But for the hundreds of thousands of people who can't start a family because they have an eternal, unpayable debt anchored to them, it would certainly make sense.
Here's the crux right here imho... how unpayable is it? Can't start a family, are you sure? Are you unwilling to make necessary sacrifices? What exactly makes it eternal, the interest? We could create tax incentives for that. Who exactly are you hundreds of thousands? we will pay for this problem one way or the other but what's the best solution? Is it one where Nancy Pelosi's daughter (hypothetical, don't know nor care what her family is like) gets to discharge 250k of USC Berkley loans because she turned 26 and can claim independent hardship?
It's just not that simple and there are consequences for rewarding bad behavior and it does actually matter when you are indirectly punishing competency. If you really care about family structure, then you create an environment which the family can plan for and absorb those costs as noted above, and then you catch people who slip through the cracks because of the burden they create otherwise. If the current programs aren't filling the need adequately as you complained then they should be expanded to do so. I don't think there are hundreds of thousands of people who can't actually make it happen if they are financially literate and disciplined, but when/if they are not then sure make those defaults dischargeable in bankruptcy court as a last resort which is in effect we the people absorbing that cost. And then how much additional strain does that put on our banking and economy in the current climate where we are seeing an increase in other defaults and repos.
I recognized from the start you were making a Pat Buchanan like argument, but when you go far right or left it's the political horseshoe and indistinguishable really in practice. I make the same argument against your ideology I do against them. It's not
just this or just
that, when you claim moral superiority or ability to impose your beliefs on others it's like a dog whistle to me and I really want to figure out if you have something to say of real substance; a way to really take things on in totality. I get triggered you might say because to me it's like this, we have tons of problems that need fixing, but this American way has created an otherwise unimaginable time of peace and prosperity. What improvements can we make without sacrificing what got us here? What unAmerican solutions could work to fix American problems, what are the consequences? That things work in a different time and place is not an argument for this time and place. Maybe a get out of jail free card is the solution, we take the hit and it drives cost down. I somehow doubt it would be that simple in practice. History is however littered with failed ideologies proclaiming moral imperatives.
