you’d be staff, not a member you know

You should be careful how you treat the gigolos, Stoner – they might get unionised! 😯

as long as they dont get dentures I dont mind.

As you were.

It would give a whole new meaning to indentured servant.

Im at a loss as to why effectively a graduate tax is upsetting the smelly people so much?

You dont NEED rich parents to go to university.

You dont even NEED a soul-selling high-paying job on graduation to fund it either, as the marginal cost of the loan repayment is zero or low initially.

TRANSLATION:

‘I’ve benefitted from free/cheap education which has enabled me to have a financially rewarding career, therefore I don’t think anyone else should benefit similarly, because I’ve bought into the whole greedy Thatcherite philosophy and I’ve done ok and I’m selfish and self-serving and want to protect my economic position’.

It’s ok. We understand, Stoner…. 😉

nope maths not wrong. That is actually the one of the main principals of the scheme: that a significant proportion of borrowers NEVER repay their loan.

But surely that doesn’t take into consideration that the universities have lost gov funding so need the revenue from the fees to recoup that? If a large proportion don’t pay back how will the universities fund courses?

Also that £21k is the starting rate for a qualified teacher. Its just illustrative.

Compared to some teachers are well paid.

It also effects your interest rate too.

Exactly – 509 years to pay off the loan doesn’t include interest.

All this is predicated on the fact that graduates earn more over their working life – the figure quoted around is approx 100k (and again is the mean NOT median). So over 40 years that is 2.5k a year, if you subtract 30k from that then the hypothetical graduate would earn £33 pounds a week more. If you then subtract the amount the non-graduate would make over the three years that the graduate is at uni the value is even less.
Is that a good thing?

There is another possible interpretation of

The proposed loan repayment threshold is £21,000.
The repaymnent rate will be at 9% above that threshold.

i.e. Is it possible that the repayment at 9% applies to the whole of the earnings (not just that element >£21k), once you’re above the theshold?
This would result in payment of c£2k PA kicking-in at the theshold.

I’d be happy to hear that this is not the case but haven’t seen anything yet to dispell my fears.

Ecky-thump, your fear is unfounded:

Repayment system

Graduates who have completed their studies and are among the country’s higher earners will make a higher contribution towards the cost of their education. As their earnings increase, so will their contributions.

Graduates will not make a contribution towards tuition costs until they are earning at least £21,000, up from the current £15,000. The repayment will be on 9% of income above £21,000, and all outstanding repayments will be written off after 30 years. This means all graduates will pay less per month than they do under the current system.

In order to make the system financially sustainable, a real rate of interest will be charged on loan repayments, but with a progressive taper:

* For graduates earning below £21,000, there will be no real rate of interest applied to their loan.
* For graduates earning between £21,000 and around £41,000, a real rate of interest will start to be charged, reaching a maximum of RPI plus 3%.
* Above £41,000, graduates will repay at the full rate of RPI plus 3%.

midlifecrashes, thanks for the clarification.

Elfinsafety you would like the discussion/argument I had with an american last night, I asked why she was so opposed to Obamas healthcare plans, she actually told me that is was peoples fault they got sick.

Quite unbelievable and mind bogglingly selfish. This from a woman who happily discussed her facelift and boob job.

mind bogglingly selfish

There are a huge number, probably the majority, of Americans who are the most fantastic people – unfortunately there are also a huge number who are exactly that.

Pigface: I know people who’ve benefitted immensly from ‘free’ education and healthcare, done ok, but the second you mention anyone else doing the same, they go apeshit. 🙄

I’m all right Jack f- the rest of you.

How very British.

Got to blame Thatcher 😉

Careful; the Thatcherite Tory Boys will descend on you like a pack of Outraged of Royal Tunbridge Wells residents…

Pigface – Member

Elfinsafety you would like the discussion/argument I had with an american last night, I asked why she was so opposed to Obamas healthcare plans, she actually told me that is was peoples fault they got sick.

Quite unbelievable and mind bogglingly selfish. This from a woman who happily discussed her facelift and boob job.

Did you manage a reply? I think I’d have just sat there, helplessly goldfish-like and unable to breath…

I think I’d have just sat there, helplessly goldfish-like and unable to breath…

Somehow Woppit, I really doubt that you, of all people, would ever be speechless… 😆

Police are now Kettling people in Whitehall. A tactic designed to dissuade potential future demonstrators.

It will ultimately have the effect of provoking violence. The police shouldn’t be used as a political tool; tactics like this are used to deliberately provoke violent reaction, in order that new powers can be more easily introduced which will restrict the right to protest.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/cartoon/2010/nov/24/higher-education-cuts

Elfinsafety you would like the discussion/argument I had with an american last night, I asked why she was so opposed to Obamas healthcare plans, she actually told me that is was peoples fault they got sick.

I’m having an online conversation with an American friend at the moment. She just posted that the students should stop whining about paying for education, as they’ve being doing that in America for years.

I replied: “Yep, the last thing we want is poor people getting educated. There won’t be enough professional jobs left for everyone and the over-supply will drive down our wages. Far better to leave them stuck in a cycle of poverty and poor education.”

She failed to see the funny side. 🙂

This BBC article is worth reading:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11344228

Americans can end up paying £32,000 a year for university.

In America

The cost will put people off. At the new rates it would cost have cost me £36k for tuition fees alone without the other expenses.

The way it has been set up as an effective tax is what I disagree with. There is already a system in place through income tax to tax those who earn more at a higher percentage. Adding another tax on top of that just seems like a tax on aspiration. It’s more a labour policy than a Tory one.