Student debt relief and the jobs market

Student debt relief just a gov't program

A reader's complained that she had worked hard to help pay for her kids' college tuition, citing it as a reason why no one else should benefit from this program ["Colleges should cite value of taking debt," Letters, Oct. 27]. I see that as faulty logic. Any government program benefiting someone who is not you works like that.

Benefits for veterans? They volunteered. Federal aid for hurricanes? My property was undamaged. Aid to Ukraine? My house isn’t under attack.

There are reasonable reasons to both support and oppose student debt reduction. Though quite in vogue today, “I got mine, so you’re on your own" isn’t one of the more altruistic responses.

Paul Pepe, Massapequa

I agree with the reader who questioned whether students look at the big picture about loan tuition debt ["A few questions about student debt," Letters, Oct. 17]. I’ve often wondered why can’t the rate of interest on student loans be lower. At the time of our daughter's college loan repayments, her rate of interest on the loan was higher than our mortgage rate. That made no sense. How are these young men and women ever to get on their feet and be productive if they have to pay off this loan with a high interest rate, .feeling as if the principal never goes down. The banks would probably do better if they lowered their rate for student loans.

Camille Morselli, Islip Terrace

Student debt forgiveness is not a sound idea for the taxpayer who will notice taxes going up as the debt is being absorbed by the national population ["Debt forgiveness plan brings mixed emotions," News, Oct. 11]. Keep in mind that some students do not complete their degrees, but the debt is there.

I have three children who all went to college, and it took them years to pay off their college debt. During their education, there was always the parents' portion within the loan process that we took care of as parents. I understand that some countries delay the debt of graduating students or don't charge tuition, but some of these countries may have a greater tax base.

If you want to go to college, it should be the responsibility of the student and the family to resolve the debt so the graduate will have a substantial income.

Janet Garofalo, Lindenhurst

Blame the employers for the job situation

After sifting through all of the comments from jobseekers and recruiters, and analyzing the careful phrasing in the article, I cut through all the fluff and know what the employment problem is: the employers ["The job market disconnect," LI Business, Oct. 16]. They don't want to give an inch, not to the high cost of living here, not to the needs of those with long-term COVID-19, not to the needs of working mothers. They want to pretend that they can go right back to 2019, before the pandemic, before this extraordinary inflation, which is tearing many lives apart, and keep their payroll numbers the same. That won't work.

Some day care centers went right out of business in the pandemic and haven't come back. The remaining ones are understandably more expensive. Also, I'd day a third to half of the jobs requiring a bachelor's degree really don't need that much education. We need companies willing to train new employees, something many apparently decided they weren't going to waste money on back in the '80s. Wake up, employers! It's already hard enough to do business on Long Island. If they are going to act like a bunch of stingy dinosaurs, they will lose.

Gloria Mason, Lindenhurst

Rich villages benefit from reader grants

So seven villages in Nassau County received grants of $150,000 each for license plate readers to help prevent auto thefts ["Additional funds for plate readers," News, Oct. 20]. That comes to $1,050,000 in total grant money. By some strange coincidence, this windfall of taxpayer money has gone to some of the most affluent villages in the county. The article says that Nassau County experienced 621 auto thefts in 2021. Old Westbury, one of the recipients, had four thefts (0.64%) that year and Great Neck Estates, another recipient, had five (0.8%). I would think areas with a much higher percentage of auto thefts could make better use of these devices and that these affluent villages could easily fund their own license plate readers if they felt there was a great need. I wonder what motivated this largesse.

Dennis Hoffman, Middle Island