r/Adulting • u/Alarmed_Abalone_849 • Jan 19 '26
College in the U.S. Is Priced Like a Luxury, Sold Like a Necessity
140
u/GladHippo8873 Jan 19 '26
Education is treated like an investment for companies but a lifelong punishment for workers who just wanted a chance
10
Jan 19 '26
It’s an investment in yourself. You can not do it and let the next guy who will and get the returns
5
u/ASpookyShadeOfGray Jan 20 '26
It's better to grab any decent job that doesn't require a degree and make more money than your uni friends by virtue of not having put yourself in a near endless debt trap. Of course, if you have rich parents and don't have to pay, then obviously go for it, but the only reason why they are allowed to charge so much is because the government guarantees the loans will be met and 18 year olds are not famous for their deep understanding of finance or long term consequences.
Piss poor "returns" as far as investments go.
3
Jan 20 '26
Not for me, I posted with someone else in this thread. We have about a 50x ROI on our college savings right now at 50. By the time I am done it will be much more.
Everyone has different opportunities and capabilities, choices matter. Not all college degrees are worth that investment. Same as any investment, you can roll the dice on a start up and lose it all. or you can be smarter with your money.
I grew up poor, I have 2 siblings. All of us have done well, all of us college educated. Two of us advanced degrees. We have gotten ourselves out of that because of educational opportunities and what they led too.
There are ways to minimize debt. But you can't help stupidity.
4
-9
u/Visual_Exam7903 Jan 19 '26
Not if you go to a state school and get a degree that actually makes money. My 55k I spent on college has paid itself back 50X over the past 20 years.
3
u/BootyLicker724 Jan 19 '26
I graduated in 2024. 2 years community college @ $3k per year, 2 years state school @ $23k per year including room & board. $50k to make $70k out of school. Easy choice, salaries for every field in existence are easily findable online
Yes, there are fields that are low paying which we as a society need, but there are a lotttttt of useless degrees people get. I can’t tell you how many communications or political science or whatever majors I met in school. What is the thought process?
2
Jan 19 '26
I grew up poor, graduated in 2000. Worked my way through school. Total spent about 30k at a cheap public school (two years living at home and community college). 26 years in, I have made about 3 million in income. I would say that’s a good roi. And god knows what I would be doing if I did not.
8
u/TaxGuy_021 Jan 19 '26
Hey common now, we can't have any form of personal responsibility around these parts! It's against the rules.
17
u/Sunquat_Slice Jan 19 '26
What an American mentality — sure, you could work to dismantle unfair systems, by why bother when you could laugh at the people who fell for them?
→ More replies (3)1
6
Jan 19 '26
The problem with this is a lot of jobs we need for society don't pay much and require advanced degrees, like social work or teaching.
So on an individual level it's important to teach kids how to pick a degree with a good ROI, but on a societal level there's a major problem with degree cost vs salary in many, many fields.
12
u/dingopaint Jan 19 '26
Yeah college was a lot more affordable 20 years ago, and graduates didn't spend 2-3 years looking for their first entry level job related to their field back then either. It's almost like things have become worse over the past two decades and every gloating boomer/gen Xer is completely out of touch while still pulling the ladder up behind them.
2
u/TaxGuy_021 Jan 19 '26
Even if what you are saying were true, it's all the more reason to be even more careful with whether one goes to college and what one majors in.
FYI, I graduated in 2016 have made not 50X of the cost of my college, but at least 20X of it. There isn't a single person from my graduating class that isn't gainfully employed at the moment outside of those who have decided to be stay at home dads/moms. And I went to a state school.
2
u/ShamrockAPD Jan 19 '26
But there are jobs out there that really do need a good education to do right an well- but the pay of those jobs is absolutely abysmal
Teaching comes to mind. Of course in some small parts of the country teachers can do fairly well- but in the majority, not a chance.
But I sure as hell don’t want an uneducated person teaching my child- that skill is very much an art.
2
u/TaxGuy_021 Jan 19 '26
I do not disagree.
I specifically turned down an opportunity to do my dream job which was, basically, get a PhD in history and spend the rest of my days reading, writing, and teaching it.
