Where do you draw the line on morality regarding government programs & taxes?

[JGS1980]

I qualified for 10 year PSLF (loan forgiveness) and chose not to take it because I could afford to pay the loans I agreed to pay.

That's interesting to me. If I were in that situation I'd view PSLF as part of my employee benefit package in public service that I'd have to weigh against the likely higher cash compensation I'd receive in the private sector. I certainly wouldn't feel guilty about taking it because that program was part of the deal when I signed up for the loans in the first place. To each their own indeed!

I did the math, and the difference was 30K or so between paying it off or minimum payments for 10 years. I'm not sure what my final criteria would be. Would 100K difference tip me over the edge? Not sure.

In my case, compensation would not be higher in private sector. Also, who says public service salaries haven't come down or stayed low BECAUSE of PSLF, that can't be a good think to mess with markets like that.

I do have a couple friends who lived a higher lifestyle during and after grad school (nicer housing without roommates, newer car, more expensive vacations/weddings) who will have 400K or more forgiven with PSLF. I find this ridiculous, but legal under the letter of the law. Not my bag, I guess.

[PDXTabs]

In my case, compensation would not be higher in private sector. Also, who says public service salaries haven't come down or stayed low BECAUSE of PSLF, that can't be a good think to mess with markets like that.

I thought that was kind of the point. When you start at the FBI you're a GS-10 step 1, right? Now how to attract lawyers, accountants, and software engineers. I thought that PSLF was supposed to be part of the solution? Because the FBI doesn't pay market rates.

[seattlecyclone]

Also, who says public service salaries haven't come down or stayed low BECAUSE of PSLF, that can't be a good think to mess with markets like that.

This was literally the point of the program, no? Public agencies were having a tough time recruiting and they needed to sweeten the pot somehow. Loan forgiveness is an interesting way to do that because it not only encourages long-term job retention in the public sector, but it also gives a comparatively greater reward to those with bigger student loans who may have come from poorer backgrounds on average. The economic effects are just like any other employee benefit. People accept lower wages to get a job with health insurance. So too should they be willing to accept a lower wage in exchange for other things of value such as loan forgiveness or a 401(k) match or a transit pass or paid vacation or anything else.

[Sanitary Stache]

@maizefolk Thanks for the perspective. 

If I did continue down this track, then I would need to take into account all of the benefits supported by taxes, assign a value to my use of them, and then add that value into my financial independence number. Perhaps this computation would help me to better evaluate a lower limit of where I think a wealth tax should start.

I don't plan on approaching this level of wealth though, so I wont attempt to quantify this now.

I'll sign on to the "honesty" metric on this question and call it good.  With the further belief that there is nothing wrong with reducing ones income or assets to meet program means testing.