Relieve interest and penalties on debt
I’ve been paying close attention to the “national dilemma” of the ongoing problem of student debt.
Three of my co-workers that paid off their student loans feel there should be no forgiveness of the debt. They say students should choose a field that will bring enough income to service their debt. Can’t argue with that.
However, as much as I feel bad for their situation, what about the medical debt that unsuspecting individuals become overwhelmed with?
Student loans pale in comparison to medical debt from a prolonged illness. Is that debt eligible for forgiveness?
How about the debt tenants owe to their landlords after the moratorium on rent from the pandemic ended?
Although the federal eviction ban, paired with state and local protections, helped households avoid eviction, it does not prevent tenants from accruing housing related debt. Should their debt be forgiven too?
I’m sure the landlords would ask that their tax obligations be forgiven since they weren’t able to collect rents. You see where this argument can lead.
As much as it’s easy to simplify this argument that all debt is debt no matter where it comes from, would that end the debate immediately? I doubt it.
There are those that believe that students, justifiably, were simply trying to better their lives with a college education and should have their debt forgiven rather than someone accruing debt from a devastating illness being forced into bankruptcy?
My solution: Dump the interest and penalties and pay off the debt.
Bob Belive
Glenville
Officials shouldn’t target letter writers
I was appalled to read that a Rotterdam town board member showed up at an elderly woman’s door after he read her letter (“Give public input on water meter plan”) in this paper on April 21 — apparently, he didn’t like her opinion about their water meter plans.
This resident is 91 years old, and her home aide had to answer the door for this nonsense.
She has a right to voice her opinion without fear of harassment from town officials.
Why are residents in Rotterdam being treated like this?
In all my years living here, I never heard of an elected town board member behaving this way, reading an opinion letter in The Daily Gazette, using their time to track down their home address and then showing up at their home unannounced and uninvited to question them.
What is happening in Rotterdam, “A nice place to live”?
With all the secrecy about the water meters these past few months, I’m wondering why any of them are the slightest bit surprised that we’ve lost our trust in any of the decisions they’re making.
I ask The Daily Gazette to investigate this further, there must be some kind of law to stop this type of unacceptable behavior from our elected officials.
I’m sure people will be reluctant to submit their opinions to this paper in the future if it’s not addressed.
Lynn St. Andrews
Rotterdam
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Categories: Letters to the Editor, Opinion
