[Marie]

The federal government has managed to trap an entire generation of middle class, college educated Americans into indentured servitude by way of student loans. You can't default on student loans and, unlike any other type of debt, you can't get them discharged by declaring bankruptcy. Unlike any other default, a student loan default doesn't fall off your credit report after 7 years, and the federal government and private lenders are legally able to sue you FOREVER. It's not a matter of simply ignoring the phone calls from collections agencies or resigning yourself to the fact that your FICO score will be permanently f*cked, because the government will garnish your wages if you don't pony up.

What a boon for private lenders! What could be better than a loan on which the lendee can never default? The college loan scam will prove to be one of the most effective killers of the American middle class.

[mmasters]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Marie', 'T')he federal government has managed to trap an entire generation of middle class, college educated Americans into indentured servitude by way of student loans. You can't default on student loans and, unlike any other type of debt, you can't get them discharged by declaring bankruptcy. Unlike any other default, a student loan default doesn't fall off your credit report after 7 years, and the federal government and private lenders are legally able to sue you FOREVER. It's not a matter of simply ignoring the phone calls from collections agencies or resigning yourself to the fact that your FICO score will be permanently f*cked, because the government will garnish your wages if you don't pony up.

What a boon for private lenders! What could be better than a loan on which the lendee can never default? The college loan scam will prove to be one of the most effective killers of the American middle class.

[Specop_007]

Yep. You pay, or they take it out of your paycheck.
You WILL pay it.

Unless you move out of the country....

But dont get me started on student loans. An educated individual makes more money and is more productive then an uneducated individual (statistically). The government should want its people to be educated! Instead it makes it financially difficult to do so. Wonderful. Almsot as if the .gov wants a land filled with deadbeat brainless people.

[Pretorian]

If its so big and so bad, than just move to another country and forget about it. Who forced you take up loans anyway? There are free universities all over the world, its noone's fault you've decided to pay for something you could get for free and live lavishly while doing that.

[Marie]

I'm not complaining about my own situation as I managed to get a college degree with minimal loans. I'm merely making an observation and speculating as to the impact it is having/will have on social classes in America. For instance, I have a friend graduating this fall with a B.A. in English who will owe $100k in loans upon graduation. Another friend of mine is in medical school and will owe over $300k when all is said and done. And she wants to be a pediatrician!

Sure, there are cheap and free options, but there are also millions of people who have not availed themselves of these options. I am not sure that inflation will ease the burden, because won't the cost of basic necessities rise accordingly?

[Specop_007]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pretorian', 'I')f its so big and so bad, than just move to another country and forget about it. Who forced you take up loans anyway? There are free universities all over the world, its noone's fault you've decided to pay for something you could get for free and live lavishly while doing that.

[Tyler_JC]

The biggest scam isn't the fact that you can't default, it's that the government doesn't use its own credit to lend you the money!

The Feds can borrow literally trillions of dollars at 5% interest fixed for 30 years and yet if I want a student loan, I'm paying at least 8%.

(Hypothetically, the government could even be borrowing money at 2% from the Federal Reserve but I'm not going to go there)

Why doesn't the federal government borrow money and lend it out to students without using a middleman?

It's not like there's any risk involved because the federal government has the power to take the money out of our paychecks.

They can even run it as a profitable enterprise by lending us money at a percentage point above cost.

Instead they use private loan companies, driving up the costs for everyone and enriching the banking elite at the expense of BOTH the federal treasury (taxpayers) and students.

The federal student loan program is a subsidy for banks and it costs US taxpayers tens of billions of dollars a year in wasted interest payments.

It's a scam alright.

[Ainan]

I will leave University with a degree in IT and £20k of debt. On the plus side Its paid off more like a tax here in the UK which you only pay if you earn more than £15k a year.

The real trick with student loans is the leave the country before the global economy tanks and they can't get to you.

[cbxer55]

[mmasters]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Marie', 'I')'m not complaining about my own situation as I managed to get a college degree with minimal loans. I'm merely making an observation and speculating as to the impact it is having/will have on social classes in America. For instance, I have a friend graduating this fall with a B.A. in English who will owe $100k in loans upon graduation. Another friend of mine is in medical school and will owe over $300k when all is said and done. And she wants to be a pediatrician!

[mmasters]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('cbxer55', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pretorian', 'I')f its so big and so bad, than just move to another country and forget about it. Who forced you take up loans anyway? There are free universities all over the world, its noone's fault you've decided to pay for something you could get for free and live lavishly while doing that.

[Marie]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mmasters', '
')Sure it's essentially slavery and all orchestrated. Do you know that ALL money is created from debt and loaned into existance?

[Specop_007]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('cbxer55', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pretorian', 'I')f its so big and so bad, than just move to another country and forget about it. Who forced you take up loans anyway? There are free universities all over the world, its noone's fault you've decided to pay for something you could get for free and live lavishly while doing that.

[Tyler_JC]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Marie', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mmasters', '
')Sure it's essentially slavery and all orchestrated. Do you know that ALL money is created from debt and loaned into existance?

[Kingcoal]

The real problem is that a college education costs too much these days. On the other hand, it is a competitive market. For example, the local community college here; LCCC, offers bachelor's degrees for about $12K. Compare that to $80K+ from a private institution. Sure, it's just a community college, but I know sales people and even high level managers making over $200K with lowly county and state institution degrees. The way I look at it, a degree is nothing more than something that gets you in the door and says you are trainable. The rest is up to you. After a couple of years on the job, it matters less what school you went to and more what you've done since you graduated. I've read that about half of the CEO's in the country hold degrees from non-private institutions.

[Marie]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Kingcoal', 'T')he real problem is that a college education costs too much these days. On the other hand, it is a competitive market. For example, the local community college here; LCCC, offers bachelor's degrees for about $12K. Compare that to $80K+ from a private institution. Sure, it's just a community college, but I know sales people and even high level managers making over $200K with lowly county and state institution degrees. The way I look at it, a degree is nothing more than something that gets you in the door and says you are trainable. The rest is up to you. After a couple of years on the job, it matters less what school you went to and more what you've done since you graduated. I've read that about half of the CEO's in the country hold degrees from non-private institutions.

[Novus]

College is just another one of those pyramid schemes. People who went to college 40 years ago got their money's worth. People entering college now are getting ripped off because they are being educated in a system that has no future.

[aoeuhtns]

I'm glad the UC system is such a bargain - a great education for under $10k/year for residents. I didn't have to borrow a penny thanks to internships and research grants.

[Tyler_JC]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Novus', 'C')ollege is just another one of those pyramid schemes. People who went to college 40 years ago got their money's worth. People entering college now are getting ripped off because they are being educated in a system that has no future.

[roccman]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Marie', ' ') It's not a matter of simply ignoring the phone calls from collections agencies...