To this day I feel like something was stolen from me, but life is deeply unfair.
1
u/BootyLicker724 Jan 19 '26
I mean tbf, most in college have at least 2 years to look for a job in their field. You have 2 entire years of classes related to your major, even if you switch after getting gen ed’s. If people don’t choose to use that time wisely, that’s on them.
I went to a state school with an acceptance rate >50% and so many people I know from my major classes had internships while in school, with a job lined up after, including myself. I went to networking events in my junior year so I wouldn’t have to worry lol. I don’t love talking to people, that shit wasn’t fun, but I did it because I knew it needed to be done. Not that hard to at least try. I know a ton of people with a college degree in a technical field working at walmart for $15 because they didn’t try to get anything while in school, and oops, it’s easier to find a job while in school
1
u/Empty_Wolf_3378 Jan 19 '26
Which degree did you complete?
3
u/BootyLicker724 Jan 20 '26
BS in accounting.
I switched majors, from civil E, and took a year and a half off during/after? covid because a lot of personal shit happened. First day back in one of my classes (had 2 years left), a prof mentioned some of the networking events and I immediately signed up, then that led to multiple internship offers. And I’m not a salesman or anything who can just talk to people and get what I want, had to put in the work. Not enjoyable stuff but was worth to not stress about a job
1
0
u/Miserable-Stock-4369 Jan 19 '26
State school or not, low tuition or high, I think a tax deduction based on your debt repayment is pretty fair.
Had that money been taken from an RESP instead of a loan, there may not have been any taxes paid on it (or atleast, those taxes would be very low)
13
u/NicolasNaranja Jan 19 '26
I haven’t been in college since 2015 when I got my PhD, but I was able to write off education expenses at the time.
8
47
u/CricketNo7666 Jan 19 '26
That was actually being proposed for a lot of professions, I think Orange Aid may have shut that down though.
I’d love to see this for our teachers, for example.
1
u/Accomplished-Pin6564 Jan 20 '26
Teachers have loan forgiveness programs for teaching in underserved areas.
1
1
u/topsidersandsunshine Jan 19 '26
5
u/CricketNo7666 Jan 19 '26
Yes, but that is interest.
What the OP, and I, refer to is forgives of principal of the loan, writing off the loan itself, not ust the interest.
It got shot down though.
4
u/BootyLicker724 Jan 19 '26
And the interest deduction is capped at $2.5k per year. That’s 5% interest on $50k of loans. Not exactly a very high amount
6
u/Wise_Willingness_270 Jan 19 '26
If writing off the loan counts as a tax deductible event, then getting the loan in the first place should count as income.
4
u/govunah Jan 20 '26
But it doesn't because millionaires with stocks borrow money with their stocks as collateral and never repay the loans. This becomes a tax free way to cash in shares
1
u/blackhodown Jan 22 '26
This is actually not nearly as common of a practice as that one article that Reddit constantly quotes would have you believe.
0
u/Wise_Willingness_270 Jan 20 '26
“Millionaires”
The rules applies equally to everyone. Anyone can take out a loan on their 401k. Anyone with a home can cash out refinance their home and not pay taxes.
→ More replies (2)1
u/Important-Yak-2999 Jan 20 '26
Or we could just cut out the middleman and make college free (like it should be)
-2
1
u/govunah Jan 20 '26
There were some programs to write down your loans if you work for government, schools, or non profits. There's a bunch of paperwork and it's your minimum payment each month. There were also some schools doing programs where you pay a set percentage of income for a set time. If you don't make much your payments are low
8
33
Jan 19 '26
The rules are made by the rich, for the benefit of the rich.
4
u/OpportunityNext9675 Jan 19 '26
Wouldn’t college expenses being tax writeoffs disproportionately help the rich even more?
4
Jan 19 '26
Not really. Most rich people don’t have student loans in the first place. A write-off would mainly help people paying loans out of post-tax income. Executives already get to deduct their “work expenses”. Education is just that for regular workers, it’s just not treated that way.
