Mad as heck about student loans...

[IamOld]

Guys, if this is in the wrong place I'm sorry, but I thought I'd share this...it seems that the Consumer Protection Bureau is at least seemingly doing something re private student loans.

http://www.consumerfinance.gov/chime...student-loans/

Then as I read through the comments I get - oh what about personal responsibility bul**it - that college is a choice - what an idiot. Does this country want to compete in the world or not? This is a simple means of social control.

All I can hope for is that when my spouse's 13 is over, the student loan system may have crumbled under its own poop.

There is a fellow I work with that defaulted "strategically" on his fed student loan - so they garnish 15% of his disposable income per check which is LESS!!! than what he'd be paying otherwise.

I hope to be somewhere in five years where I can do that!!!

sorry - I'm just really really steamed about this...

[GoingDown]

Guys, if this is in the wrong place I'm sorry, but I thought I'd share this...it seems that the Consumer Protection Bureau is at least seemingly doing something re private student loans.

http://www.consumerfinance.gov/chime...student-loans/

Then as I read through the comments I get - oh what about personal responsibility bul**it - that college is a choice - what an idiot. Does this country want to compete in the world or not? This is a simple means of social control.

All I can hope for is that when my spouse's 13 is over, the student loan system may have crumbled under its own poop.

There is a fellow I work with that defaulted "strategically" on his fed student loan - so they garnish 15% of his disposable income per check which is LESS!!! than what he'd be paying otherwise.

I hope to be somewhere in five years where I can do that!!!

sorry - I'm just really really steamed about this...

One of our BKForum's best posters also did this, and it was a very clever move.

It reduced the amount that other creditors could get from wage garnishment, since they can only garnish 25% at a time, and with 15% already spoken for, they could only garnish 10%.

Now, for those with less income, I would suggest going the Income Contingent Repayment Plan route or the Income Based Repayment Plan route, by getting a Direct Consolidation Loan from the U.S. Department of Education. It could get your monthly payment down to as low as zero dollars per month, if you earn at or below the poverty level. If you earn more, it is still usually fairly reasonable in terms of monthly payments, up to a certain point where it would be cheaper to just strategically default on it and let them garnish 15%.

I recently heard that the garnishment amount was reduced to 10% for student loans, but I have not yet confirmed that.

[jacko]

Because we allow this to continue. The European people wouldn't allow this.

Guys, if this is in the wrong place I'm sorry, but I thought I'd share this...it seems that the Consumer Protection Bureau is at least seemingly doing something re private student loans.

http://www.consumerfinance.gov/chime...student-loans/

Then as I read through the comments I get - oh what about personal responsibility bul**it - that college is a choice - what an idiot. Does this country want to compete in the world or not? This is a simple means of social control.

All I can hope for is that when my spouse's 13 is over, the student loan system may have crumbled under its own poop.

There is a fellow I work with that defaulted "strategically" on his fed student loan - so they garnish 15% of his disposable income per check which is LESS!!! than what he'd be paying otherwise.

I hope to be somewhere in five years where I can do that!!!

sorry - I'm just really really steamed about this...

[GoGoGophers]

I was snooping around the studentloanborrowerassistance dot org website this morning. One of my goals this year is to get all of my final documents in order so my family knows what to do with my (very modest) estate if anything should happen to me. I wanted to learn a little bit about how government-backed student loans are handled.

Government-backed student loans are discharged upon death. The really surprising thing that I learned: private student loans are not. They survive a borrow's death and can make a claim against the decedent's estate. Amazing.

Just thought I'd share, since it seems to be one of those little-known, hardly-delightful, facts about private student loans.

[kornellred]

The only problem with your friend's 15 percent garnishment strategy is that it will be there virtually FOREVER. The penalties never stop, and the fed has infinite patience.

Unless your friend is hoping against hope that the whole deal will just evaporate.

[banca rotta]

Guys, if this is in the wrong place I'm sorry, but I thought I'd share this...it seems that the Consumer Protection Bureau is at least seemingly doing something re private student loans.

http://www.consumerfinance.gov/chime...student-loans/

Then as I read through the comments I get - oh what about personal responsibility bul**it - that college is a choice - what an idiot. Does this country want to compete in the world or not? This is a simple means of social control.

All I can hope for is that when my spouse's 13 is over, the student loan system may have crumbled under its own poop.

There is a fellow I work with that defaulted "strategically" on his fed student loan - so they garnish 15% of his disposable income per check which is LESS!!! than what he'd be paying otherwise.

