I write and I write but nobody seems to be getting the message. The sky is falling and everyone just thinks this can go on indefinitely.
So here's one way of looking at the future - with outstanding student loan debt hurtling toward $1 trillion and no end in sight for this outrageous unemployment - the system will collapse under its own weight.
The logic - as it always is - finite resources and finite human capacity. The only question is - when will Americans finally get tired of this wasteful debt burden and decide it's not worth carrying anymore?
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
New News!
Dear Diary,
In a search for new news to lighten the oppressive mental and emotional burden of my immense student loan debt I came across two stories - one about a girl in debt up to her eyeballs (not so new in terms of fresh but a new story nonetheless) and another about a rally - which looks exciting.
So here they are. The first is featured on Kiplinger.com though I actually encountered it first on Yahoo News. So here is the link to the article which is titled Digging Out of Student Debt.
Now, I must say this article is once again missing the point and therefore useless. As I have often seen the advice is to "pick a plan" with the feds to minimize payments and/or seek forgiveness by meeting some very specific federal criteria. Neither is helpful because this young lady has $92,000 in student loan debt, ($25000) public and ($68000) private. She works at a job in an orthopedic surgeon's office making $18 and is broke at the end of the week so therefore turns to credit cards to cover the difference.
So here is my reality check for news writers my Dear Diary - how in the hell does a lower payment now (which the feds have quite a high minimum) going to help her with all this?
Furthermore, the article advises talking to your private lenders to work something out. Again, reality check - these student loan firms don't give a rat's ass if you aren't making it, they will hound you into default and back again for every red cent, no matter what.
So thanks to some serious naiveté, this putz at Kiplinger.com misses the point that this young lady was scammed, bamboozled, lied to, and turned upside down and inside out when she was told "a college degree is the key to your future."
Yeah it was a key alright - a key into a prison cell made of student loan notes, courtesy of a massive fraud born out of the deception and deceit that Uncle Same and Private Joe Banker conspired to create. Was that over the top Dear Diary?
Anywho, this next piece of information is inspiring. My friends at ForgiveStudentLoanDebt.com are organizing a rally in Washington D.C. on October 30, 2010!
This is great news because I am starting to see real activism take the place of rhetoric. Let's hope we can all be there.
The only problem is how will people tell the difference between the demonstrators in need of help and the kids out to get some Halloween treats? Hmmmmmm.
In a search for new news to lighten the oppressive mental and emotional burden of my immense student loan debt I came across two stories - one about a girl in debt up to her eyeballs (not so new in terms of fresh but a new story nonetheless) and another about a rally - which looks exciting.
So here they are. The first is featured on Kiplinger.com though I actually encountered it first on Yahoo News. So here is the link to the article which is titled Digging Out of Student Debt.
Now, I must say this article is once again missing the point and therefore useless. As I have often seen the advice is to "pick a plan" with the feds to minimize payments and/or seek forgiveness by meeting some very specific federal criteria. Neither is helpful because this young lady has $92,000 in student loan debt, ($25000) public and ($68000) private. She works at a job in an orthopedic surgeon's office making $18 and is broke at the end of the week so therefore turns to credit cards to cover the difference.
So here is my reality check for news writers my Dear Diary - how in the hell does a lower payment now (which the feds have quite a high minimum) going to help her with all this?
Furthermore, the article advises talking to your private lenders to work something out. Again, reality check - these student loan firms don't give a rat's ass if you aren't making it, they will hound you into default and back again for every red cent, no matter what.
So thanks to some serious naiveté, this putz at Kiplinger.com misses the point that this young lady was scammed, bamboozled, lied to, and turned upside down and inside out when she was told "a college degree is the key to your future."
Yeah it was a key alright - a key into a prison cell made of student loan notes, courtesy of a massive fraud born out of the deception and deceit that Uncle Same and Private Joe Banker conspired to create. Was that over the top Dear Diary?
Anywho, this next piece of information is inspiring. My friends at ForgiveStudentLoanDebt.com are organizing a rally in Washington D.C. on October 30, 2010!
This is great news because I am starting to see real activism take the place of rhetoric. Let's hope we can all be there.
The only problem is how will people tell the difference between the demonstrators in need of help and the kids out to get some Halloween treats? Hmmmmmm.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Deception, Fraud, Cheating, Theft - Just What Do You Call It?
According to Education Report, student loan debt currently stands at an estimated $829.6 billion, surpassing what Americans now owe on credit card debt.
What a milestone! That's fantastic right!? Er, not?
Yep - experts said consumers needed to spend more money to stimulate the economy so many students tried to help out obviously. The problem is they may not have done so with all the facts in hand.
How many of these new indentured slaves were explicitly told the degrees they were buying wouldn't land them a job - let alone one that would allow them to repay the average debt load of graduating seniors (of four year undergrad programs) tagged at somewhere around $24,000 by finaid.org.
How many of these same students were told that the loans would be with them to the grave or even beyond? How many were sold the idea that a college education is worth a million dollars more than what non-grads would earn in a lifetime?
Still incredible - how many of these students will think - as I mistakenly did - that a graduate degree must be the answer and incur more debt and find themselves in an even worse position several years from now?
Yes - it's a down economy and all that but we keep selling the scam don't we? , This is the illusion, the deception, the fraud - that says - a college degree or perhaps a second or third or even a graduate degree is the way to the promised land.
Sadly, the student loan scam continues today. As we cheat the next generation of college students out of their futures - how do our leaders live with themselves as they sit idly by as some of our brightest are tricked into unnecessary debt for the dream of a better life?
Call it what you will - but the deception in the education and student loan industries continues. This is the greatest scam I have seen to date - far larger than Bernie Madoff's little trick.
Soon the outstanding debt for student loans will tick over the one trillion dollar mark, that's $1,000,000,000,000. - that's more than 18 times Bill Gates total net worth!
Congratulations America! You have done it again and made it to number one once more. You have found a way to lock more of your student population into more than debt than any other nation on the planet!
I know what I call it - the greatest scam on earth! Maybe you are one those lucky people who think it's a wonderful milestone that every parent hopes for when they send their child off to college. Er, not?
What a milestone! That's fantastic right!? Er, not?
Yep - experts said consumers needed to spend more money to stimulate the economy so many students tried to help out obviously. The problem is they may not have done so with all the facts in hand.
How many of these new indentured slaves were explicitly told the degrees they were buying wouldn't land them a job - let alone one that would allow them to repay the average debt load of graduating seniors (of four year undergrad programs) tagged at somewhere around $24,000 by finaid.org.
How many of these same students were told that the loans would be with them to the grave or even beyond? How many were sold the idea that a college education is worth a million dollars more than what non-grads would earn in a lifetime?
Still incredible - how many of these students will think - as I mistakenly did - that a graduate degree must be the answer and incur more debt and find themselves in an even worse position several years from now?
Yes - it's a down economy and all that but we keep selling the scam don't we? , This is the illusion, the deception, the fraud - that says - a college degree or perhaps a second or third or even a graduate degree is the way to the promised land.
Sadly, the student loan scam continues today. As we cheat the next generation of college students out of their futures - how do our leaders live with themselves as they sit idly by as some of our brightest are tricked into unnecessary debt for the dream of a better life?
Call it what you will - but the deception in the education and student loan industries continues. This is the greatest scam I have seen to date - far larger than Bernie Madoff's little trick.
Soon the outstanding debt for student loans will tick over the one trillion dollar mark, that's $1,000,000,000,000. - that's more than 18 times Bill Gates total net worth!
Congratulations America! You have done it again and made it to number one once more. You have found a way to lock more of your student population into more than debt than any other nation on the planet!
I know what I call it - the greatest scam on earth! Maybe you are one those lucky people who think it's a wonderful milestone that every parent hopes for when they send their child off to college. Er, not?
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Coming Together
To anyone affected by the fraud and deception perpetrated on the American college students and their families - we must all band together and use our common voice to change the way Washington is dealing with this matter. I voted for President Obama and am so far disappointed in his work to get something significant done about student loans. And knowing that change must come while the iron is hot, I, for one, am not interested in his rhetoric anymore. It's time we force the hand of Congress and the President. We can vote against them or withhold our votes.
Before that however I suggest that we develop a common voice and stop settling for scraps at the table. We the people deserve a more perfect union where all of our rights - both economic and political are protected.
As a first I suggest that we stop arguing the minutiae and go after what we all need - RELIEF. We need ALL consumer protections returned to ALL student loans immediately. Let us leave no one behind. Let us not be divided by sham offers. In this way we can permanently change the way all future students will be treated as well.
Please - do not let your suffering silence you. Stand with me and many others to change this offense to us all. I have many links on this site to get you started so please educate yourself if you have not already done so.
At a minimum we WANT and NEED:
1. All consumer protections returned to student loans - including bankruptcy.
2. Immediate relief from our debt - particularly student loan debt forgiveness to stimulate the economy. The reason to do this is also to penalize the profiteers that have raped the American student and thus stifled the economy.
3. Sweeping reforms of Higher Education requiring all colleges and universities to guarantee each student a reasonable job to payoff accruing debt. This must also include counseling on degrees that do not yield immediate and decent paying jobs.
4. Free public college education for all who merit it - to a four year college within their home state - paid for by taxpayers as an investment in the country's greatest natural resource - its own citizens.
I can not emphasize enough that the powerful interests in the student loan and banking industries will do everything in their power to stop these changes from happening. It is the reason why we have seen nothing truly helpful to students burdened with massive debt.
It is time that the ideology of "all for 1% and the 1% for none" be put away in this country. If you don't know what I mean be this then here it is laid out for you: 1% of the people in this country now control more wealth than 95% of us at the bottom. That is absurd and wrong on every moral and logical level. And it is precisely why our leaders in Washington forget about us when so much money is shuffled in their directions.
So please get on board with this site and many others to change the way things are done in this country. Email me and post here and let me know that you are reading this blog. Spread the news of this blog to others and post about it on other sites so that the prominence of this site and the issues I am representing grow.
Please help any way that you can.
Before that however I suggest that we develop a common voice and stop settling for scraps at the table. We the people deserve a more perfect union where all of our rights - both economic and political are protected.
As a first I suggest that we stop arguing the minutiae and go after what we all need - RELIEF. We need ALL consumer protections returned to ALL student loans immediately. Let us leave no one behind. Let us not be divided by sham offers. In this way we can permanently change the way all future students will be treated as well.
Please - do not let your suffering silence you. Stand with me and many others to change this offense to us all. I have many links on this site to get you started so please educate yourself if you have not already done so.
At a minimum we WANT and NEED:
1. All consumer protections returned to student loans - including bankruptcy.
2. Immediate relief from our debt - particularly student loan debt forgiveness to stimulate the economy. The reason to do this is also to penalize the profiteers that have raped the American student and thus stifled the economy.
