by Alan Collinge, activist-turned-pundit (I wrote about him here) of Student Loan Justice, in the Baltimore Sun:
...
Judging from the weight that Sallie Mae - otherwise known as the SLM Corp. -
throws around inside the Capital Beltway, one has to wonder if Congress has been
fooled as well. Since its privatization began in 1997, Sallie Mae has led a relentless
lobbying effort that has stripped nearly all consumer protections from student
borrowers.
To put it in perspective, Sallie Mae executives gave more than twice as much
to elected officials as Fannie Mae, a mortgage holding company roughly 20 times
larger. And the payoff was huge. Refinancing is now illegal (consolidation is
allowed one loan at a time, but only with the original lender). Bankruptcy is
now off the table for federal and private loans. Huge penalties and fees are
permitted on delinquent debt.
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3 comments:
STOP WHINING! Many of us had student loans and they helped us pay for college, grad school, etc.
Now we have jobs and are paying back our student loans!
Yeah, maybe I had to forgo the purchase of a Walkman (e.g., Ipod equivalent) or buy a used car instead of a new one - but it was worth it.
I'm tired of people complaining about their sense of entitlement to a free ride!
Did you also have to walk up a hill both ways in the snow to get to school?
It's not a sense of entitlement, it's a sense of inclusion. A degree in social work costs the same as an engineering or business degree but the starting salary for a social worker is much less than that of a vehicle design engineer. So, for almost the same cost for education one will earn a lesser return on investment, financially.
Should we then deter students from enrolling in degree/career choices because they may endure financial hardship due to lower starting salary?
By no means am I saying that the gov should give a free education to everyone. I am suggesting that there should be a link between student loan repayment to a grad's income. Which I've been told increases dramatically from high school grad to college grad. So, if the gov was not so shortsighted they would see that if it provides more aid more students would chose to go to college and eventually earn higher wages to which increases income tax revenue.
If the gov is so intent on everyone going to college, students should not be punished for not choosing high paying careers. The gov should not pad it's pocketbook by preying on students who don't have the means to pay for an education up front!
The fundamental premise of this book, blog, etc. is that somehow this generation is so put upon compared to prior generations. Give me a break.
I'm all for sliding repayment scales for lower paying jobs, but what I don't understand is the idea of students as victims with banks and the government as culprits. It's nice and dramatic, and may sell books, but people make choices and need to take responsibility for the choices they make.
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