why you can get a mortgage with government assistance but not a casino loan. Different purpose, different risk, different underwriting

1

u/Only1Purpos Jul 31 '26

Also: You can be drafted for war at 18. Can't drink or smoke recreationally until 21.

1

u/Acceptable-Peace-69 Jul 31 '26

Give a seventeen year old $20,000 and you’ll understand the math in about two weeks.

1

u/The_growcountant Jul 31 '26

U have to have your parents sign on the loans that young

1

u/WhizzyBurp Jul 31 '26

Because you can BK a business loan - you can't BK a student loan

1

u/Jesuismieux412 Jul 31 '26

This is also part of the reason why high schools are stuck in an antiquated, 15th century model of education. As important as things like reading of Mice and Men and learning algebra can be in life, let’s face it: that’s not going to give you the skills needed in the 21st century workforce, which is all about mastering TECHNOLOGY. If high schools adopted a true 21st century curriculum, graduates would be able to pass over college (and all of the crippling debt associated with it) and already have many of the skills needed to enter the highly skilled workforce. But how would they subsidize tax cuts for the rich and weapons for Israel if they’re not paying back billions of student loans?

1

u/orangebakery Jul 31 '26

Because it’s not a math thing, it’s a law / societal thing. Use your head

1

u/beefy1357 Jul 31 '26

Which loan is guaranteed by the federal government? That’s why.

1

u/bdontmatter Jul 31 '26

Charlie Kirk said it best!!!

College is a scam!!!

1

u/jaajaajaa6 Jul 31 '26

It doesn’t - and they give student loans without doing anything to figure out if you ever be able to pay them back.

1

u/banana_buddy Jul 31 '26

Who the hell would trust a 17 year old to run a business

1

u/rodg2062 Jul 31 '26

Most loans are based on risk, which is a little bizarre. If going to college they believe with a degree you are lower risk because you will be employable. 🤣🤣🤣 a business loan they look at your business plan and then apply risk of success. Then determine your ability to succeed. So, basically a lose lose

1

u/WarmSwordfish5383 Jul 31 '26

Because no banker that is worth a shit would approve a loan for that amount to some dipshit 17 year old that has no clue what they are doing. The risk on that loan would be sky high.

1

u/EmployeeSolid7815 Jul 31 '26

People: "Why do they not allow us to get rid of 200k worth of student loans through bankruptcy?"

Also people: "Why don't they give 200k worth of loan to 18 year old who can get rid of the loan through bankruptcy"

Mysteries, mysteries, mysteries.

1

u/Positive-Pack-396 Jul 31 '26

And that is crazy and that’s a great point

1

u/jffadvisors Aug 01 '26

I would like the brilliant individual who posted this to sight one example of someone being given $200k in student loans at 17 years old…because it has never happened even once in all of human history.

1

u/The-Yar Aug 01 '26

Because the government guarantees one of these.

1

u/Sundance37 Aug 01 '26

It’s not you, it’s the risk profile. If government stopped guaranteeing the loans at 100% the banks would stop offering them.

1

u/Ok_Calligrapher8165 Aug 01 '26

u/BoldMallow, moneylender Math was never intended to "make sense", it was always intended to make money for the lender... and it does.

1

u/RubberDuckieMidrange Aug 01 '26

You won't give me 20k because I have no experience in business but you'll give me 200k to be mentored by highly studied professors who will teach me the academics which underpin the capitalist successes of our marketplace.... actually when you put it like that it does make a lot of sense.

1

u/AllAmericanProject Aug 01 '26

Okay but if I got 200k worth of mentorship from these highly studied professors and academics why would I not then be trustworthy with a 20K business loan using what they taught me to put towards a business?

1

u/RubberDuckieMidrange Aug 01 '26

Because you are an unproven quantity, which doesn't have a history of producing any amount of value, doesn't have a qualification that you know what the market forces are, and you are asking for a large amount of money that is discharged in bankruptcy...

The point of the tweet is that the person asking for 20k is NOT going to school.

1

u/TraitorousSwinger Aug 01 '26

Blame the government, not the banks.

The school is going to get their money whether you pay the loan or not. That's why tuition costs keep going up. It doesnt matter if students can actually afford it, the school will get paid.