3. Sweeping reforms of Higher Education requiring all colleges and universities to guarantee each student a reasonable job to payoff accruing debt. This must also include counseling on degrees that do not yield immediate and decent paying jobs.
4. Free public college education for all who merit it - to a four year college within their home state - paid for by taxpayers as an investment in the country's greatest natural resource - its own citizens.
I can not emphasize enough that the powerful interests in the student loan and banking industries will do everything in their power to stop these changes from happening. It is the reason why we have seen nothing truly helpful to students burdened with massive debt.
It is time that the ideology of "all for 1% and the 1% for none" be put away in this country. If you don't know what I mean be this then here it is laid out for you: 1% of the people in this country now control more wealth than 95% of us at the bottom. That is absurd and wrong on every moral and logical level. And it is precisely why our leaders in Washington forget about us when so much money is shuffled in their directions.
So please get on board with this site and many others to change the way things are done in this country. Email me and post here and let me know that you are reading this blog. Spread the news of this blog to others and post about it on other sites so that the prominence of this site and the issues I am representing grow.
Please help any way that you can.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Erasing the Great American Destiny
It is hard for me to explain anymore how our rights in this country have been eroded by big business and an overly capitalistic economy without sounding like a conspiracy nut. However, I will spout off anyway and take that risk given what is at stake.
The fact of the matter is that the unregulated capitalism of the last 25 years (in the United States) has created a cult of money so powerful that most Americans are drunk on the notion of making it big - despite the odds against them. This desirous intent of many American corporations and individuals to get all they can has led to a quietly, complex collusion of sorts.
At first, I am not sure that this fledgling cult had any intent. Rather, it was just an orgy like free for all that resulted in a mad grab for cash at anyone's expense. But over time, it seems, as the initial excitement waned and yielded a new 'normal' level of greed it became clear that even more money could be made if cooler heads prevailed.
If you have to ask who these or those people are simply check out the who's who in banking and insurance industries these days. They aren't the only ones by any means, but this class of financial whiz kids have managed some incredible feats in recent years.
Under their watch, homebuyers were sold homes they couldn't afford, millions of students were trapped with escapable student loan debt, and credit card debt (along with other types) was made more difficult to discharge via personal bankruptcy. The end result has been to tie up good Americans in so much debt and financial chaos that they had little time to stop the selling off of America by exercising wise voting choices. Mind you - who among us really stood up to stop the banking bailout?
Already stretched over thin financial ice most Americans have been duped by an insidious plan that is slowly turning us all in to tradable commodities rather than recognizing each of us as human beings who deserve dignity and basic economic rights.
Anyone reading this should already be aware of the statistics to prove what I am saying is true. If you have any questions on this then challenge me and let us debate them out in the open. I am being serious when I say that I welcome the challenge. Bring it if you think you can.
Suffice to say, our country has become a sham. It's once glorious future is now in question as other countries emerge as economic powerhouses and we sit in disbelief that we are anything but the greatest nation on earth.
We can no longer sit idle my voting friends. If we want our country and collective futures back we will have to rip it all back from the hands of the banks and insurance companies - who would prefer us to get sick for a very long and profitable time and then die when appointed.
The fact of the matter is that the unregulated capitalism of the last 25 years (in the United States) has created a cult of money so powerful that most Americans are drunk on the notion of making it big - despite the odds against them. This desirous intent of many American corporations and individuals to get all they can has led to a quietly, complex collusion of sorts.
At first, I am not sure that this fledgling cult had any intent. Rather, it was just an orgy like free for all that resulted in a mad grab for cash at anyone's expense. But over time, it seems, as the initial excitement waned and yielded a new 'normal' level of greed it became clear that even more money could be made if cooler heads prevailed.
If you have to ask who these or those people are simply check out the who's who in banking and insurance industries these days. They aren't the only ones by any means, but this class of financial whiz kids have managed some incredible feats in recent years.
Under their watch, homebuyers were sold homes they couldn't afford, millions of students were trapped with escapable student loan debt, and credit card debt (along with other types) was made more difficult to discharge via personal bankruptcy. The end result has been to tie up good Americans in so much debt and financial chaos that they had little time to stop the selling off of America by exercising wise voting choices. Mind you - who among us really stood up to stop the banking bailout?
Already stretched over thin financial ice most Americans have been duped by an insidious plan that is slowly turning us all in to tradable commodities rather than recognizing each of us as human beings who deserve dignity and basic economic rights.
Anyone reading this should already be aware of the statistics to prove what I am saying is true. If you have any questions on this then challenge me and let us debate them out in the open. I am being serious when I say that I welcome the challenge. Bring it if you think you can.
Suffice to say, our country has become a sham. It's once glorious future is now in question as other countries emerge as economic powerhouses and we sit in disbelief that we are anything but the greatest nation on earth.
We can no longer sit idle my voting friends. If we want our country and collective futures back we will have to rip it all back from the hands of the banks and insurance companies - who would prefer us to get sick for a very long and profitable time and then die when appointed.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
The Second Bill of Rights
The student loan crisis now facing the people of the United States of America is only a symptom of a much larger problem. Our democracy has been hijacked by our CHOICE of economic system.
Capitalism has been allowed to run amuck to such a degree that 1% of its people now control more wealth than the bottom 95%. That just shouldn't be so in a country that has prided itself on fairness and justice and yet it is so.
The truth is this problem has been growing for many, many years. It didn't happen overnight. There are many causes. We can point to many instances in the last 70 years or so and say it started here or there but let’s leave that discussion for another time.
Because time is of the essence it is necessary to become solution centered and fast. America needs to put the bickering aside along with all the lobbyists and sell-out politicians and reclaim its destiny as a light to the world.
Ironically, the solution to our current dilemma has already been proposed. Over 60 years ago then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proposed a Second Bill of Rights during his State of the Union Address on January 11, 1944.
He foresaw the coming problems in American society if the economic rights of all Americans were not protected. President Roosevelt's economic bill of rights would have guaranteed every American respectable employment - with a living wage, freedom from unfair competition and monopolies (foreign or domestic), adequate housing, access to medical care, education, and Social Security. All the things we struggle with today.
Sadly, President Roosevelt passed away just over a year later and these rights were never seriously entertained by Congress. The loss of these rights has devastated the lives of millions of Americans and I believe they are worth fighting for today. Our survival as a country may yet depend on it.
Now, I know there are many people reading this who just can’t wait to scream at the top of their lungs that such ideas are socialist or even communist. They will proclaim that even entertaining the notion of taking care of our citizens in this way would be un-American. And those people would be unequivocally WRONG.
Despite the fact that it took our forefathers hundreds of years to realize that all our people deserved the same rights this great country was founded with the promise of opportunity for all. All President Roosevelt sought to do was further define those rights and to protect them. The premise for his new bill of rights was to make sure that the government of the people was there to serve the people – not the other way around. Any person of sound mind must agree that such an intention is as American as apple pie.
Now that I have addressed the unabashed flag waivers concerns about socialism and communism lets deal with how we pay for such measures.
First and foremost we must choose an economic system that rewards hard work and honesty but which also does not cause us to lose sight of human dignity.
Capitalism only partly rewards hard work – so long as it is the kind that is driven by opportunism. Capitalism only rewards honesty when it can be made into a tradable commodity. Capitalism is driven be the profit motive and when unregulated will trample the dignity of anyone in its path so long as there as there is a profit to be gained.
This is the system that has served America for so long – and so well. So long as corporate profits soared and people had jobs it didn’t matter what the cost of this economic behavior was to the guy down the street or around the world. Our collective guilt is that so many of us saw benefits of this economic system in the past that we have all been willing to turn away from any crimes committed against our fellow man be it for oil, diamonds, raw materials, food, water etc.
There must be a better way – a better economic system that serves the cause of democracy and human compassion. There must be economic systems that are no less patriotic and yet more focused on human dignity.
As a patriot to our great country and a believer in the great goodness inherent in the American people I now know that purist capitalism as we now have it is no longer in the best interest of our people or the world for that matter. Capitalism is killing us and the planet because it is based on an endless consumption of all that is within our reach. I just hope we all come to realize this before it is too late.
To give credit where it is justly due please see Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story for more on this topic. Mr. Moore is credited by Wikipedia with discovering the lost video footage of President Roosevelt's speech about the aforementioned Second Bill of Rights. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Bill_of_Rights)
So America - what do you have to say for yourself now?
Friday, August 20, 2010
All Signs Lead to Economic Meltdown
Well my friends I took an unscheduled break from this blog and am returning with some new perspective.
The U.S. economy remains stagnant despite soaring profits for some sectors. Why is this so?
Well for one job growth has not happened. In fact, new unemployment claims grew for three of the last four weeks. It seems that the profits we are seeing are the result of job cutting and increased worker productivity and not reinvestment in adding employees and increased sales.
This is highly relevant to any discussion of education and student loans at this time - since new student graduates with new loans coming due will find it harder than ever to find appropriate jobs to repay that debt.
So as mentioned many times here before - forgiving student loan debt and completely overhauling the finance system for higher education is necessary to stimulate the economy.
And with China now knocking on our door for the number one spot for the world's largest economy - stimulating the economy may soon become a national security issue. See here for more on that.
It's good to be back. I hope you are still reading this and many other blogs on the issue.
The U.S. economy remains stagnant despite soaring profits for some sectors. Why is this so?
Well for one job growth has not happened. In fact, new unemployment claims grew for three of the last four weeks. It seems that the profits we are seeing are the result of job cutting and increased worker productivity and not reinvestment in adding employees and increased sales.
This is highly relevant to any discussion of education and student loans at this time - since new student graduates with new loans coming due will find it harder than ever to find appropriate jobs to repay that debt.
So as mentioned many times here before - forgiving student loan debt and completely overhauling the finance system for higher education is necessary to stimulate the economy.
And with China now knocking on our door for the number one spot for the world's largest economy - stimulating the economy may soon become a national security issue. See here for more on that.
It's good to be back. I hope you are still reading this and many other blogs on the issue.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Young or Old, Public or Private - All Student Loan Debt Enslaves!
In the last several weeks I have become more and more aware of some undertones developing in the discussion about student loan reform. I find these tones disturbing because they threaten the cohesive nature of our message to Washington.
One tone is about private versus public student loans. Some people are insisting one form is worse than another. Well folks - $120,000 in student loan debt sucks any way you slice it. If you are making $10 an hour at some dead end job - it doesn't matter how many more fees, fines or interest they tack on. If you can't make the payments now you certainly won't be able to make them two years from now - public or private - unless something substantial changes in your financial life. I have $120,000 in public loans and all my payments last year went to interest and the overall debt still grew!
