Student Loan Debt?

[goeduck]

A CR means that the budget remains the same as the prior year. The country is operating on the 2023 budget currently, so that’s status quo, not a cut. There is no 2024 federal budget.

Okay, reduce the exponential trajectory.

 

[kenmbz]

Election year, anyone notice:
1) talking about limiting incoming Illegals finally.
2) Gas/Oil prices down
3) Market up.

To keep this on - we are getting cost estimates for colleges.
We talk to a lot of people and other high schools due to some friends/coworkers.
Trying to figure out scholarships and grants.
We thought it was based on income, residency and sports.
But it seems to be more of a negotiation and filling gaps in what the college/university "needs" .
It get more confusing the more we look.

 

[Hay Dude]

I’m not going to beat this anymore. All economic activity is up in the mountain states region. We aren’t experiencing bad times and most contractors and tradesmen have more work than they can do.

That’s because contractors and tradesmen have been marginalized and called losers, rednecks, portrayed as idiots by Hollywood Libs etc for so long nobody wants to enter the trades anymore.
Its a bunch of 50-70 year olds with more work than they can handle.

Sales and businesses are busy and real estate is moving.

Pent up demand from the Plandemic.

I’m not going to call this bad times. I’ve seen bad times and this isn’t close. I work with people from throughout the nation, and I’m hearing pretty much the same from everyone. I have no doubt that the business cycle will have a downturn sometime in the future. Always has, always will. Always followed by a recovery.

Yes, new leadership will usher in a recovery. 2017-2019 were spectacular recovery years. Low inflation, low interest rates, low energy prices and no wars to throw 100’s of billions into, like Ukraine.

Those, were really good years.

 

[2manyrocks]

Election year, anyone notice:
1) talking about limiting incoming Illegals finally.
2) Gas/Oil prices down
3) Market up.

To keep this on - we are getting cost estimates for colleges.
We talk to a lot of people and other high schools due to some friends/coworkers.
Trying to figure out scholarships and grants.
We thought it was based on income, residency and sports.
But it seems to be more of a negotiation and filling gaps in what the college/university "needs" .
It get more confusing the more we look.

We were blessed to have a friend who understood and was current on the scholarship game in Tennessee. I believe many students miss out on scholarship opportunities simply because they don't know what's available or how to go about accessing it. In some cases, it's a matter of GPA or SAT scores that determines whether a student gets the most scholarship money available.

There comes a point where it's like shopping used car dealers for a car. You don't really know what the price is until they provide a quote in writing.

Glad those days and the FASFA crap are over with for us, but I feel your pain.

 

[jyoutz]

That’s because contractors and tradesmen have been marginalized and called losers, rednecks, etc for so long nobody wants to enter the trades anymore.
Its a bunch of 50-70 year olds with more work than they can handle.




Pent up demand from the Plandemic.



Yes, new leadership will usher in a recovery. 2017-2019 were spectacular recovery years. Low inflation, low interest rates, low energy prices and now wars to throw 100’s of billions into, like Ukraine.

Those, were really good years.

I have never had a 50-70 year old show up to do plumbing, electrical, or HVAC work. Always young guys 20-40s or a young guy working with an older guy. The work pays well.

 

[two_bit_score]

No, it's really not. Nominal GDP means little. Real GDP is a measure, but says nothing about the health of the economy. Economists look at the underlying factors. That's why the unemployment rate is meaningless. Why a .75% drop in labor participation is huge when the only reason it is close is because of an increase in government jobs. Numbers alone don't mean much. You need to understand what makes them up. Actual economists know the recent uptick is a paper tiger. The economy looked great right before every major downturn. (At least using metrics that are superficial).

Be careful or @jyoutz will say you are picking on him.

 

[LD48750]

I have never had a 50-70 year old show up to do plumbing, electrical, or HVAC work. Always young guys 20-40s or a young guy working with an older guy. The work pays well.

And just why do you think the older guy is there?
The old men are burned out & are TEACHING the kids.

 

[ultrarunner]

It’s the older guy showing up when the younger one gets stuck.

Several of the HVAC/refrigeration techs are 50+ to nearing retirement.

Biomed just retired at 67… saying still liked the job but not the 60,000 annual miles driving.

Before we went VOIP phones the Northstar Telcom guy who was fantastic was in his 70’s.

He knew the older system cold and had lots of in house parts… said the young guys just don’t have the training and won’t on old tech.

Does a lot of work for wineries and hospitality…

 

[jyoutz]

And just why do you think the older guy is there?
The old men are burned out & are TEACHING the kids.

Yes. That’s how the world has worked since time immemorial. It’s called apprenticeship.

 

[Gee Ray]

I am a very simple man. Several of you are quoting government statistics. Lord knows they would never put out false or misleading information.

I am in Florida which is growing by leaps and bounds. I have a hot shot trucking business. Therefore I watch the load boards. I only watch the loads picking up and dropping in the state. Under the T man there were 3 to 7000 loads posted every day. This week there were 1000 or less loads posted on the load board. This low number has been posted everyday for months. The decline of the number of trucking companies and the decline in the freight rates is an indicator of bad things are coming.

The decline in loads has occurred while the help wanted signs are being pulled down. The construction continues but it has slowed down.

My observation is we are in for a rough ride as a country. If the economy is slowing down in one of the fastest growing states what is happening in the rust belt and dying areas.