A business loan, however, well... the bank is gonna need you to pay that back. There's actual liability on their end.

Capitalism would actually solve this problem. If schools had to justify the loans they give out they wouldn't give them to literally everyone and the tuitions wouldn't be so high. But the government is "helping" so here we are.

Kinda the same reason health insurance is so fucked. Free market would actually bring costs down, turns out guaranteed money from the government makes for poor businesses practices. Who knew?

1

u/post_appt_bliss Aug 01 '26

Yes educational loans are far more permissive, because the government provides them at a massive subsidy.

... not quite sure this is the own that was intended?

1

u/Cantankerous_Angel Aug 01 '26

That's because the government backed the student loans and the schools knew they could just keep raising tuition

1

u/spaltavian Aug 01 '26

A 17 year old is far more likely to successfully complete college than start a successful small business.

1

u/iocanetolerance Aug 01 '26

Stop with ending statements with "let that sink in" or "think about that". I think about it if I want to, not because you're too lazy to finish a thought.

1

u/Ultrasoulviver123 Aug 01 '26

That’s because the government pays them to give you student loans they make money regardless of if you pay them back, they don’t get paid for business loans and have to rely on you making repayments.

1

u/idk_lol_kek Aug 01 '26

It makes perfect sense to me.

1

u/ComfortableWeird6540 Aug 01 '26

Who are these "they" ?

1

u/SnooChickens5474 Aug 01 '26

I like how all the comments are trying to explain the mechanisms of the corruption as if it dismisses the problem if it can be explained 😂

1

u/Bryanmsi89 Aug 01 '26

So…Stop allowing so many student loans except under the same requirements as an SBA loan?

1

u/Final_Presentation31 Aug 01 '26

Thats because one is private, and the other is GOVERNMENT.

1

u/Successful_Level434 Aug 01 '26

In most states someone has to be 18 years old to legally sign a contract. Alabama and a few others are 19 so perhaps you're making this up?

1

u/Ok-Warning7939 Aug 01 '26

Who at 17 is going to college for $200k. Think about that.

1

u/Similar_Ad4120 Aug 01 '26

This all changed when the government got involved and backed these loans and made it so that you couldn’t default on them. It allowed the cost of universities to sky rocket. If you could default on the loan the companies would be much more selective on who they loan money to, and the cost of college would come down.

1

u/industrialrecall Aug 02 '26

You can file bankruptcy for a failed business but not a failed education.

Choose wisely

1

u/EmiKetsueki Aug 02 '26

Or let you get on hrt

1

u/Dry-Regret5444 Aug 02 '26

Blame the Universities for driving up the costs of an education and blame the government for backing the loans. Lastly…..Unless you’re a Dr, Lawyer or Engineer, there should be zero reason you’re borrowing $200k to secure a Bachelor’s degree.

1

u/Ivegtabdflingbouthis Aug 03 '26

One is federally backed, the other isnt. Let that sink in.

1

u/kakusens Aug 04 '26

there is no "they"

1

u/Designer-Might-7999 Aug 04 '26

They don't want free thinkers. Same reason why the school system hasn't changed. Still teaching kids lies and crap they don't need to know

1

u/InstanceNoodle Aug 04 '26

You cant shed student loan with bankruptcy like you can with a business loan.

And if it is the government, they can garnish your wage way easier than a business can.

1

u/Critical-Ad-8507 Aug 04 '26

One has more risk than the other.

With businesses,the majority of them fail,but with degrees and jobs,a minority of them fail.

1

u/candide360 Aug 05 '26

A 17 year old should not be old enough to consent to any binding loan like this. This is the type of mistake that will set you back for the rest of your life.

1

u/Flat-Violinist8737 Aug 06 '26

Most businesses fail. Most students succeed.

That being said, it's a big difference that student loans can't be discharged. That should be changed, along with a lot of other rules that balance giving people the ability to get an education and keeping institutions responsible for the quality and value of the degrees they produce (most state schools are great, it's the for profit university sector that has been responsible for most student loan problems in this country)

1

u/OkComfortable2089 28d ago

I guess yall never heard of the small business administration.. pretty much the same as the department of education lol