I hope to be somewhere in five years where I can do that!!!

sorry - I'm just really really steamed about this...

The debate with the personal responsibility thing vs. whether America can compete doesn't make much sense.

Does anyone really go to college to help America compete? I doubt it. College is just another business decision that some people win at and most people lose.

If college pays for itself then it's good. If not then it was a mistake.

[shark66]

The debate with the personal responsibility thing vs. whether America can compete doesn't make much sense.

Does anyone really go to college to help America compete? I doubt it. College is just another business decision that some people win at and most people lose.

If college pays for itself then it's good. If not then it was a mistake.

Quoted for truth, plain and simple.

It's the elementary and high-school education in this country that is so sub-par when compared to the rest of the civilized world that it's not even funny.

College degrees are an over-rated hype. Take it from someone who has three different ones received in three different countries, including a Master's that my employer paid for in this neck of the woods.

Obtaining it was a joke.

American education is an oxymoron.

My $0.02 only...

Good luck to us all.

[bladerunner]

student loans can and will take 25% out of your social security even ssd...happened to my brother , who flat lined for 3 minutes and survived with memory loss among other ailments.(doesn't remember one class he took in college)

put college tuition on credit cards if possible...that's what i did...

[SweetGeorgia]

OMG, bladerunner, that is truly awful.

The student loan thing, especially private loans, is infuriating. They limit the forbearances one can get for economic hardship or unemployment - yet the country doesn't seem to limit the length of time we can be in a recession. I consider myself lucky to have gone to school some time ago, and to have only taken out Direct Loans (say what you want about government inefficiency, but the Dept of Education is SO MUCH BETTER than private servicers). I'm still angry that of the huge amount of debt we discharged in C7, I still have most of "my" debt (i.e., student loans).

As to national competitiveness, it should be obvious that some of the smartest professionals/researchers in this country wouldn't have been able to get an education without student loans. I totally agree about the importance of primary/secondary schooling, of course. But if we limited higher education to those who can afford to write a check for it, we're going to leave out a lot of our best. Smart countries don't let that happen.

[shark66]

OMG, bladerunner, that is truly awful.
But if we limited higher education to those who can afford to write a check for it, we're going to leave out a lot of our best. Smart countries don't let that happen.

I'd be extremely careful when labelling other countries "smart" in this respect...history and pure inertia have a lot to do with how education is viewed overseas...

You'd have a *very* difficult time selling the concept of higher taxes, big and powerful government, loss of interest deduction from mortgages on one's tax refunds etc. to American people...all of that in order to make education and/or healthcare available to everyone...

My $0.02 only...

Good luck to us all.

[SweetGeorgia]

I actually think the U.S. has traditionally been very smart about making education available to smart kids of modest means. Land-grant universities, the service academies, the GI Bill, and yes - student loans.

Our country has benefited tremendously from the contributions of those students. They are a natural resource; like all natural resources they require some investment to yield full potential.

I don't know where I said anything about revoking mortgage deductions to guarantee education and healthcare for everyone. (Although, while we're at it, European-style socialism doesn't scare me one bit. Banana-republic style plutocracy and feudalism does, though.)

Will the U.S. be competitive when college is only open to the Paris Hiltons of the world? Think of all the money we'd save!

[jacko]

How about integrated vocational schools at the HS level for those who do not see college as their calling?

I actually think the U.S. has traditionally been very smart about making education available to smart kids of modest means. Land-grant universities, the service academies, the GI Bill, and yes - student loans.

Our country has benefited tremendously from the contributions of those students. They are a natural resource; like all natural resources they require some investment to yield full potential.

I don't know where I said anything about revoking mortgage deductions to guarantee education and healthcare for everyone. (Although, while we're at it, European-style socialism doesn't scare me one bit. Banana-republic style plutocracy and feudalism does, though.)

Will the U.S. be competitive when college is only open to the Paris Hiltons of the world? Think of all the money we'd save!

[SweetGeorgia]

YES.

Part of the reason I'm so annoyed with the whole "if you don't like student loans, then don't go to college!" line is that there isn't much choice these days. It's really hard to make a living on a high school diploma. This is particularly true for women and minorities.

Actually, I'd love to see ALL high school graduates emerge with a marketable skill or two. And I wish those classes were offered by real colleges (not just the predatory fly-by-night ones). Even college graduates should have something to fall back on. (My first job out of college depended entirely on my typing speed. Thank god I took that typing elective in high school!)