So please if your loans are private don't start commenting how much worse you have it than the other guy because that is exactly what Sallie Mae and the other bucket heads in the banking industry want to happen. They seek to divide and conquer our collective voices. If they succeed the pressure on government to reform the student loan finance industry will go away. So before you post or comment - please think about the larger movement and what needs to happen to fix the larger problem.
Furthermore, it doesn't matter if you are an older student with loans or a younger one. We were all sold on the idea that college equates to more financial earning power and a better way of life. While it may seem pathetically naive to believe at 30,40 or 50 (versus the 18 yr old just out of high school) that a college degree equals money in the bank remember this fact: the age old story that college graduates earn upwards of one million dollars more in a lifetime has turned out to be an opinion based on little fact at all. Recent estimates make the actual difference more like $250,000 and that's only if your loans don't exceed the average.
In addition, with government and private industry both selling the propaganda that an investment in education is a way up and out for all - it is little wonder that just about everybody is willing to hoc their future for a college degree. Propaganda is powerful and all minds are susceptible. Age doesn't matter nor does intelligence sometimes.
So regardless if you have been snookered at 18 or 60 and find yourself now burdened with private of public loans that are destroying any life that you thought you might have keep in mind that we are all being treated like second class citizens.
Remember the truth when despair sets in - student loans are the ONLY type of loan that can NOT be discharged in bankruptcy. Student loans are the only type of loans that allow the lender to hit you with absurd fees and fines if you can't pay - which only makes the situation worse. Student loan lenders are the only type of lender incentivized by the federal government to get you into default and keep you there.
Finally - remember this - YOU are NOT ALONE! Fight back - learn and education yourself at every turn and start to develop your own voice. Until we all learn to stand up and say no more - we will all continue to suffer in our shamed silence.
One tone is about private versus public student loans. Some people are insisting one form is worse than another. Well folks - $120,000 in student loan debt sucks any way you slice it. If you are making $10 an hour at some dead end job - it doesn't matter how many more fees, fines or interest they tack on. If you can't make the payments now you certainly won't be able to make them two years from now - public or private - unless something substantial changes in your financial life. I have $120,000 in public loans and all my payments last year went to interest and the overall debt still grew!
So please if your loans are private don't start commenting how much worse you have it than the other guy because that is exactly what Sallie Mae and the other bucket heads in the banking industry want to happen. They seek to divide and conquer our collective voices. If they succeed the pressure on government to reform the student loan finance industry will go away. So before you post or comment - please think about the larger movement and what needs to happen to fix the larger problem.
Furthermore, it doesn't matter if you are an older student with loans or a younger one. We were all sold on the idea that college equates to more financial earning power and a better way of life. While it may seem pathetically naive to believe at 30,40 or 50 (versus the 18 yr old just out of high school) that a college degree equals money in the bank remember this fact: the age old story that college graduates earn upwards of one million dollars more in a lifetime has turned out to be an opinion based on little fact at all. Recent estimates make the actual difference more like $250,000 and that's only if your loans don't exceed the average.
In addition, with government and private industry both selling the propaganda that an investment in education is a way up and out for all - it is little wonder that just about everybody is willing to hoc their future for a college degree. Propaganda is powerful and all minds are susceptible. Age doesn't matter nor does intelligence sometimes.
So regardless if you have been snookered at 18 or 60 and find yourself now burdened with private of public loans that are destroying any life that you thought you might have keep in mind that we are all being treated like second class citizens.
Remember the truth when despair sets in - student loans are the ONLY type of loan that can NOT be discharged in bankruptcy. Student loans are the only type of loans that allow the lender to hit you with absurd fees and fines if you can't pay - which only makes the situation worse. Student loan lenders are the only type of lender incentivized by the federal government to get you into default and keep you there.
Finally - remember this - YOU are NOT ALONE! Fight back - learn and education yourself at every turn and start to develop your own voice. Until we all learn to stand up and say no more - we will all continue to suffer in our shamed silence.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Recipe for Disaster
At this point in my search for solutions to the crisis in the student loan financial system I find that I can no longer avoid talking about the type of economy we have in the democracy we live in.
I will keep this simple so here goes - why do we think it's in the best interest of our democracy to let capitalism run through every aspect of our economy like a runaway train?
All the Enronesque scandals should prove that capitalism is not something that belongs in every aspect of our economy. It has ruined health care and it is quickly crippling the student loan financial system. The time has come - I hope we can all see this - to end the use of capitalism as the answer to all our economic needs.
We need to protect the future of our society from the greed and avarice that has so tainted the late 20th and early 21st century. Higher education should NOT be a system of winners and losers - a dichotomy that capitalism inherently creates. Rather - it should be a system where we efficiently and cost effectively educate our bright minds to keep us competitive in the global marketplace and human society as a whole. With such an emphasis on information and technology for the future - we are getting the higher education system so wrong that we may soon find ourselves out of the race to stay relevant - let alone competitive. Creating massive debt for our students before they are given the chance to create a better life for us all does not make sense in a sustainable economy.
I fear that we have become so blinded by the 'strong shall survive' dogma of purist capitalism that we are no longer able to see the precipice that we are headed for. We have taken some of our brightest minds and wrapped them up in so much debt to the point that their intelligence has been neutralized - leaving our greatest national treasure laid to waste.
Wake up America - student loan borrowers everywhere are living in a disaster area called their lives. And the student loan system is on the brink of collapse because of a job market that may require, according to the federal government, 2 to 5 years to improve. In the midst of all this - our leaders in Congress and the White House are silent on the issues.
Does anyone else have a different recipe for disaster?
I will keep this simple so here goes - why do we think it's in the best interest of our democracy to let capitalism run through every aspect of our economy like a runaway train?
All the Enronesque scandals should prove that capitalism is not something that belongs in every aspect of our economy. It has ruined health care and it is quickly crippling the student loan financial system. The time has come - I hope we can all see this - to end the use of capitalism as the answer to all our economic needs.
We need to protect the future of our society from the greed and avarice that has so tainted the late 20th and early 21st century. Higher education should NOT be a system of winners and losers - a dichotomy that capitalism inherently creates. Rather - it should be a system where we efficiently and cost effectively educate our bright minds to keep us competitive in the global marketplace and human society as a whole. With such an emphasis on information and technology for the future - we are getting the higher education system so wrong that we may soon find ourselves out of the race to stay relevant - let alone competitive. Creating massive debt for our students before they are given the chance to create a better life for us all does not make sense in a sustainable economy.
I fear that we have become so blinded by the 'strong shall survive' dogma of purist capitalism that we are no longer able to see the precipice that we are headed for. We have taken some of our brightest minds and wrapped them up in so much debt to the point that their intelligence has been neutralized - leaving our greatest national treasure laid to waste.
Wake up America - student loan borrowers everywhere are living in a disaster area called their lives. And the student loan system is on the brink of collapse because of a job market that may require, according to the federal government, 2 to 5 years to improve. In the midst of all this - our leaders in Congress and the White House are silent on the issues.
Does anyone else have a different recipe for disaster?
Friday, February 19, 2010
Hitting the Mainstream
Recently the Wall Street Journal online has brought some attention to the perils of student loan debt with a few articles. They can be found here: The $555,000 Student-Loan Burden, The Student Loan Effect.
This mainstream attention to the student loan crisis is a much needed shot in the arm if Congress and the White House are ever going to take notice and lend a hand. And while this spotlight may not always lead to a positive experience for student loan borrowers it is a necessary step in the right direction.
If one takes the time to read some of the comments left by readers of either of these articles, it will be quickly realized that many people have unflattering things to say about student loan borrowers. I would like to suggest to student loan borrowers everywhere that these are precisely the people we need to hear our message. These are precisely the people we need to educate and change from distracters into supporters.
In order to get people to support our cause we need to first meet the negative comments head on and challenge assertions and assumptions about student loan debt and the student loan industry. Until each and every one of us with student loan debt begins to get active in this way - those of us out here ringing the alarm bells will remain those crazy, lazy people just spouting off about their problems.
So please get active. Write your Congressmen, your Senators, your President. Write to your local newspaper. Comment on blogs and newspaper articles. Write your student loan company. Speak to whomever will listen because our collective voices can make a difference and effect a change in consciousness on this issue but WE have to make that happen.
Join me in making this happen - comment here today. And let today be the start of your own voice for relief from student loan debt.
Warmest Regards,
J. Densmore
This mainstream attention to the student loan crisis is a much needed shot in the arm if Congress and the White House are ever going to take notice and lend a hand. And while this spotlight may not always lead to a positive experience for student loan borrowers it is a necessary step in the right direction.
If one takes the time to read some of the comments left by readers of either of these articles, it will be quickly realized that many people have unflattering things to say about student loan borrowers. I would like to suggest to student loan borrowers everywhere that these are precisely the people we need to hear our message. These are precisely the people we need to educate and change from distracters into supporters.
In order to get people to support our cause we need to first meet the negative comments head on and challenge assertions and assumptions about student loan debt and the student loan industry. Until each and every one of us with student loan debt begins to get active in this way - those of us out here ringing the alarm bells will remain those crazy, lazy people just spouting off about their problems.
So please get active. Write your Congressmen, your Senators, your President. Write to your local newspaper. Comment on blogs and newspaper articles. Write your student loan company. Speak to whomever will listen because our collective voices can make a difference and effect a change in consciousness on this issue but WE have to make that happen.
Join me in making this happen - comment here today. And let today be the start of your own voice for relief from student loan debt.
Warmest Regards,
J. Densmore
Monday, February 15, 2010
Tis the Tax Season
In preparing my taxes for fiscal year 2009 I have come to an understanding of some things I thought I might share with all of you. Forgive me if you already know this.
If your long term struggle is to pay off other debt or your student loans first then here are some tax tips.
Your student loan interest is tax deductible up to $2500 per year. This deduction taken before your itemized or standard deductions - so you get to take the deduction whether or not you itemize.
Taxes and interest on your home are only deductible if you itemize so pay your home mortgage off first - especially if your interest rate is higher on your mortgage.
Something else to keep in mind - if your student loans are federal - it is again in your best interest to pay the home of first. In this way - if you pass away - your spouse is protected from your debt - because federal loans are forgiven upon death.
If anyone has any other tips or thoughts on the issue please feel free to post your follow-up comments here.
Warmest regards,
J. Densmore
If your long term struggle is to pay off other debt or your student loans first then here are some tax tips.
Your student loan interest is tax deductible up to $2500 per year. This deduction taken before your itemized or standard deductions - so you get to take the deduction whether or not you itemize.
Taxes and interest on your home are only deductible if you itemize so pay your home mortgage off first - especially if your interest rate is higher on your mortgage.
Something else to keep in mind - if your student loans are federal - it is again in your best interest to pay the home of first. In this way - if you pass away - your spouse is protected from your debt - because federal loans are forgiven upon death.
If anyone has any other tips or thoughts on the issue please feel free to post your follow-up comments here.
