Thanks for the link Asger. What I do like about Medium is that the conversations are legitimate discussions, without vitriol. It reminds me of the old days, when two people would sit and have coffee and disagree about a million things, and enjoy every minute of it.

To your points and the link specifically, the article was vague about how it measures affluence. I've seen the argument before, and it is a legitimate one.

Means testing is difficult, but it might be necessary in this case, but where to draw the line?

I speak mostly from the experience people in my life have had. Their student debt is often onerous.

Try this test sometime: Drive through an American hospital's parking lot and look at the cars reserved for doctors.

You'll find an occasional BMW, Volvo, Audi, and Porsche. But the majority will be much older, modest vehicles. Ten year old Corollas and 15 year old Nissans.

So yes, a doctor is affluent, right? But her costs for going to school were outlandish. She is often $100,000 in debut before her residency is over.

There is among conservatives a deep, and wrong, premise that when the government spends money, there is no return on investment. But when people can spend more, the economy grows, and the government collects additional revenue.

Most modern economists urge against the paranoia over deficit spending.

The real issue is actually not student debt, however. It's the high cost of tuition. The U.S. government must find a way to address that on a macro scale.

OR - companies need to stop demanding college degrees before hiring for white-collar jobs. Some have begun this trend - Google, for example, will guarantee an interview if you complete some of their online classes.

That's a cleaner solution because you don't need a degree to do software, or even write for a living. You really don't need a degree for a lot of things.

To be a good chemist? Sure. Or doctor? Of course. But we can all make the argument that as long as I can complete and pass, for example, an accountancy exam, or even my state Bar exam, why do I need college?

I went to college for journalism. I became a software engineer. I did not take one single computer course for that, and I was pretty good at my job. Good enough to still get recruiting notices via my LinkedIn account from hot startups and big companies even though I'm retired from that line of work.

So there is a lot of nuance all around.

I agree with you when you say there is no correlation between stimulus and student debt. Well, I'll disagree a little. If someone has an extra $400 a month to spend that money will probably go back into the economy, but overall, it's a small blip. Stimulus in itself is not a good reason for debt forgiveness.

But I'll continue to argue for some form of debt forgiveness, and I'd even argue that affluence should only be measured from the standpoint of people who have more money than they know what to do with.

Thanks for your insight, it's enjoyable to read your arguments.