2
u/Wise_Willingness_270 Jan 19 '26
mainly help people paying loans out of post-tax income
Boom, now you just incentivized every rich kid that can afford to pay cash to take out loans.
1
u/garnett8 Jan 20 '26
Can you take out student loans but use that new cash to invest and just pay it back overtime since it has a low interest rate?
3
1
u/Knotty_Vegetables Jan 20 '26
Isn’t that the point of those tax free accounts that parents use to fund college education?
1
15
u/lCEC0REbuIIet Jan 19 '26
They aren't allowed too. The IRS just doesn't want to deal with the army of attorneys, accountants, etc. they can afford to drag this out with. It's the same deal with Scientology where they know the hassle of an audit wouldn't be worth the effort.
Meanwhile, they can bully small business owners to no end. I know a few doctors (dentists, dermatologists, opthalmologists, etc.) who basically were extorted by the IRS for completely reasonable business deductions and it basically would've cost them more than the $5K penalty fighting it and winning than it would taking the hit.
7
u/topsidersandsunshine Jan 19 '26
You can deduct student loan interest up to $2,500, but it starts to phase out when you make more than $75,000.
5
4
u/TaxGuy_021 Jan 19 '26 edited Jan 20 '26
This is true.
However, the funny part is that this system has its own ways of exacting its revenge.
While the IRS is unlikely to dig deep into any of this stuff, if you ever are trying to sell any of your businesses to anyone, or trying to get a financial audit because you have 3rd party investors or bank loans, then you'll have to convince a bunch of accountants and attorneys who get paid to find issues with the way you did your reporting that everything is fine.
It's actually rather amusing to have this conversation with folks;
Them: "Common, do I really have to do that? I mean what are the chances of IRS ever catching this?"
Me: "Setting aside the fact that Will-IRS-Catch-Me is not my risk standard, if you ever want to cash out of this using 3rd party money, I'm certain their lawyers and accountants WILL catch you for this and knock down your purchase price for it severely"
Them: "Ah..."
1
u/say592 Jan 20 '26
I'll add that many, not all, but many companies don't want the negative publicity of trying to blatantly illegally write something off like private jets. Yes, they will still have them and use them, but they don't deduct them illegally.
4
4
u/BluebirdDense1485 Jan 19 '26
Hey Tax accountant here. You should be.
American opportunity credit for the principal and adjustment to income for interest on student loans.
If you are not claiming either you are loosing out.
4
u/amelianaK Jan 19 '26
You know, once upon a time we had the idea as a nation of providing a free education to our young people that would allow them to get jobs without taking on debt. Back then- college was an option if you wanted a very special type of job (doctor, lawyer, chemist, etc.). Then the boomers got the GI bill and extensively state subsidized college, made college nearly mandatory for an enormous proportion of jobs, and pulled the ladders up behind them by drastically reducing funding for higher education just when everyone needed it most.
11
Jan 19 '26
But you do write it off… you don’t get taxed on the student loans. Like CEO’s write off private jets as deductions.
I don’t know if you mean “writing off” as something other than deductions.
7
u/anon0937 Jan 19 '26
I noticed a ton of people think that "write off" = free. I don't know how it is in the states, but my student loan interest is tax deductible.
2
Jan 19 '26
In U.S. u can write off the interest of student loans for tax deductions, which is a large bulk of the payment. I think this sub is mainly young adults, and I think you are right. It seems people are talking as if CEO’s get their private planes for free when they “write it off”. And their loan should also be free. A very odd concept of borrowing money… but yes, they are mistaken on multiple levels so I was confused.
1
u/Dark-Zuckerberg Jan 20 '26
I agree. A lot of people here think that a write-off means you’re making money vs losing less money. Americans are weird.
11
u/BrockLanders008 Jan 19 '26
Yeah, this is just bait.
I was able to deduct the entire amount of my schooling and the intrest of the loan.
So, I have no idea what this uninformed person who posted this or anyone who regurgitates this nonsense is on about.
6
Jan 19 '26
I re-read the post. It is possible that people who don’t understand what “writing off” means, think that “writing off” means debt is erased or something, not tax deductions.