Warmest regards,
J. Densmore
Saturday, February 6, 2010
The Unforeseen Consequences of Student Debt
When you set out to achieve your dreams to get the college education that your parents didn't get or couldn't have the benefit of remember this - the fairytale of the magical college diploma leaves out a few things.
When I decided to seek a graduate degree I thought it was the right thing to do for my future. I had a dream of helping people and to get there I was going to need an advanced degree and the help provided by student loans. I know now that I was so very naive - that nothing comes without a price in this world. All too late I am learning that my dream was a mirage and that student loans can be the worst thing to ever happen to you.
My wife and I are at a turning point in our lives. We are both getting older and time is running out for us to have children of our own. Complicating this picture is the fact that she is stuck in a dead end job that offers no retirement and no possibility for advancement or significant pay increases. Her current job pays modestly and provides little in the way of personal reward or intellectual stimulation either. It is deadening to the soul for her to stay there but - like so many Americans - it has kept food on the table and kept her out of debt.
So before us is the fact that I have approximately $120,000 in student loans that are choking my income - our income - and there is no real relief in sight. With the 'repayment' plan I am on, the payments will only rise over time making our financial situation only more difficult. (The new IBR plan Obama proposes offers us no hope because her income is still part of the formula). My own job will see some modest pay increases over the next few years but not in the way to make any significant disposable income available.
Before us then is a choice to have children or not OR for her to back to school or not OR for us to play it safe and not do either because of the depressed state of the economy and my student loans.
It seems that we are damned no matter what we decide. We could send her back to school but the program that she has been accepted to will cost $30,000 over the next two years. Because of the intense nature of the program she would have to quit her job. All for the 'POSSIBILITY' that she would have a better job in two years and POSSIBLY a better rate of pay and maybe a pension and maybe some personal reward to it.
And as I have urged others to be specific - her plan is to get a specific degree targeted for a specific salary at the end of a specific time period. But all of it is predicated on a bunch of 'ifs' and 'assumptions' and should anything go wrong - we would be totally, and irrevocably screwed financially. For us to lose her salary would put an immense pressure on our already strained income and modest savings. All for a dream and a bunch of assumptions.
I don't want to focus too much on the job issue because this would cause us to ignore our desire to have a family. There is little money for this however or time even left to make the decision before it is made for us.
So our lives are at a crossroads - what do we do? Do we risk a soul killing job in the hand for a dream in the bush? Do we have children right now and throw caution to the wind and assume somehow everything will be all right? Maybe the government would help us - yeah right!
How, in one of the wealthiest countries to ever exist, did we get here?
The greatest pain for me is that my student loans are at the center of all this. Without these loans she could go back to school. We could have had a child already. Money would not be at the center of every ache in our hearts if it wasn't for these loans - and for the stupid, childish decisions I made earlier in my life.
I don't mean to sound completely sour on higher education mind you. While I have benefited on an intellectual and personal level from my education however, it hasn't been worth it financially, socially or familial-y. If I had it to do over again with what I know now - I would have foregone college from the start and waited until I had the money in hand before ever thinking of a higher education.
The government's help with plentiful student loans and no protections in the event that life's inevitable missteps would occur have shackled my future to the point of choking the life out of it. It is very likely that my wife and I will not be able to afford to have children or be able to send her to college. All because I signed on the dotted the line years ago and didn't really know the true cost of those loans. But as former President Bush was quoted to have said when asked about his drug use in his youth - "When I was young and stupid I was young and stupid."
That being said - my gift to anyone starting out is a word of advice. Given the state of the economy as it currently is - unless you have an inside line on a job when you graduate or parents to pay for college and save you the debt - WAIT to go to college. Wait until you have the money because there are very real, unforeseen consequences of student debt just as there will be unforeseen happenstances in life.
The unforgiving and enslaving system of financing higher education that we currently have in place is not to be trusted. Understand this - because your entire life and your hope of finding immortality through your own children just might depend on it.
J. Densmore
When I decided to seek a graduate degree I thought it was the right thing to do for my future. I had a dream of helping people and to get there I was going to need an advanced degree and the help provided by student loans. I know now that I was so very naive - that nothing comes without a price in this world. All too late I am learning that my dream was a mirage and that student loans can be the worst thing to ever happen to you.
My wife and I are at a turning point in our lives. We are both getting older and time is running out for us to have children of our own. Complicating this picture is the fact that she is stuck in a dead end job that offers no retirement and no possibility for advancement or significant pay increases. Her current job pays modestly and provides little in the way of personal reward or intellectual stimulation either. It is deadening to the soul for her to stay there but - like so many Americans - it has kept food on the table and kept her out of debt.
So before us is the fact that I have approximately $120,000 in student loans that are choking my income - our income - and there is no real relief in sight. With the 'repayment' plan I am on, the payments will only rise over time making our financial situation only more difficult. (The new IBR plan Obama proposes offers us no hope because her income is still part of the formula). My own job will see some modest pay increases over the next few years but not in the way to make any significant disposable income available.
Before us then is a choice to have children or not OR for her to back to school or not OR for us to play it safe and not do either because of the depressed state of the economy and my student loans.
It seems that we are damned no matter what we decide. We could send her back to school but the program that she has been accepted to will cost $30,000 over the next two years. Because of the intense nature of the program she would have to quit her job. All for the 'POSSIBILITY' that she would have a better job in two years and POSSIBLY a better rate of pay and maybe a pension and maybe some personal reward to it.
And as I have urged others to be specific - her plan is to get a specific degree targeted for a specific salary at the end of a specific time period. But all of it is predicated on a bunch of 'ifs' and 'assumptions' and should anything go wrong - we would be totally, and irrevocably screwed financially. For us to lose her salary would put an immense pressure on our already strained income and modest savings. All for a dream and a bunch of assumptions.
I don't want to focus too much on the job issue because this would cause us to ignore our desire to have a family. There is little money for this however or time even left to make the decision before it is made for us.
So our lives are at a crossroads - what do we do? Do we risk a soul killing job in the hand for a dream in the bush? Do we have children right now and throw caution to the wind and assume somehow everything will be all right? Maybe the government would help us - yeah right!
How, in one of the wealthiest countries to ever exist, did we get here?
The greatest pain for me is that my student loans are at the center of all this. Without these loans she could go back to school. We could have had a child already. Money would not be at the center of every ache in our hearts if it wasn't for these loans - and for the stupid, childish decisions I made earlier in my life.
I don't mean to sound completely sour on higher education mind you. While I have benefited on an intellectual and personal level from my education however, it hasn't been worth it financially, socially or familial-y. If I had it to do over again with what I know now - I would have foregone college from the start and waited until I had the money in hand before ever thinking of a higher education.
The government's help with plentiful student loans and no protections in the event that life's inevitable missteps would occur have shackled my future to the point of choking the life out of it. It is very likely that my wife and I will not be able to afford to have children or be able to send her to college. All because I signed on the dotted the line years ago and didn't really know the true cost of those loans. But as former President Bush was quoted to have said when asked about his drug use in his youth - "When I was young and stupid I was young and stupid."
That being said - my gift to anyone starting out is a word of advice. Given the state of the economy as it currently is - unless you have an inside line on a job when you graduate or parents to pay for college and save you the debt - WAIT to go to college. Wait until you have the money because there are very real, unforeseen consequences of student debt just as there will be unforeseen happenstances in life.
The unforgiving and enslaving system of financing higher education that we currently have in place is not to be trusted. Understand this - because your entire life and your hope of finding immortality through your own children just might depend on it.
J. Densmore
Monday, February 1, 2010
Send Letters to Your Congressmen and Senators
In light of President Obama's pledge to help student loan borrowers I submit the following form letter for use in contacting your own local representatives in Congress.
"Dear Senator, Congressman, Congresswoman etc.,
President Obama mentioned in his State of the Union Address that no one should have to go bankrupt to pay for an education.
Given the President's desire to help student loan borrowers I would like to know your stance on student loan borrowers' issues.
Do you support student loan forgiveness as a way to stimulate the economy? Do you support returning bankruptcy protections to all student loans - both public and private? Do you support the call to reduce the rate of interest on all student loans down to 1% - the same rate banks are allowed to borrow money at?
If you don't support any of the aforementioned proposals, just what help for over-indebted student loan borrowers do you support?
Furthermore, from what interests within the student loan industry have you accepted contributions, if at all?
I would appreciate it if you could give my inquiry its due respect and respond directly to my request - and not through the use of an assistant or intern.
Regards,
Your Name Here"
"Dear Senator, Congressman, Congresswoman etc.,
President Obama mentioned in his State of the Union Address that no one should have to go bankrupt to pay for an education.
Given the President's desire to help student loan borrowers I would like to know your stance on student loan borrowers' issues.
Do you support student loan forgiveness as a way to stimulate the economy? Do you support returning bankruptcy protections to all student loans - both public and private? Do you support the call to reduce the rate of interest on all student loans down to 1% - the same rate banks are allowed to borrow money at?
If you don't support any of the aforementioned proposals, just what help for over-indebted student loan borrowers do you support?
Furthermore, from what interests within the student loan industry have you accepted contributions, if at all?
I would appreciate it if you could give my inquiry its due respect and respond directly to my request - and not through the use of an assistant or intern.
Regards,
Your Name Here"
Thursday, January 28, 2010
A Working Economy or Wealth Building Economy?
Dated January 27, 2010 I opened an electronic communication from the Department of Education's Direct Loan Servicing Center. The purpose of the correspondence was to inform me that my annual student loan statement was now available.
Upon reviewing the statement I realized that I paid nearly $4400 on my student loans last year. One might say this was admirable.
However, despite my efforts my balance actually grew nearly $500. Anyone see something wrong with this picture?
Now, this is more than just a little depressing. It's enough to make me just want to give up and stop paying these loans altogether. Here's why: my student loan payments currently account for 20% of my monthly net income. That percentage will only grow over time and barely touch the principle in the near future.
Out of this frustration I am reminded of how things have gone so terribly wrong in this country. How did we ever get to a place where our students were so far in debt after college that the only ways of alleviating that debt in the near term were to land a very high paying job (preferable), win the lottery (unlikely), leave the country (heart breaking), or pass away (unthinkable). We all pretty much planned on the good paying job - but in this economic climate how many of us actually find it anymore?
The major point I would like to make here is that our priorities have become so twisted that our national agenda is more in line with a wealth building economy for the few than it is with a working economy for the many.
I refuse to give up and will continue fighting but I must say that President Obama's recent attempts to help students and student debtors, while admirable, falls far short of the help we really need and deserve. With over $550 billion dollars in outstanding student loans our President's best option is to reduce payments with IBR ( from 15% down to 10%) and reduce the number of years one would pay in IBR from 25 down to 20 years.
