minimatt
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would you like us to assign someone to butter your muffin?
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Post by minimatt on Jul 22, 2024 19:40:44 GMT
i think fee increases are nailed on but how to do it without incurring electoral wrath and further fucking the most fucked generation is another question - maybe bringing the student loan book back into public ownership would help a bit?
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Post by simple on Jul 22, 2024 20:42:40 GMT
I’d absolutely in favour of bringing the student loan book back into public ownership. The debt should never have been sold in the first place. SLC have always sucked at their administration but at least bringing it into public ownership might mean they aren’t putting so much interest onto the £30k you already owe them.
I suppose if the loan system is here to stay and fee increases for home students are inevitable the fairest and most straight forward way of managing it would be - interest free loans. That way its essentially a graduate tax and for those who don’t earn big when they graduate it’d wouldn’t grow into a monster hanging over them.
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Post by Dougs on Jul 22, 2024 20:56:48 GMT
That's just it - it needs to be seen and known as a graduate tax. It's the only way really. I was lucky - no fees and still got the remnants of a grant for a year (maybe 2). Came out with a modest loan total that I paid off after working for a few years. That my kids won't have that opportunity without screwing themselves is so very wrong.
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Post by Reviewer on Jul 22, 2024 22:06:51 GMT
I had just one year of paying and a minimal loan that was paid off in about three years. I’m fortunate that I’ll be able to make sure my kids never have to pay to go to uni, and hopefully will have plenty left over.
I’ve never had to worry about money and I want to make sure the same for them.
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Tomo
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Post by Tomo on Jul 22, 2024 22:47:53 GMT
£700m on four volunteers to Rwanda and they couldn't even find £2-3bn to give NHS workers their first above inflation pay increase after over a decade of austerity.
The priorities of the Tories and the electorate who vote for them will never cease to both baffle and infuriate me.
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Chopsen
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Post by Chopsen on Jul 22, 2024 22:50:29 GMT
Similar to Dougs, I graduated with some loans that I paid off pretty quickly in the grand scheme of things. They felt *massive* at the time. The idea of graduating with the sort of debt that today's students have (even if it isn't a normal debt) and likely never being able to pay them off...blows my mind.
And not paying them off by the cut off age doesn't make them magically go away either. They default to the government debt pile. I.e they get off by the general tax payer. Who by then will be overwhelmingly the generation that got landed with these debts in the first place, plus interest.
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Tomo
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Post by Tomo on Jul 22, 2024 23:03:39 GMT
I was means tested through uni which meant I got a grant every year in London. I was a few years before the 3k annual fees got introduced and had to pay about 1100 quid annually in tuition fees. I still ended up with a 24k loan at the end of it. Which, I am still very slowly paying off. I doubt I'll ever entirely pay it off, what with an enormous mortgage as well. Oh and being rejected from NHS fertility treatment so we're in the process of shelling out anywhere upwards of another 25k for private treatment.
So great being the generation that accrues monstrous debts when my folks' could get a higher quality of living with significantly lower salaries. I'm _really_ glad that in their 70s they both have 4x4s with less than 10k on the clock for driving to Waitrose.
What a time to be alive.
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Post by Bill in the rain on Jul 23, 2024 1:26:42 GMT
Wasn't the student loan initially at a very nominal level of interest? I assume they've ramped that up over the years?
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Post by Bill in the rain on Jul 23, 2024 4:40:12 GMT
www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/22/yvette-cooper-could-abandon-law-that-criminalised-peaceful-protestsSeems hopeful. Though I can't help but feel the UK goes through this endless cycle of the Tories being spurred on by the right wing press to introduce draconian laws, then Labour removing those laws, then the right wing press spending all their energy blaming Labour for everything. Then the Tories getting back in and re-introducing the draconian laws. The protest laws had no place in a democracy like the UK, but you just know the express, torygraph and mail are gonna kick up a stink and blame Labour for every Just Stop Oil disruption if they repeal it.
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Chopsen
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Post by Chopsen on Jul 23, 2024 6:43:13 GMT
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Post by Bill in the rain on Jul 23, 2024 6:59:33 GMT
This sounds like a good idea in theory, though I rather imagine that everyone is just going to get told that they need to eat healthily and exercise, and then most will continue to fail to do that. www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jul/23/pre-nhs-disease-prevention-health-checksIt might actually be a better situation to use the private sector, or a public-private-partnership, than core NHS services. Full time employees here are required to undergo a pretty thorough health check each year, which can be useful at spotting conditions early. Though again, the main thing from mine has been that I need to lose weight... which is easy to say, and less easy to actually do. PS/ It's guardian link day!
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Frog
Full Member
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Post by Frog on Jul 23, 2024 7:18:14 GMT
Step away from the doughnuts Bill
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Post by Bill in the rain on Jul 23, 2024 7:28:44 GMT
I'll give you my doughnut when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.
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rftp
New Member
Posts: 328
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Post by rftp on Jul 23, 2024 7:39:26 GMT
I'm not sure I'm going to want it after that, tbh.