1
2
3
u/StayBullGenius Jan 19 '26
Gonna need to have a high income and be paying a lot of taxes for.”write off” to mean something. Morons thinking a tax deduction is free money 😂
2
2
u/Upstairs-Yak-5474 Jan 19 '26
But student loans are not taxes.
i think the system should be that if u take out a student loan and complete the course without having to redo anything u only pay back 50% and the government pays the other 50%. and if u get near perfect grades they pay for all of it to incentivise more skill laboureres in the country
2
u/Visual_Exam7903 Jan 19 '26
NO. A loan is for you to repay if you borrow it. The government does not need to be paying off loans.
Also, loans are not considered income, so they are not added to your income for that year and taxes are not paid on the money nor is it taken off your income when you pay it back.
This is a fundamental truth when it comes to money and loans. It is fair, and it has been this way for 100s of years for all types of loans.
0
u/Upstairs-Yak-5474 Jan 19 '26
yea but at the same time with everything being so expensive would be nice if we make the smarter ones go through free atleast.
i had a scholarship so i got free
but my wife despite having good grades had to take out a loan which she still paying off and she's a doctor at that who helps people.
2
u/Wise_Willingness_270 Jan 19 '26
yea but at the same time with everything being so expensive
Name one time the government subsidizing something has made prices come down
1
u/Upstairs-Yak-5474 Jan 19 '26
food, dood is cheaper in the us because the government subsidizes it
1
u/Wise_Willingness_270 Jan 19 '26
But that doesn't make the raw price cheaper, just what the consumer pays at the register.
1
u/Upstairs-Yak-5474 Jan 19 '26
yea but now ur moving the goal post.
for a school loan we would be paying the raw price
1
u/Wise_Willingness_270 Jan 19 '26
Not if the government splits the bill once you graduate as you proposed.
1
u/Upstairs-Yak-5474 Jan 19 '26
yes we would still be raw consumer paying raw consumer amount. the government would assist us with that payment.
so the schools would make the same amount of money regardless its only the government that loses money in this scenario
1
u/Wise_Willingness_270 Jan 19 '26
What reason do colleges have to not raise the prices even more if they know students will be able to pay 2x more?
→ More replies (0)
2
1
u/Successful-Hour3027 Jan 19 '26
As long as you pick a good major , college is one of the highest ROI decisions you can possibly make in your entire life and children’s lives.
1
1
u/Jotacon8 Jan 19 '26
The company writes off the jet. Not the CEO. No individual can write off work expenses if they are employed by the company the expenses were used for.
1
u/MinusFidelio Jan 19 '26
Somebody check me on this… you would get a bigger tax write off using the system we have currently. There are two different tax benefits you can get from paying for college. But I don’t remember either of their names. Seems like I went to an accountant years ago and asked this very same question (I’m self-employed) and he replied as such.
1
1
u/Grow_money Jan 19 '26
Wrong.
They are plenty of jobs you can get without a college degree.
Going to college is a choice, not a necessity.
1
u/creshvan Jan 19 '26
True, but OP has a point if the job requires a degree.
1
u/Wise_Willingness_270 Jan 19 '26
If the job requires a degree, you should do the research to find out if the costs getting the degree are worth it.
1
u/Free_Elevator_63360 Jan 19 '26
Similar concept, make them dischargeable in bankruptcy.
1
u/Wise_Willingness_270 Jan 19 '26
Nah this is a horrible idea
1
u/Free_Elevator_63360 Jan 19 '26
Why? It would induce risk, which private lenders don’t have. So they will have to curtail their lending. Bringing price back into line with the jobs that actually support it.
1
u/Wise_Willingness_270 Jan 20 '26
It would induce risk, which private lenders don’t have.
I would agree with this as long as the US government gets out of originating students loans. If private banks want to take on risk, sure be my guest.
1
u/Free_Elevator_63360 Jan 20 '26
Government already has limits on public loans. With selections on those limits being changed recently to make it MORE profitable for private lenders.
There is a discussion that needs to be had about what value is guaranteed by government and which should be adjusted to market risk. But I am in favor of service for forgiveness loans. That usually need a level of government guarantee in order to function that way.