Sounds nice right? The problem is that this idea is akin to putting a band aid on a bullet wound. Yeah it will hold for a second or two but you will eventually bleed out if you don't get some real help and fast.
So to my President I say thanks but no thanks! Read my site Sir and you will find that the ideas for forgiving student loans and reducing or eliminating the interest rates on these loans will go much further to help student loan debtors and stimulate the economy than some cheap ploy to win our silence.
I for one won't be silenced! I need the President I voted for to stop being such a wimp when dealing with people across the aisle and start fighting for me and the future of this country. Working class Americans deserve more than speeches and rhetoric - we deserve results. Take of the kid gloves and start knocking some Republicans and Democrats around and get us back on track. George Bush used the bully pulpit of the presidency to do some very bad things - its time to use it for good.
Thanks for listening to my rant.
Warmest Regards,
J. Densmore
Upon reviewing the statement I realized that I paid nearly $4400 on my student loans last year. One might say this was admirable.
However, despite my efforts my balance actually grew nearly $500. Anyone see something wrong with this picture?
Now, this is more than just a little depressing. It's enough to make me just want to give up and stop paying these loans altogether. Here's why: my student loan payments currently account for 20% of my monthly net income. That percentage will only grow over time and barely touch the principle in the near future.
Out of this frustration I am reminded of how things have gone so terribly wrong in this country. How did we ever get to a place where our students were so far in debt after college that the only ways of alleviating that debt in the near term were to land a very high paying job (preferable), win the lottery (unlikely), leave the country (heart breaking), or pass away (unthinkable). We all pretty much planned on the good paying job - but in this economic climate how many of us actually find it anymore?
The major point I would like to make here is that our priorities have become so twisted that our national agenda is more in line with a wealth building economy for the few than it is with a working economy for the many.
I refuse to give up and will continue fighting but I must say that President Obama's recent attempts to help students and student debtors, while admirable, falls far short of the help we really need and deserve. With over $550 billion dollars in outstanding student loans our President's best option is to reduce payments with IBR ( from 15% down to 10%) and reduce the number of years one would pay in IBR from 25 down to 20 years.
Sounds nice right? The problem is that this idea is akin to putting a band aid on a bullet wound. Yeah it will hold for a second or two but you will eventually bleed out if you don't get some real help and fast.
So to my President I say thanks but no thanks! Read my site Sir and you will find that the ideas for forgiving student loans and reducing or eliminating the interest rates on these loans will go much further to help student loan debtors and stimulate the economy than some cheap ploy to win our silence.
I for one won't be silenced! I need the President I voted for to stop being such a wimp when dealing with people across the aisle and start fighting for me and the future of this country. Working class Americans deserve more than speeches and rhetoric - we deserve results. Take of the kid gloves and start knocking some Republicans and Democrats around and get us back on track. George Bush used the bully pulpit of the presidency to do some very bad things - its time to use it for good.
Thanks for listening to my rant.
Warmest Regards,
J. Densmore
Sunday, January 24, 2010
The Coalition of the Meek
As I read whatever I can about the student loan dilemma my eye is occasionally caught by stories from outside this parochial sphere. While these other stories are about different industries altogether the central theme seems to be germane to the student debt industry.
Whether one has freshly returned from watching the film "Food Inc.", reading an article about utility companies involved in the setting of energy prices in California a few years back, the pharmaceutical price fixing that President Bush included with any free trade agreement he made or the ongoing collusion in the health care industry to prevent competition one thing becomes clear. The same kind of behavior persists across many industries - big companies are seeking unfair and illegal strangle holds on the American people by marginalizing their livelihoods and thus their ability to fight back and maintain their liberties.
Now - I know that sounds like a bold statement and quite honestly sounds a little too paranoid for my taste. But the fact remains that we are seeing the erosion of the American way of life under the guise of capitalism - the very same thing we espouse as almost as fundamental to America as democracy is.
Don't take my word for it though. Do some digging and learn on your own. The stories I mention above are only a few that exist out there and that in and of itself is a shame because we are quickly loosing a handle on this crisis.
So let's review for a minute the stories I mentioned above. We have a student loan industry that was developed to make student loans available to more students for the express purpose of educating the American people and making us more competitive in the Cold War and the international economic environment as a whole. Instead, today we have a system solely in place to make executives at student loan and collection companies rich and that sells education as a way out but in reality is a quick dead end road into debt for many. I think this characterization qualifies the industry for the stamp of failure. Sure the loans are available but is the American public reaping the full benefits it was supposed to? I think not if we are trapping our intellect in debt and dead end jobs.
Food Inc. - watch this movie and tell me if the treatment of farmers by large seed production companies and chicken producers is legal and or fair. In these industries - it seems that antitrust laws are being broken but the lobbyists of these firms are so powerful the markets and the government have been corrupted beyond the sight of the law. Watch it and you decide.
If anyone recalls the energy crisis in California a few years back when brownouts were common it subsequently came to light that some of the energy companies were purposely rotating their maintenance schedules to drive up the price of energy by creating the desperate situation that arose. Uh gee - let me think the last time I checked that is not capitalism or a free market system in effect - its called collusion and it is illegal.
And for anyone who was watching at the time, go back and read the Free Trade agreements that President Bush made with Canada, Australia and some South American countries. Each of those agreements has pricing statements for pharmaceuticals. These statements generally require these countries to maintain pricing on pharmaceuticals in keeping with American prices. For a free trade agreement I have to wonder how price fixing serves the American public in the slightest.
And I am sure this is not the limit of what is out there. My point is generally that each of these industries have lost their way - falling away from the competitive, free market principles that as Americans we hold dear toward serving the interests of a selective few who only care about pumping profits at the expense of the general public.
So it is with sincere encouragement and hope that I suggest the following. It is my belief that leaders of each of the activist movements in these industries start to communicate with one another. Start comparing notes and I think you will find that we have so much in common. That each of our interests and needs are in reality all of our needs. We should pool our resources, financial and intellectual, and fight together to change the way business is being conducted in this country and hence the world. By working together in one industry at a time we just might be able the get the change we all so desperately seek and need in all of them.
So today I put forth a call to everyone out there willing to join the Coalition of the Meek. Separately we might be dismissed but together our voices might finally be heard and heeded.
I hope this finds you all well.
Warmest Regards,
J. Densmore
Whether one has freshly returned from watching the film "Food Inc.", reading an article about utility companies involved in the setting of energy prices in California a few years back, the pharmaceutical price fixing that President Bush included with any free trade agreement he made or the ongoing collusion in the health care industry to prevent competition one thing becomes clear. The same kind of behavior persists across many industries - big companies are seeking unfair and illegal strangle holds on the American people by marginalizing their livelihoods and thus their ability to fight back and maintain their liberties.
Now - I know that sounds like a bold statement and quite honestly sounds a little too paranoid for my taste. But the fact remains that we are seeing the erosion of the American way of life under the guise of capitalism - the very same thing we espouse as almost as fundamental to America as democracy is.
Don't take my word for it though. Do some digging and learn on your own. The stories I mention above are only a few that exist out there and that in and of itself is a shame because we are quickly loosing a handle on this crisis.
So let's review for a minute the stories I mentioned above. We have a student loan industry that was developed to make student loans available to more students for the express purpose of educating the American people and making us more competitive in the Cold War and the international economic environment as a whole. Instead, today we have a system solely in place to make executives at student loan and collection companies rich and that sells education as a way out but in reality is a quick dead end road into debt for many. I think this characterization qualifies the industry for the stamp of failure. Sure the loans are available but is the American public reaping the full benefits it was supposed to? I think not if we are trapping our intellect in debt and dead end jobs.
Food Inc. - watch this movie and tell me if the treatment of farmers by large seed production companies and chicken producers is legal and or fair. In these industries - it seems that antitrust laws are being broken but the lobbyists of these firms are so powerful the markets and the government have been corrupted beyond the sight of the law. Watch it and you decide.
If anyone recalls the energy crisis in California a few years back when brownouts were common it subsequently came to light that some of the energy companies were purposely rotating their maintenance schedules to drive up the price of energy by creating the desperate situation that arose. Uh gee - let me think the last time I checked that is not capitalism or a free market system in effect - its called collusion and it is illegal.
And for anyone who was watching at the time, go back and read the Free Trade agreements that President Bush made with Canada, Australia and some South American countries. Each of those agreements has pricing statements for pharmaceuticals. These statements generally require these countries to maintain pricing on pharmaceuticals in keeping with American prices. For a free trade agreement I have to wonder how price fixing serves the American public in the slightest.
And I am sure this is not the limit of what is out there. My point is generally that each of these industries have lost their way - falling away from the competitive, free market principles that as Americans we hold dear toward serving the interests of a selective few who only care about pumping profits at the expense of the general public.
So it is with sincere encouragement and hope that I suggest the following. It is my belief that leaders of each of the activist movements in these industries start to communicate with one another. Start comparing notes and I think you will find that we have so much in common. That each of our interests and needs are in reality all of our needs. We should pool our resources, financial and intellectual, and fight together to change the way business is being conducted in this country and hence the world. By working together in one industry at a time we just might be able the get the change we all so desperately seek and need in all of them.
So today I put forth a call to everyone out there willing to join the Coalition of the Meek. Separately we might be dismissed but together our voices might finally be heard and heeded.
I hope this finds you all well.
Warmest Regards,
J. Densmore
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Affordable, Attainable or Wisely Avoidable?
If the purpose of bankruptcy is to allow relief from financial burdens when lasting unforeseen hardships arise or mishaps occur what does this say about students and student loans when this basic protection is not there?
Because of their educations are students being expected to be clairvoyant - are they supposed to know, with 100% certainty, that things are going to work out ahead of time? Are they supposed to be able to see and avoid every conceivable pit fall that could arise? That cannot be what our government intended when it began its involvement in the student loan business or when it wrote the first bankruptcy laws - yet here we are expecting just that from our students.
Yes, student loan borrowers took a risk that the purchase they were making (in the form of education) was going to benefit them to the degree that they could achieve a better social and economic position in life. Few, if any, took loans out with the intention to defraud anyone. The problem with education, or anything investment for that matter, is that there is no guarantee of return. What is the saying in investing - past performance is no guarantee of future return?
For students to guarantee a return on their investment they would have to know so much as to be gods. For example, just on a macroeconomic scale one would have had to know that American (and now International) banks were leveraged so poorly, that CEO's, COO,s and CFO's were cooking the books, that gasoline would reach $4 a gallon, that automakers would continue selling gas hogs beyond their utility, that wars in IRAQ and Afghanistan would be so costly, that 9/11 would occur and wreak such havoc with the financial markets, that Katrina would occur, and that the wealthiest country on the planet wouldn't be able to afford health care for its citizens. That’s expecting a little much I think.
