re: Elizabeth Warren's Answer For Student Loan Debt - Tax Rich People

My parents were not very well off (I went to BR public school). I washed dished and did lawns thru high school to pay for stuff and save for school.

I worked hard in high school (unlike a lot in my class) because I wanted a better life for myself. I got TOPS when I graduated. I got into some out of state schools, but didn't want to incur the debt because I didn't know what I wanted to do in life yet and didn't want my parents struggling to try to help me when I didn't have a forward plan.

I worked campus jobs during the school year, worked summers on oil rigs to be able to afford to have a little fun in college. Realized early on that if I wanted to get a job after graduation I should get in the engineering field (this was before everybody and their mom was trying to graduate in it, our graduating class was like 20).

I got lucky that when I graduated the oil industry was picking up and I was able to get a job but I was prepared to just go back to the rig and work as a roughneck and work my way up if I couldn't find anything.

I consider myself very lucky to be where I am today but there was work involved and I was prepared to work as hard as I needed to make a comfortable life for myself. You just don't see that sort of work ethic with a lot of people growing up now. It's a combo of being prepared to get your hands dirty and picking a major that will generate income. I'm all about following your dreams, but if you don't have rich parents, it's probably not a good idea to go to a private college and get a degree in art.