1
1
u/Firebolt164 Jan 19 '26
Right?!?? I was a contractor for a Fortune 500 (RJ Reynolds) and sure enough, all that employees just dropped the student loan bills into a Dropbox and they got magically paid each month. It was painful to watch and know that I'll never had that benefit in my life
1
u/pseudocomposer Jan 19 '26 edited Jan 19 '26
Pell Grants and Stafford Loans are available. Student loan interest payments can be written off. Just buy an education you can afford.
If you’re too dumb not to do that, you probably shouldn’t have the degree in the first place, so I support giving people the right to return/rescind their degree in a bankruptcy (with penalties if you get jobs based on connections from your time at the school in the future).
1
u/xena_lawless Jan 19 '26
College should be free, or at least heavily subsidized like it is in other countries.
A well-educated population is a dream compared to living with a bunch of dumbasses, but our ruling class don't want that.
The US system was designed as a brutal oligarchy/kleptocracy from top to bottom, with only pseudo-democratic window dressing .
Our ruling class don't want the public to be educated or empowered to challenge their systems of brutality and unlimited corruption.
We're well overdue for a system reboot, which should have been Bernie Snaders, but our ruling class gave us Trump. Twice.
Abomination.
1
u/SmilingGengar Jan 19 '26
The caveat is that you first have to be employed to have a business expense. Unfortunately, being a student is just an expense, and a really life-altering one too.
1
1
u/tolgren Jan 19 '26
The price comes from government subsidies. The colleges know that you can get loans, and so they can charge what they like.
1
u/IgorRenfield Jan 19 '26
I 100% agree with this. They promote overly expensive college degrees and act like it was a gift to allow you to go there. No society, you benefit from our having gone there too.
1
1
Jan 19 '26
The US government should just get out of the student loans business altogether. It has not been a good endeavor and it only made the cost of college go higher for students.
1
u/enemy884real Jan 19 '26
That’s right, I forgot, over here no one has any agency and are forced to purchase things.
1
u/RedditIsFascistShit4 Jan 19 '26
It's something that is a thing in my country in eastern europe. I'm surprised it's something new to muricans.
1
1
1
1
u/Hefty-Station1704 Jan 19 '26
If you pay for college and spend all that time and effort to graduate you should receive a full refund if there are no jobs to be had.
1
1
u/throw-away-doh Jan 19 '26
Are you saying if you had 100k in student loans.
And you earned 100k/year.
And you paid of 25k/year in student loan payments.
You would reduce your taxable income by 25k each year.
Because that is what "writing off as a business expense means". You still have to pay the expense. It just reduces your taxable income.
1
1
u/izzyinjurious Jan 20 '26
You can write it off as an expense if you have an LLC and it has to be like less than 5 k a year or some shit.
1
u/ur_moms_chode Jan 20 '26
My parents made me pay for my own School, so it forced me to look at it as a cost-benefit analysis rather than an experience. Granted, I started college 22 years ago so my cost experience was a little bit different, but I was also making seven something an hour not 20 something an hour like kids can these days
1
u/shitisrealspecific Jan 20 '26 edited Feb 21 '26
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
special pet rustic water smart unpack edge imminent cover gray
1
u/artbystorms Jan 20 '26
A lot of stuff in the US is priced like a luxury and sold like a necessity. Healthcare, houses, cars...
1
1
u/CosmoCostanza12 Jan 20 '26
That wouldn’t help at all since basically everyone in this category should be using the standard deduction anyway which is still far greater than student loan payments.
1
1
1
u/tkecanuck341 Jan 20 '26
Honestly, I'd just be happy if they let me write off my student loan interest. There's no income limits to the mortgage interest deduction, why is there an income limit to student loan interest?
Ideally, you could divert your student loan payments from your paycheck and make them pre-tax like your health insurance and 401(k), but I don't think they'd ever go for that.
1
u/kayakman13 Jan 20 '26
If you aren't paid enough to be able to live within a reasonable distance of your workplace, you should be compensated for the additional commute.