They would also have had to know on a personal or microeconomic level that their choice of profession would continue to be in demand, that they would remain healthy, that they could handle the full pressure of the educational albatross before them (even though they have never attempted anything so demanding before), that they wouldn't experience significant familial or personal hardships so as to not be able to continue and that they would find the support they would need to successfully graduate and find employment. And the list could go on and on.
The point here is that life happens. When one purchases an education life does not stop happening. While we might hope that students are better equipped to deal with life's ups and downs because of their educations they are not, in fact made gods, because of their educations. Students still suffer the same human frailties as everyone else.
Fortunately, some students make it through the process of schooling and the concomitant hardships of life, and go on to reap the benefits of their education. That is every students dream! And we are all happy for those that make it.
But for those that don't make it or don't make it far enough to see the full return on their investment why then should the current system expect students to be any more omniscient than the average borrower? Nobody wants businesses to fall short of the desired success but they do. Nobody wants students to fall short of their desired success but they do. Life happens, mistakes get made. Every type of borrower, be it individual, small business, or corporate giant has access to basic financial protections through bankruptcy – to protect their futures if they stumble and fall. All borrowers everywhere in the United States have these protections - EXCEPT ONE - the student loan borrower.
Did our leaders really intend there to be so much risk involved when they tried to make higher education available to just about everyone? Did they really intend for students to be buried under mountains of debt with no way out?
At this point all I can say is maybe they did. They don’t seem to be in a hurry to get students out of this terrible situation nor do they seem to care. And now – it seems a generation of Americans may actually forgo college because the price has become just too high. I guess our leaders have failed to make a college education affordable and attainable after all. From what I now gather a college education is quickly becoming avoidable,and wisely so. After all, why should someone risk their entire lives - marriage, children, home - for an education that only comes with one guarantee - you will pay your loans back - even if it kills you.
Because of their educations are students being expected to be clairvoyant - are they supposed to know, with 100% certainty, that things are going to work out ahead of time? Are they supposed to be able to see and avoid every conceivable pit fall that could arise? That cannot be what our government intended when it began its involvement in the student loan business or when it wrote the first bankruptcy laws - yet here we are expecting just that from our students.
Yes, student loan borrowers took a risk that the purchase they were making (in the form of education) was going to benefit them to the degree that they could achieve a better social and economic position in life. Few, if any, took loans out with the intention to defraud anyone. The problem with education, or anything investment for that matter, is that there is no guarantee of return. What is the saying in investing - past performance is no guarantee of future return?
For students to guarantee a return on their investment they would have to know so much as to be gods. For example, just on a macroeconomic scale one would have had to know that American (and now International) banks were leveraged so poorly, that CEO's, COO,s and CFO's were cooking the books, that gasoline would reach $4 a gallon, that automakers would continue selling gas hogs beyond their utility, that wars in IRAQ and Afghanistan would be so costly, that 9/11 would occur and wreak such havoc with the financial markets, that Katrina would occur, and that the wealthiest country on the planet wouldn't be able to afford health care for its citizens. That’s expecting a little much I think.
They would also have had to know on a personal or microeconomic level that their choice of profession would continue to be in demand, that they would remain healthy, that they could handle the full pressure of the educational albatross before them (even though they have never attempted anything so demanding before), that they wouldn't experience significant familial or personal hardships so as to not be able to continue and that they would find the support they would need to successfully graduate and find employment. And the list could go on and on.
The point here is that life happens. When one purchases an education life does not stop happening. While we might hope that students are better equipped to deal with life's ups and downs because of their educations they are not, in fact made gods, because of their educations. Students still suffer the same human frailties as everyone else.
Fortunately, some students make it through the process of schooling and the concomitant hardships of life, and go on to reap the benefits of their education. That is every students dream! And we are all happy for those that make it.
But for those that don't make it or don't make it far enough to see the full return on their investment why then should the current system expect students to be any more omniscient than the average borrower? Nobody wants businesses to fall short of the desired success but they do. Nobody wants students to fall short of their desired success but they do. Life happens, mistakes get made. Every type of borrower, be it individual, small business, or corporate giant has access to basic financial protections through bankruptcy – to protect their futures if they stumble and fall. All borrowers everywhere in the United States have these protections - EXCEPT ONE - the student loan borrower.
Did our leaders really intend there to be so much risk involved when they tried to make higher education available to just about everyone? Did they really intend for students to be buried under mountains of debt with no way out?
At this point all I can say is maybe they did. They don’t seem to be in a hurry to get students out of this terrible situation nor do they seem to care. And now – it seems a generation of Americans may actually forgo college because the price has become just too high. I guess our leaders have failed to make a college education affordable and attainable after all. From what I now gather a college education is quickly becoming avoidable,and wisely so. After all, why should someone risk their entire lives - marriage, children, home - for an education that only comes with one guarantee - you will pay your loans back - even if it kills you.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
My Next Move
Right now I am seeking other student loan blogs and forums out there to connect to and interact with. So if anyone has any good recommendations please contact me and I will check them out as soon as I can.
At the time being I am starting to look into learning more about personal finance. If I come across something interesting and relevant I will be sure to share it here.
Since it is tax season once again don't forget that your student loan interest is tax deductible under some circumstances. Be sure to visit the IRS website to learn more.
If there are urgent issues that anyone wants me to look into or expound at length about please contact me. Otherwise, have a great weekend!
Regards,
J. Densmore
At the time being I am starting to look into learning more about personal finance. If I come across something interesting and relevant I will be sure to share it here.
Since it is tax season once again don't forget that your student loan interest is tax deductible under some circumstances. Be sure to visit the IRS website to learn more.
If there are urgent issues that anyone wants me to look into or expound at length about please contact me. Otherwise, have a great weekend!
Regards,
J. Densmore
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
The Writing on the Wall
At the present time, it appears very little is going on in any of the student loan reform movements to address the needs of student borrowers. It may be because the President and Congress have an economy in recession, a war going on, and a fight over health care before them. I get the feeling however that the same would be true without these distractions.
If I were to read the writing on the wall, more specifically the Sunday newspaper and Alan's book, then things can't be going very well for student borrowers in terms of debt and default.
The first sign was something I read in Alan Collinge's book, The Student Loan Scam, which I have translated into the following bar graph. As one can see, the use of federal student loans is growing rapidly - which in turn, by the percentages, translates into more student loans in default or struggling to tread water. The graph shows the amount of federal student loans made in 1979, 1989, 1996 and 2008 respectively. This is only for federal loans, not for any private loans that are not covered under the federal umbrella.
To go along with this rise in student debt, the front page of the classified jobs section of The Buffalo News for Sunday January 10, 2010 had four large ads that each occupied 1/4 of the page. Two of these were ads were for collections services promising all kinds of benefits including 50% commissions, vacation pay, health insurance, paid holidays, day care and the list goes on. One of these ads was specifically seeking people with experience in student loan collections!
This is the first such time that I have seen a job ad for a collection agency seeking people with this kind of specialty. I was also shocked at the kind of benefits these places were paying. Business must be good for student loan collectors.
This can only mean its not going so well for many student loan borrowers. Furthermore, the brazen front page nature of the ad, seeking specialty in student loan collections, seems to imply that student loan borrowers are acceptable collection targets, social castaways that should have known better.
I think student loan borrowers need to work together to make our voices heard. We will continue to be the treated as the forgotten unless we make people understand why our debt deserves the same protections as every other form of debt.
If I were to read the writing on the wall, more specifically the Sunday newspaper and Alan's book, then things can't be going very well for student borrowers in terms of debt and default.
The first sign was something I read in Alan Collinge's book, The Student Loan Scam, which I have translated into the following bar graph. As one can see, the use of federal student loans is growing rapidly - which in turn, by the percentages, translates into more student loans in default or struggling to tread water. The graph shows the amount of federal student loans made in 1979, 1989, 1996 and 2008 respectively. This is only for federal loans, not for any private loans that are not covered under the federal umbrella.
The steep rise in the amount of federal loans being made would indicate that students are taking on more debt to get their college degrees. Though it is certainly true that more and more students are going to college these days I don't think the growth in numbers of college students accounts for this increase alone.
To go along with this rise in student debt, the front page of the classified jobs section of The Buffalo News for Sunday January 10, 2010 had four large ads that each occupied 1/4 of the page. Two of these were ads were for collections services promising all kinds of benefits including 50% commissions, vacation pay, health insurance, paid holidays, day care and the list goes on. One of these ads was specifically seeking people with experience in student loan collections!
This is the first such time that I have seen a job ad for a collection agency seeking people with this kind of specialty. I was also shocked at the kind of benefits these places were paying. Business must be good for student loan collectors.
This can only mean its not going so well for many student loan borrowers. Furthermore, the brazen front page nature of the ad, seeking specialty in student loan collections, seems to imply that student loan borrowers are acceptable collection targets, social castaways that should have known better.
I think student loan borrowers need to work together to make our voices heard. We will continue to be the treated as the forgotten unless we make people understand why our debt deserves the same protections as every other form of debt.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Educate Yourself and Get Active
I can't emphasize enough that all student loan borrowers need to become active participants in the student loan reform process. It's the only way we are going to get the changes we need to live free once again.
If you are a New Yorker then here is the contact information for your Senators:
Senator Charles E. Schumer http://schumer.senate.gov/new_website/contact.cfm
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand http://gillibrand.senate.gov/contact/
I can't recommend enough the book by Alan Collinge, entitled The Student Loan Scam: The Most Oppressive Debt in U.S. History - and How We Can Fight Back. I know that I have already mentioned his book, (previous story here) but after rereading it I knew it deserved mention again. Alan's book does a fantastic job of explaining why students with public or private loans are in the same situation and how Sallie Mae has, almost single handedly, twisted the student loan system into the monstrosity it is today.
Read the book and then reread it - because there is so much information in there that you may only truly know its value with a second read.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Alan and everyone at StudentLoanJustice.org for all that they have done to get this movement started and to become a voice for us all.
Regards,
J. Densmore
If you are a New Yorker then here is the contact information for your Senators:
Senator Charles E. Schumer http://schumer.senate.gov/new_website/contact.cfm
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand http://gillibrand.senate.gov/contact/
I can't recommend enough the book by Alan Collinge, entitled The Student Loan Scam: The Most Oppressive Debt in U.S. History - and How We Can Fight Back. I know that I have already mentioned his book, (previous story here) but after rereading it I knew it deserved mention again. Alan's book does a fantastic job of explaining why students with public or private loans are in the same situation and how Sallie Mae has, almost single handedly, twisted the student loan system into the monstrosity it is today.
Read the book and then reread it - because there is so much information in there that you may only truly know its value with a second read.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Alan and everyone at StudentLoanJustice.org for all that they have done to get this movement started and to become a voice for us all.