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Lizard
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I love ploughmans
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Post by Lizard on Jul 23, 2024 7:51:50 GMT
Also technically not 'giving' at all.
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Post by Bill in the rain on Jul 23, 2024 7:53:37 GMT
It's a very tasty doughnut though... has chocolate and sprinkles and everything. mmm...
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Post by simple on Jul 23, 2024 7:58:24 GMT
Wasn't the student loan initially at a very nominal level of interest? I assume they've ramped that up over the years? Its about 8% at the moment according to Martin Lewis www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/repay-post-2012-student-loan/Which isn’t ideal when its £9250 tuition loan* and potentially as high as £13k maintenance** per academic year for an English or Welsh student studying in the UK. Its partially means tested as well so students from poorer families get bigger loans so end up with significantly larger debts to pay at the end. So as a loan repayment its the opposite of the type of progressive taxation which could be an option if you instituted a graduate tax. I think overall they can incur more than double the debt in a single year than I did for my entire bachelors degree. I self-funded and then had a research grant for my others so dodged the worst of it. *at undergrad level **with London top-up, more like £8k without
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Post by drhickman1983 on Jul 23, 2024 8:12:35 GMT
My statement for Student Loan repayment last year shows that on a normal month I'm paying 42 quid via PAYE, worked out via the usual rules.
But the interest is usually 60 quid a month.
Because I had a couple of larger than usual paycheques due to some bonus payments, the total owed "only" increased by 10 quid over the year.
So paying at least 40 quid a month results in the debt growing by 10 quid.
Can't see that going anywhere soon. I'm used to the payments and ultimately fine with it, but it does feel like a money making scam by the SLC.
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Post by simple on Jul 23, 2024 8:13:19 GMT
Plus if you don’t pay attention SLC don’t cease your repayments the month you hit £0.00 they can, will and do continue taking payments until the end of the tax year. After which you have to fight them for a refund.
The most straightforward way to avoid that is to switch from salary deduction to direct debit for the final year because then they will only take what is owed until the balance is satisfied. Although it does come with the risk that they take both the direct debit and salary deduction and you pay double for a few months like happened to one of my colleagues.
SLC are bad at acting like a bank.
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Post by Bill in the rain on Jul 23, 2024 8:18:17 GMT
I *think* when I had one it was basically limited to the rate of inflation, which was of course much lower back then. Now it's inflation + 3% I think. *
Anyone know what has happened to the amount the government gives to Universities per student? Back when tuition fees were introduced it was just supposed to be a small contribution to the costs, and the government was supposed to be paying for the majority of it, as they always had. Given that the fees have increased by about 900% since then, and are likely to increase more, it sounds like the Unis must be getting less money for each student from other sources.
* It looks like it's +3% until you start repaying, and then it's +0% to +3% depending on your income. I assume this is some scheme to try and encourage graduates to get a job quicker so they have to repay less.
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Post by simple on Jul 23, 2024 8:25:59 GMT
I think govt grants to unis were essentially frozen a few years back which is why the sector is essentially doing austerity to itself now they can’t milk international students for cash anymore and home student fees fell way behind inflation.
Thinking again I wonder if it would be more sensible to have central govt pay the unis directly then graduates pay a grad tax - with the maintenance loan available at a nominal/zero interest rate for living expenses.
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Tuffty
Junior Member
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Post by Tuffty on Jul 23, 2024 10:22:46 GMT
Interesting choice by LBC I'm sure that will go down well with the usual audience tuning in at that time.
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Post by simple on Jul 23, 2024 10:31:52 GMT
Michael Jackson popcorn dot gif
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Post by Vandelay on Jul 23, 2024 10:36:06 GMT
Have it on in the background. Don't know why I hate myself so much.
Only got halfway through the first hour on immigration when I had to skip. I gave up when a caller came on saying everyone he knows is fed up with immigration and Labour is going to "give 'em all 'ouses"
Now on the second hour and she is claiming Trump will make the world safer...
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Post by simple on Jul 23, 2024 10:48:52 GMT
So is it just a full session of unchallenged hate and lies (plus weather) ?
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Post by Vandelay on Jul 23, 2024 11:23:13 GMT
To be fair, no. Plenty of people that are challenging her. You do get the numbskulls on that get to say stupid stuff without challenge though. Just had someone on saying that Trump will stand up to authoritarians and will up hold democracy (other than that time that he tried to overturn democracy, obvs).
Of course, he then started talking about the wall and that Trump just says what people really think (his grandad that fought in the war hated immigrants too, so it must be alright). So, just your standard racist that feels emboldened by Trump.
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Post by rockavitch on Jul 23, 2024 12:13:03 GMT
Every time I see that pic randomly Kim's face always gets me.
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Post by rawshark on Jul 23, 2024 12:43:18 GMT
Meanwhile, Bibby Stockholm is to be closed.
If you listen very carefully, you'll be able to hear Suella Braverman shit-typing furiously.
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Post by technoish on Jul 23, 2024 14:00:00 GMT
Did anybody see her stand up in parliament and ask why labour didn't do anything about child poverty in the kings speech? Lmao.
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