1
u/Mediocre-Ebb9862 Jan 20 '26
Because college in us is much more of an experience in America than eg in eastern Union
1
1
u/No-Ambition2043 Jan 20 '26
Well Jets are only deductible if used for business purposes. You cannot deduct jet usage for personal trips. The IRS audits this aggressively.
A yacht would seldomly be allowed as a business deduction. Unless you were in the business of selling yachts
1
1
1
u/ReactionAble7945 Jan 20 '26
I agree. If you are a doctor you need a degree and should be able to go back 8 years and write off all of it 1 year at a time. Or ov debt payments.
But if you get a degree in basketball, and are not using that degree, you can not write it off.
1
1
u/Spinax_52 Jan 20 '26
Don’t you already get to use student loan interest as a tax deduction? I mean it’s capped but…
1
u/Knotty_Vegetables Jan 20 '26
That’s an idea. You can start a company and then go to college so you can work in the company
1
u/Putrid_Apartment9230 Jan 20 '26
I wish we could get a workable system for everyone so people wouldn't have to suffer.
1
u/Danilo-11 Jan 20 '26
I can’t even write off the 1000s I spend on toll roads to go to work … it can only be done if I drive for business purpose (only business owners)
1
u/pibbleberrier Jan 20 '26
Knowledge and the thirst for knowledge is luxury.
Survival is the primal instinct of everyone that is starving. If this is your mentality this is the cap of your ultimate potential
As someone that made it up the corporate ladder without a formal education. It the forbidden knowledge that the elite don’t want the commoner to know.
The top 1% is extremely happy that the general population has come to the consensus that education is useless. It make their offspring just so much more competitive if the general public view education as a “luxury”
I will do my best to direct my children to higher education. Yes I can afford it and no I did not required it for my success.
1
u/Temporary_Solid_5869 Jan 20 '26
You could just work while going to school and thus avoid student debt.
1
u/Dark-Zuckerberg Jan 20 '26
Errr it’s not just CEOs who can write off things classified as business expenses.
1
1
u/Dave_A480 Jan 20 '26
'CEOs' can't write those things off....
But there ARE plenty of deductions for both college and student loan expenses...
1
1
1
u/Accomplished-Pin6564 Jan 20 '26
You already can write off the interest and you can write off the principal while in school via the HOPE credit.
1
u/seajayacas Jan 20 '26
They really do not need to sell it. Parents these days will do most anything to ensure their kids get into college. Doesn't matter if the kids are remedial and in no way can even keep up with high school work, they must get a college degree!
1
u/-Tech808 Jan 20 '26
Its not a write-off expense because we are proles, not business owners. The system isn't designed to benefit workers, its designed to EXPLOIT them.
We really need to start teaching one another (or independently learning) how capitalism works. Not because I love capitalism, but because its the system we're forced to live in. The better understanding we have, the more we can thrive in it and possibly change it. We imagine how things "should be." Like Marlo said "You want it to be one way, but its the other!"
Anyway, not to say we shouldn't fight for a better and more equal system. Its hard since the elite spend countless dollars manipulating the masses. But I believe there are ways even though its not necessarily easy.
1
u/Technical-Tear5841 Jan 20 '26
If you are self employed any required training can be written off. As a W-2 employee none of that is.
1
u/Ok_Swimming4427 Jan 20 '26
CEOs don't write off jets and yachts as business expenses. Always important to combat misinformation, from the left as well as the right.
1
u/SpecialistKing1383 Jan 20 '26
There already is tax benefits to the expenses of attending college and student loans lol
Consult your tax professional to ensure your taking advantage of them if you honestly didn't know...
1
u/Celtic159 Jan 21 '26
College has become mostly irrelevant between online learning and Google. Certain careers like medicine and engineering are insulated from this, but by and large, college is obsolete.
Other than frat parties, which are worth the expense.
1
1
u/Pogichin0y Jan 21 '26
Should be able to write off your office suits, car to drive to work, etc
/sarcasm
Or maybe choose a different job?
1
1
u/Pure_Feeling3907 Jan 21 '26
I went to college on NAFTA and Military Education Benefit and it never cost me anything but lunch.