Regards,
J. Densmore
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Bankruptcy in Context
Let's begin our discussion today with a quote:
"...financial problems happen to the best of us and the fact of the matter is that once we find ourselves in trouble, bankruptcy could be the most responsible decision one could make."
This quote, taken from Blog.LegalHelpers.com, represents the reality of the financial world we live in here in the United States. Bankruptcy is a decision that must be looked at logically if the need arises. The costs and benefits of this process must be weighed carefully before a proper decision can be made. It is not something that should ever be rushed into.
Bankruptcy can be a second chance to get one's financial life straightened out. Many famous people have had to turn to bankruptcy at one time or another to reset their financial situation. Many of them went on to be very successful subsequently.
Some of these famous people include:
I bring this up here because somewhere in their great wisdom - our elected officials have seen fit to remove this option for student loan borrowers - without any evidence to show that student loan borrowers represent a particularly egregious subset of the population prone to cases of fraud and misrepresentation.
Ironically, students and former students are more likely to be the kind of people to learn from their mistakes and therefore stand to benefit the most from a second chance.
"...financial problems happen to the best of us and the fact of the matter is that once we find ourselves in trouble, bankruptcy could be the most responsible decision one could make."
This quote, taken from Blog.LegalHelpers.com, represents the reality of the financial world we live in here in the United States. Bankruptcy is a decision that must be looked at logically if the need arises. The costs and benefits of this process must be weighed carefully before a proper decision can be made. It is not something that should ever be rushed into.
Bankruptcy can be a second chance to get one's financial life straightened out. Many famous people have had to turn to bankruptcy at one time or another to reset their financial situation. Many of them went on to be very successful subsequently.
Some of these famous people include:
| P.T. Barnum (1855) | |
| H.J. Heinz (1875) | |
| Milton Hershey (1882) | |
| William McKinley (1893 - $130,000) | |
| Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens,1894) | |
| Oscar Wilde (1895) | |
| Henry Ford (1901) | |
| Walt Disney (1923) | |
| Larry King (1960, 1978) | |
| Mickey Rooney (1962) | |
| Jerry Lee Lewis (1988) | |
| Johnny Unitas (1991) | |
| Wayne Newton (1992) | |
| Donald Trump (1992, 2004) | |
| Kim Basinger (1993) | |
| Burt Reynolds (Chapter 11 - 1996) | |
| MC Hammer (1996) | |
| Debbie Reynolds (1997) | |
| Sherman Hemsley (1999) | |
| Mike Tyson (2003) | |
| Sammy Kershaw (2007) | |
| Ulysses S. Grant | |
| Thomas Jefferson | |
| Tony Martin | |
| Lawrence Taylor | |
| Abraham Lincoln | |
Ironically, students and former students are more likely to be the kind of people to learn from their mistakes and therefore stand to benefit the most from a second chance.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Read This Book - Recommend This Book Now!
Dear Readers,
I will keep this post short and sweet. Go out and buy or borrow The Student Loan Scam: The Most Oppressive Debt in U.S. History - and How We Can Fight Back by Alan Collinge.
This book confirmed the reality of just how perverse and pervasive corruption has become in every aspect of the student loan industry - including the federal government.
Right there on page 12 was the confirmation that the collection agency that the U.S. Department of Education turned my loans over to, PIONEER CREDIT RECOVERY, was and is, in fact, a front for Sallie Mae and all its sick fraudulent games. If you recall, it was PIONEER that wouldn't let my loans out of default (full story here) until the Office of the Ombudsman intervened (contact them here if you need help).
So, please read this book. If you happen to know anyone about to go to college then recommend this book. I wouldn't let anyone in my family go until they read this book, nor should you!
READ IT! I can't say that enough.
I will keep this post short and sweet. Go out and buy or borrow The Student Loan Scam: The Most Oppressive Debt in U.S. History - and How We Can Fight Back by Alan Collinge.
This book confirmed the reality of just how perverse and pervasive corruption has become in every aspect of the student loan industry - including the federal government.
Right there on page 12 was the confirmation that the collection agency that the U.S. Department of Education turned my loans over to, PIONEER CREDIT RECOVERY, was and is, in fact, a front for Sallie Mae and all its sick fraudulent games. If you recall, it was PIONEER that wouldn't let my loans out of default (full story here) until the Office of the Ombudsman intervened (contact them here if you need help).
So, please read this book. If you happen to know anyone about to go to college then recommend this book. I wouldn't let anyone in my family go until they read this book, nor should you!
READ IT! I can't say that enough.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Student Loan Bankruptcy: Where are the checks and balances?
The sobering news today is that new filings for bankruptcies soared in 2009 coming in 32% higher than the previous year. So it appears that the more stringent bankruptcy codes passed in 2005, which made it more expensive and difficult to file bankruptcy, can't hide the enormous amount of economic stress that many people in this country are under.
While I hope to see more information about the specifics of these bankruptcies in the coming weeks, this steep increase does make me wonder how many of these filings are related to unaffordable student debt.
My interest in this topic was also directed somewhat by a statement that I recently came across on another site. The statement read something like this:
"Bankruptcy laws create a check on the activities of lenders."
Now I know it may sound naive but I found this to be a surprisingly novel and interesting thought. Most times when you hear about bankruptcy it is with some negative connotation, the implication being that the filing entity or person has failed in some way and now they will get away without having to pay what they borrowed. The borrower is often seen as the only offender.
However, the individual who made that post apparently grasped something that the writers of bankruptcy law, in their wisdom, must have also understood and taken into account. Namely, that the lender shares a significant burden of the responsibility involved in any loan or extension of credit.
The law therefore finds creditors to be responsible parties in the financial transactions they are involved in. This puts the onus on lenders to properly screen their borrowers and determine their eligibility for the loan based upon the borrower’s present and future ability to pay. Theoretically, the lender is supposed to assess the loan's risk based on the borrower's current assets and the potential future reward of the borrower's investment. If either of the borrower's qualifications is deficient then the loan is not supposed to be made.
If the lender determines the borrower's qualifications to be worthwhile then they usually make the deal. Both parties sign contracts, with good intentions, and off they go. Now I am not a banker but this is probably where the risk-reward ratio comes in and the interest rates are established.
If the lender makes a good risk and the borrower does repay he then makes a reasonable - and sometimes substantial profit. But if he makes a mistake and something happens that cannot be foreseen and the borrower cannot repay - then he may lose. This is where I fail to feel for the lender - it’s their business to make intelligent investments. It’s also part of the risk they accept.
As I see it, all bankruptcy law does then is to enforce the later outcome - which is to say the lender loses his investment in part or in its entirety when the borrower can't pay. And as anyone who has ever filed or witnessed a bankruptcy filing - bankruptcy law also punishes the borrower - through damaged credit scores and limits on future filings, neither of which makes for a light sentence.
However, these checks and balances are not present with student loans. The normal system is short-circuited presumably to make more loans available to students. Lenders are protected in many cases by a federal guarantee which obliges the federal government to cover these loans if the borrower can’t. The federal government then enforces payment by the borrower through all sorts of means, regardless of their ability to pay or lead a normal life. In the case of both public and private student loans - borrowers cannot file bankruptcy either. So, it has become essentially a win-win for lenders - they get paid, must get paid in most instances, even if the investment goes sour for the borrower.
While this may not have been the intention of our leaders when this system was first established it has become a problem for millions now. For the borrower of student loans, it seems - its do or die. Either the student loan debtor makes it and pays the loans back or they die and the loans don't get paid back. In the case of private loans – the loans are not discharged even at death - meaning lenders can go after spouses, parents and estates depending on the situation.
Ironically, student loans have therefore become one of the most risky investments anyone can make. At the end of the investment the student may not even have the piece of paper they invested in, may not be able to get a job with the investment they made and can be left with no hard assets to sell after the investment. Despite all this and more, they are forced to pay back even if the lender knew the investment was financially unsound because for them they never risked anything in the first place. While initially intended as a good and proper thing to do, the student loan finance system has backfired and is now enslaving generations of its citizens to financial profiteers.
While I hope to see more information about the specifics of these bankruptcies in the coming weeks, this steep increase does make me wonder how many of these filings are related to unaffordable student debt.
My interest in this topic was also directed somewhat by a statement that I recently came across on another site. The statement read something like this:
"Bankruptcy laws create a check on the activities of lenders."
Now I know it may sound naive but I found this to be a surprisingly novel and interesting thought. Most times when you hear about bankruptcy it is with some negative connotation, the implication being that the filing entity or person has failed in some way and now they will get away without having to pay what they borrowed. The borrower is often seen as the only offender.
However, the individual who made that post apparently grasped something that the writers of bankruptcy law, in their wisdom, must have also understood and taken into account. Namely, that the lender shares a significant burden of the responsibility involved in any loan or extension of credit.
The law therefore finds creditors to be responsible parties in the financial transactions they are involved in. This puts the onus on lenders to properly screen their borrowers and determine their eligibility for the loan based upon the borrower’s present and future ability to pay. Theoretically, the lender is supposed to assess the loan's risk based on the borrower's current assets and the potential future reward of the borrower's investment. If either of the borrower's qualifications is deficient then the loan is not supposed to be made.
If the lender determines the borrower's qualifications to be worthwhile then they usually make the deal. Both parties sign contracts, with good intentions, and off they go. Now I am not a banker but this is probably where the risk-reward ratio comes in and the interest rates are established.
If the lender makes a good risk and the borrower does repay he then makes a reasonable - and sometimes substantial profit. But if he makes a mistake and something happens that cannot be foreseen and the borrower cannot repay - then he may lose. This is where I fail to feel for the lender - it’s their business to make intelligent investments. It’s also part of the risk they accept.
As I see it, all bankruptcy law does then is to enforce the later outcome - which is to say the lender loses his investment in part or in its entirety when the borrower can't pay. And as anyone who has ever filed or witnessed a bankruptcy filing - bankruptcy law also punishes the borrower - through damaged credit scores and limits on future filings, neither of which makes for a light sentence.
However, these checks and balances are not present with student loans. The normal system is short-circuited presumably to make more loans available to students. Lenders are protected in many cases by a federal guarantee which obliges the federal government to cover these loans if the borrower can’t. The federal government then enforces payment by the borrower through all sorts of means, regardless of their ability to pay or lead a normal life. In the case of both public and private student loans - borrowers cannot file bankruptcy either. So, it has become essentially a win-win for lenders - they get paid, must get paid in most instances, even if the investment goes sour for the borrower.
While this may not have been the intention of our leaders when this system was first established it has become a problem for millions now. For the borrower of student loans, it seems - its do or die. Either the student loan debtor makes it and pays the loans back or they die and the loans don't get paid back. In the case of private loans – the loans are not discharged even at death - meaning lenders can go after spouses, parents and estates depending on the situation.
