- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
NYT: study: cancelling people’s medical debt has no impact on their financial situation
Posted on 4/23/24 at 6:44 pm
Posted on 4/23/24 at 6:44 pm
quote:
Economists see inspiring John Oliver segment on debt relief, conduct a randomized trial to forgive $169 million in medical debt, find this has no effect on quality of life or future financial distress at all.
LINK
Summary of study:
quote:
Turns out the only effect of forgiving people's debts is this discourages them from paying other debts in the future.
Another lesson is that when people self-report that X issue is causing them to cut back on necessities like food they're probably lying.
quote:
An obvious problem with these programs is the only reason they can buy debts for pennies on the dollar is that they're already uncollectable and haven't been paid in years, so forgiveness has a low marginal impact on people's ability to spend.
quote:
A potential harm of trying to scale up a debt forgiveness operation is it only works when the debt is cheap, which it won't be if the market for it increases. And anything that makes bad debt less costly to medical providers nudges them towards producing more of it.
This post was edited on 4/23/24 at 7:11 pm
12
Posted on 4/23/24 at 6:58 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
So you're saying that he did an incredibly generous act for nothing?
Posted on 4/23/24 at 7:04 pm to GoblinGuide
His segment was about how medical debt was holding these people down and was why they couldn’t get ahead in life.
A study of *83,000* people (an insanely statistically robust sample) found no such improvement and their overall debt levels remained the same, no change in financial distress.
Basically, Oliver ignored the personal financial habits of these people and assumed the “system” was holding them down.
Turns out these folks were just bad with money
A study of *83,000* people (an insanely statistically robust sample) found no such improvement and their overall debt levels remained the same, no change in financial distress.
Basically, Oliver ignored the personal financial habits of these people and assumed the “system” was holding them down.
Turns out these folks were just bad with money
Posted on 4/23/24 at 7:06 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
quote:
no effect on quality of life or future financial distress at all.
I'm a bit skeptical here because this is the one kind of debt that happens because you got screwed as opposed to making bad financial decisions.
Some people with massive medical bills are, by definition, in very poor health which limits their earning potential but that shouldn't be a large enough portion that Oliver failed to move the needle for anyone.
Posted on 4/23/24 at 7:07 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
He's been catching up on Marx it seems.
Posted on 4/23/24 at 7:11 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
Why do you care for john oliver are you some kind of liberal
Posted on 4/23/24 at 7:12 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
Honestly doesn’t surprise me one bit. Most people have zero self control and 99.2% of those folks just dgaf.
Posted on 4/23/24 at 7:14 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
Shocker, people who don't pay bills, still don't pay bills when they get cancelled.
Posted on 4/23/24 at 7:14 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
Giving people”free” money will not transform them into responsible people. The opposite actually.
Posted on 4/23/24 at 7:14 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
quote:If you believe the lie, then it becomes the truth
find this has no effect on quality of life or future financial distress at all.
Posted on 4/23/24 at 7:15 pm to Taxing Authority
quote:Give me a million and I will prove you wrong
Giving people”free” money will not transform them into responsible people. The opposite actually.
Posted on 4/23/24 at 7:15 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
This isn’t really surprising. There’s always a ton of selection bias in these programs because they target poor people because it feels like the right thing to do. What I want to see is, what happens when you look at these as long term taxes rebates or deductions and to see if that might encourage people to fricking work and quit living off the welfare state that will just write off their hundreds of thousands in unsecured debt when they die.
This post was edited on 4/23/24 at 7:35 pm
Posted on 4/23/24 at 7:16 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
Can’t most medical debt just be ignored? Most states don’t allow you to be sued under a certain income limit, and ERISA protects most retirement assets up to like $1M which is way more than any perma-ill jabroni would have anyway
Posted on 4/23/24 at 7:20 pm to PrecedentedTimes
That’s the gist of the article
These charities are buying up the cheapest debt, aka the debt that hadn’t been paid in years
These folks already weren’t paying it, so paying it off for them makes no change to their life
The risk of these debt cancellation charities is that is makes bad debt less costly, so you get more of it
These charities are buying up the cheapest debt, aka the debt that hadn’t been paid in years
These folks already weren’t paying it, so paying it off for them makes no change to their life
The risk of these debt cancellation charities is that is makes bad debt less costly, so you get more of it
Posted on 4/23/24 at 7:56 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
I believe this also applies to paying off someone's student loans.
Posted on 4/23/24 at 8:29 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
quote:
His segment was about how medical debt was holding these people down and was why they couldn’t get ahead in life.
A study of *83,000* people (an insanely statistically robust sample) found no such improvement and their overall debt levels remained the same, no change in financial distress.
Basically, Oliver ignored the personal financial habits of these people and assumed the “system” was holding them down.
Turns out these folks were just bad with money
Why do so many people believe the inverse of reality? Its insanity. People are in debt because they are stupid, lazy, and life choices.
You take everything away from everyone and in 1000 years you have the same bloodlines with the same success. These people just won't accept it.
This post was edited on 4/23/24 at 8:30 pm
Posted on 4/23/24 at 8:32 pm to PrecedentedTimes
Garnishment and levies also aren't allowed in many jurisdictions for unsecured debts, which medical debts are. The medical provider can sue and get a judgment, but it's a piece of paper.
Posted on 4/23/24 at 8:32 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
quote:
Turns out these folks were just bad with money
Of course they are. Anyone claiming to be "held back" by medical debt in the USA is an idiot. It can be discharged in bankruptcy.
Posted on 4/23/24 at 8:34 pm to Tandemjay
quote:
I believe this also applies to paying off someone's student loans.
I disagree. Student loans are not dischargeable in bankruptcy. Our government has propped these debts up as special for no discernible reason.
This post was edited on 4/23/24 at 8:35 pm
Posted on 4/23/24 at 8:44 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!
So treating people like children causes them to act like children???
You don’t say.
You don’t say.
Page 1 of 2
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News