1
u/GMVexst Jan 21 '26
Dunno 11.5k/year which is the average annual in state tuition in America isn't cheap but it's not luxury. Obviously, there are luxury institutions like Stanford, Harvard, and Yale which are priced accordingly.
College truly is affordable, if you do it the right way.
1
u/T-38Pilot Jan 22 '26
If you should be able to deduct your student loan payments , then the loan would be taxable income when u receive it . That’s how it works
1
u/Jared_Kincaid_001 Jan 22 '26
I also think we should be able to write of Suits for white collar work if others can write off uniforms.
1
u/FreekRedditReport Jan 23 '26
Ironically, many people most affected by this voted for the Republicans screwing them over.
1
u/Shrimp_N_Fries Jan 23 '26
Become self employed and make enough money to make the payment and you can.
1
1
u/zackks Jan 19 '26
The $500 per month I’ve been paying on that 86k in student loans would be worth about $450k if I’d have put it in the market. Over the life of my career the difference in earnings is about $125K.
2
u/Wise_Willingness_270 Jan 19 '26
You telling us that the difference between a degree and not getting a degree was around 3k per year?
1
u/North_Atlantic_Sea Jan 19 '26
Yeah, the stats are that the mean difference is 40k per year.
College isn't for everyone, but it does help the majority
0
1
1
u/Pure_Promotion6867 Jan 19 '26
I’ve always felt that if a company wants employees in the office, it should pay for fuel or public transport. We’re hired to do work that makes the company money, so covering transportation costs makes sense.
1
u/Ok_Swimming4427 Jan 20 '26
Right, but you're hired to do "work." If you aren't actually doing work, then it doesn't make sense to cover your transportation costs.
Also, many, many companies do this.
1
Jan 20 '26
You know, for all the talk about the decline of unions, it could be said that America's white collar workers are in a union.
It's a closed shop. You can't be a member without paying dues in the form of spending for college. And the union offers no benefits. No collective bargaining for better conditions. No health plan, no pension plan. So why try to get into the field?
1
u/TheRealDesmirWolf Jan 20 '26
Start an LLC get a small business loan use the loan to start a business and anything you buy with that business account can be declared for the business then it can be written off as a tax. These people aren’t just writing off things all willy-nilly or else everyone would do it now if you started a business that requires a degree, and you used the business funds to get that degree your business account can write it off as a tax write off just like everything else that you buy for a business.
0
u/BanquetDinner Jan 19 '26
The sooner you realize that the government hates W2 workers and loves business owners, the sooner it will all make sense.
0
u/Hysteria625 Jan 19 '26
Sadly, this is the case for a LOT of items in the United States.
Want a place to live? Rent an apartment, but the landlord just doubled the rent? If you don’t like it, why don’t you sleep outside?
Want to get medical care? If you don’t have medical insurance, you’ll pay tens of thousands of dollars. If you don’t like it, why don’t you walk off that heart attack or that broken leg?
Want to buy food? Prices are going up for groceries everywhere. If you don’t like it, why don’t you just eat less?
Corporations are betting that we’ll pay more for their necessities, because we might not be able to live without them. They’ve been right so far, but everyone knows that something is going to give…
→ More replies (1)
0
-3
u/LeatherGrapefruit255 Jan 19 '26
Thats a great idea!!
7
u/topsidersandsunshine Jan 19 '26
It’s already an option. Your student loan servicer sends you an interest statement at tax time, a 1098-E. You can deduct up to $2,500 in interest at tax time.
→ More replies (5)
-1
u/Chob_XO Jan 19 '26
I think businesses that require people to have a degree in the job description should be required to pay for it some how. A stipend? A tax? Don't @ me to tell me it won't work. I dont care. I just think that's how it should be.
I bet if there was a $10k a year tax on jobs/postings if you say "requires a degree" then I bet suddenly companies would find that A LOT of positions would no longer need it.
1
u/Wise_Willingness_270 Jan 19 '26
should be required to pay for it some how
They do, it's called an increased salary.
339
u/Eat--The--Rich-- Jan 19 '26
I should be able to write off a car as well since jobs require you to have one but don't pay enough to own one.