Ironically, student loans have therefore become one of the most risky investments anyone can make. At the end of the investment the student may not even have the piece of paper they invested in, may not be able to get a job with the investment they made and can be left with no hard assets to sell after the investment. Despite all this and more, they are forced to pay back even if the lender knew the investment was financially unsound because for them they never risked anything in the first place. While initially intended as a good and proper thing to do, the student loan finance system has backfired and is now enslaving generations of its citizens to financial profiteers.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Need for More Appropriate Advertisements
Hi everyone,
If you are an avid blogger, blog reader or postmaster or even someone with some novel ideas that happened on to my site I am open to new and different options for advertising on this blog.
Frankly speaking, while the ads on this site are subject appropriate I don't think they serve the readers of my blog to the utmost possible. I will be working with Google Ads to update this to the extent possible since they have been so helpful to date. I feel I owe them that.
I am also thinking of just getting rid of them altogether since they haven't produced any income whatsoever.
However, if someone has some ideas to direct the advertisement in a more positive fashion I am all ears.
Regards,
J. Densmore
If you are an avid blogger, blog reader or postmaster or even someone with some novel ideas that happened on to my site I am open to new and different options for advertising on this blog.
Frankly speaking, while the ads on this site are subject appropriate I don't think they serve the readers of my blog to the utmost possible. I will be working with Google Ads to update this to the extent possible since they have been so helpful to date. I feel I owe them that.
I am also thinking of just getting rid of them altogether since they haven't produced any income whatsoever.
However, if someone has some ideas to direct the advertisement in a more positive fashion I am all ears.
Regards,
J. Densmore
Friday, January 1, 2010
A New Year and a New Commitment
In reading and learning more on this topic of student debt and loans I am moved to comment on the ingenious nature of the relationship between education and student loan programs.
When I first became a college student back in the fall of 1987 student loans were a way to get a college degree if your family didn't have the money to support you in that endeavor. In my family, as in many others, neither of my parents had ever gone to college but both had always wanted to and so for their son it was a must. For them a college degree was some sort of Holy Grail to a more prosperous life.
So the mindset was, and still is today, that student loans provided the opportunity to get that almighty college degree. Somewhere along the way however, things have changed. I am not sure quite when it happened but at some point the generalized, non-specific college degree became worth little more than toilet paper. Alright, maybe it was worth about the same as a respectable high school diploma but certainly no more.
As such the liberal arts degree in whatever color became essentially useless as a means to get a job, let alone a better life than your parents had. Nobody wanted them. I know this because I had one by the spring of 1992 and nobody would hire the green college kid with the B.A. in Economics, not even as a bank teller.
Since that time things have not improved much. Sure there was the technology boon of the 1990’s that made some millionaires, even some billionaires, but that ride crashed in the early part of 2000 along with the NASDAQ.
Today, we have high unemployment in both blue and white collar sectors with little hope on the horizon of getting people back to work. Looking retrospectively at the last 20 years since I was first a college student, it has dawned on me that educational institutions charge even more for the same degrees today. The same degrees that will get you nowhere. These colleges still provide no real support to get people respectable jobs and absolutely no guarantee that the expensive piece of paper on the wall will even do them any good.
And yet, here we are still churning out students with no place to go for good jobs with useless degrees in an environment that encourages taking on more debt with ever increasing availability of student loans, both public and private. The almighty dogma of the great college degree still persists too. Only now – even those with specific, professional degrees are finding themselves up to their necks in debt as they wait in line apply for their unemployment benefits.
We have created a system of higher education that in many cases, is failing our country and our citizens. As a culture we need to take stock of our priorities and get our financial systems in line with them, not the other way around.
For the past 20 years, at the very least, we have had a system of exploding student debt and useless higher education matched to do only one thing – to make money for some financial profiteers at the expense of the bright eyed, eager college student who thought he or she was on a path to making a good and decent life for themselves.
Sure, I can write this blog – so my two B.A. degrees and my M.A. degree (and nearly a PhD.) have served some purpose – but was it worth the immense debt I have amassed? Certainly not – because insulating pipes, which is what I do now, doesn’t require or make great use of the excessive education I have. And while it's most certainly a respectable living requiring considerable skill, the health risks it poses are certainly not the dream my parents hoped for I think. I am however resolved to making a career of it now and it does keep my head above water so for that and all the wonderful, hardworking people I have met and worked with I am so very thankful. I do wonder though, how many others like me are out there doing something similar.
The truth is, I believed in a bill of goods, namely that a college education could change my life for the better. I believed that student loans were a means to an end and that I would be able to pay them back when I was done. What I now realize was that despite how smart I thought I was there was a bigger picture. For some politicians and lobbyists out there, there were profits to be made and that take on things was just outside my field of vision. As I see it now, it must have been designed to be that way, no system this cruel could exist without intention.
I was not given the protections I deserved when I made my investment. I was not informed of the uselessness of the degrees that I found myself getting and the mountain of debt that I was accumulating that would be forever outside my reach to repay. There should be a system of informed people in place to protect our college students from this kind of predatory behavior – the kind that is so devious that even some of the brightest among us have been perpetually enslaved to their student loans with no hope of getting out from under them.
These people can’t afford to marry. They can’t afford to buy a home. They can’t afford health insurance. They can’t afford to have children. They can't afford to make any moves that will jeopardize repaying these loans that might even improve their circumstances. They can't afford to risk anything. They have none of the protections that every other type of borrower has – the right to redress when their debts have ruined their lives – stolen their lives – right before their eyes.
And in a classic, cultural cliché - we blame the student debtor because they (and I include myself here) should have known better. Maybe we should have known better but I am not so sure anymore that we could have. The system is just not designed to tell you all these things. And besides, blaming the victim doesn’t change the reality of what is happening here and it will not change what will happen to the next crop of graduating college students, or all those that will certainly follow under the current system.
This game of loaning students money for degrees that will only take them down dead end roads where there dreams will die must end. There must also be an end to the enslavement of those already trapped by their student loans.
To every American, past, present and future – this system is so perverse that it is evil in the worst Machiavellian sense and I pray you have heard this cry for justice.
Bring back the same financial protections to student loan debtors that all other forms of loans have the right to. Consider forgiving these loans to stimulate the economy. Fight for new changes to the way we finance higher education and implement tough controls on colleges who sell degrees that are lemons.
Our future depends on this, now more than ever.
When I first became a college student back in the fall of 1987 student loans were a way to get a college degree if your family didn't have the money to support you in that endeavor. In my family, as in many others, neither of my parents had ever gone to college but both had always wanted to and so for their son it was a must. For them a college degree was some sort of Holy Grail to a more prosperous life.
So the mindset was, and still is today, that student loans provided the opportunity to get that almighty college degree. Somewhere along the way however, things have changed. I am not sure quite when it happened but at some point the generalized, non-specific college degree became worth little more than toilet paper. Alright, maybe it was worth about the same as a respectable high school diploma but certainly no more.
As such the liberal arts degree in whatever color became essentially useless as a means to get a job, let alone a better life than your parents had. Nobody wanted them. I know this because I had one by the spring of 1992 and nobody would hire the green college kid with the B.A. in Economics, not even as a bank teller.
Since that time things have not improved much. Sure there was the technology boon of the 1990’s that made some millionaires, even some billionaires, but that ride crashed in the early part of 2000 along with the NASDAQ.
Today, we have high unemployment in both blue and white collar sectors with little hope on the horizon of getting people back to work. Looking retrospectively at the last 20 years since I was first a college student, it has dawned on me that educational institutions charge even more for the same degrees today. The same degrees that will get you nowhere. These colleges still provide no real support to get people respectable jobs and absolutely no guarantee that the expensive piece of paper on the wall will even do them any good.
And yet, here we are still churning out students with no place to go for good jobs with useless degrees in an environment that encourages taking on more debt with ever increasing availability of student loans, both public and private. The almighty dogma of the great college degree still persists too. Only now – even those with specific, professional degrees are finding themselves up to their necks in debt as they wait in line apply for their unemployment benefits.
We have created a system of higher education that in many cases, is failing our country and our citizens. As a culture we need to take stock of our priorities and get our financial systems in line with them, not the other way around.
For the past 20 years, at the very least, we have had a system of exploding student debt and useless higher education matched to do only one thing – to make money for some financial profiteers at the expense of the bright eyed, eager college student who thought he or she was on a path to making a good and decent life for themselves.
Sure, I can write this blog – so my two B.A. degrees and my M.A. degree (and nearly a PhD.) have served some purpose – but was it worth the immense debt I have amassed? Certainly not – because insulating pipes, which is what I do now, doesn’t require or make great use of the excessive education I have. And while it's most certainly a respectable living requiring considerable skill, the health risks it poses are certainly not the dream my parents hoped for I think. I am however resolved to making a career of it now and it does keep my head above water so for that and all the wonderful, hardworking people I have met and worked with I am so very thankful. I do wonder though, how many others like me are out there doing something similar.
The truth is, I believed in a bill of goods, namely that a college education could change my life for the better. I believed that student loans were a means to an end and that I would be able to pay them back when I was done. What I now realize was that despite how smart I thought I was there was a bigger picture. For some politicians and lobbyists out there, there were profits to be made and that take on things was just outside my field of vision. As I see it now, it must have been designed to be that way, no system this cruel could exist without intention.
I was not given the protections I deserved when I made my investment. I was not informed of the uselessness of the degrees that I found myself getting and the mountain of debt that I was accumulating that would be forever outside my reach to repay. There should be a system of informed people in place to protect our college students from this kind of predatory behavior – the kind that is so devious that even some of the brightest among us have been perpetually enslaved to their student loans with no hope of getting out from under them.
These people can’t afford to marry. They can’t afford to buy a home. They can’t afford health insurance. They can’t afford to have children. They can't afford to make any moves that will jeopardize repaying these loans that might even improve their circumstances. They can't afford to risk anything. They have none of the protections that every other type of borrower has – the right to redress when their debts have ruined their lives – stolen their lives – right before their eyes.
And in a classic, cultural cliché - we blame the student debtor because they (and I include myself here) should have known better. Maybe we should have known better but I am not so sure anymore that we could have. The system is just not designed to tell you all these things. And besides, blaming the victim doesn’t change the reality of what is happening here and it will not change what will happen to the next crop of graduating college students, or all those that will certainly follow under the current system.
This game of loaning students money for degrees that will only take them down dead end roads where there dreams will die must end. There must also be an end to the enslavement of those already trapped by their student loans.
To every American, past, present and future – this system is so perverse that it is evil in the worst Machiavellian sense and I pray you have heard this cry for justice.
Bring back the same financial protections to student loan debtors that all other forms of loans have the right to. Consider forgiving these loans to stimulate the economy. Fight for new changes to the way we finance higher education and implement tough controls on colleges who sell degrees that are lemons.
Our future depends on this, now more than ever.
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