Via this weekend's WSJ...
* * *
* * *
The Obama administration is moving to ease access to
student loans for parents with damaged credit, a policy reversal that could
saddle poor families with piles of debt but also boost college enrollment.
* TOTALLY IRRESPONSIBLE.
* PLUS... THE GOVERNMENT SHOULDN'T BE INVOLVED IN THE
STUDENT LOAN BUSINESS IN THE FIRST PLACE!
Under a plan likely to take effect next year, the
Education Department would check the past two years of a borrower's credit,
instead of the current standard of five, for blemishes such as delinquencies or
debts in collection. Also, any delinquent debts below $2,085 would be
overlooked; currently, delinquencies of any amount are grounds for rejected
applications.
* GEEZUS...
Supporters of the plan say the loan program, known as
Parent Plus, is increasingly needed to help poor families who lack savings
afford the college of their choice.
* AND HOW THEN ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE
DEBT...???
* FOLKS... THIS ISN'T ABOUT THE KIDS... IT'S NOT ABOUT
THE PARENTS... IT'S ABOUT FUNNELING MONEY INTO THE COLLEGES!
Without these loans, undergraduates are restricted to
Stafford loans — capped at $57,500 for life — or private-sector loans, which
generally go only to borrowers with the best credit.
* HELL... $57,500 IS INSANE! IT SHOULD BE NO MORE THAN
$20,000 - FIVE GRAND A YEAR FOR FOUR YEARS OF UNDERGRAD. (GRAD SCHOOL IS A
SEPARATE ISSUE.)
Consumer groups warn the new standards could bury
low-income families under debt for years...
* C*O*U*L*D...?!?!
...repeating a pattern that played out as banks loosened
mortgage standards in the run-up to the housing crash.
* FUCKIN' OBAMA...
* OH... AND BTW...
Student debt can't be discharged in bankruptcy.
Sue Hart of Flushing, Mich., is an example of the risks
involved in such loose standards. The 54-year-old was living off of disability
income in 2008 when she and her husband, who is retired, took out Parent Plus
loans to cover college expenses for their daughter. Months later they filed for
bankruptcy protection because, Ms. Hart said, they couldn't keep up with an
auto loan and mortgage debt.
* WHY DIDN'T THEIR DAUGHTER JUST GO TO NEAR-FREE
COMMUNITY COLLEGE - AT LEAST FOR THE FIRST TWO YEARS? TOO "GOOD" FOR
COMMUNITY COLLEGE?
* SEE WHAT I MEAN, FOLKS... IT'S AN ENTIRE INSANE SYSTEM!
AND IT'S A SYSTEM THAT TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE STUPID AND IRRESPONSIBLE!
Still, the couple continued to borrow student loans over
the next two years and now owe the government $36,640. "I always told her
we would help," Ms. Hart says of her daughter. "We can't pay for it,
but I said we'd help, and she knew that she would kind of take it over once she
graduated."
* THE KID IS A DIRTBAG AND THE PARENTS ARE FOOLS.
But their daughter, who went on to earn a master's degree
and owes $100,000 in student loans herself, can't make the payments.
* MAKE THAT A DIRTBAG DEADBEAT!
She is earning $12 an hour doing catering instead of
working in her field of social policy.
* MAKE HER AN UNMOTIVATED DIRTBAG DEADBEAT! (AND PROBABLY
A DEMOCRAT!)
The debate reflects the administration's tough balancing
act as it seeks to boost college enrollment...
* TILL EVER WAITRESS HAS A USELESS COLLEGE DEGREE AND
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS SHE CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY BACK!
(AND IN DIRTBAG'S CASE... A MASTER'S DEGREE!)
Student debt has doubled since 2007 to $1.1 trillion,
according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, becoming the second-highest
form of consumer credit after mortgages.
* THAT'S SURE TO END WELL...
* NOT!
Supporters say default rates among parents are relatively
low and that debt amounts are typically reasonable. Some three million Parent
Plus borrowers now owe $62 billion, or an average of $20,667.
* THAT'S A FAIRLY CHEAP CAR! THAT'S 1/3rd OF A 20% DOWN
PAYMENT ON A $300,000 HOME - NOT EXACTLY A MANSION WHERE I LIVE!
The administration estimates the changes will allow an additional
370,000 borrowers a year to receive loans.
* FULL SPEED AHEAD! AIM FOR THE ROCKS! THROW THOSE
LIFE-VESTS OVER THE SIDE, FOLKS AND PUNCH HOLES IN THE LIFEBOATS!
* FOLKS... THIS IS INSANITY...!!!
The administration's plan follows heavy lobbying from
historically black colleges...
* LOWER... YOUR... TUITION!
* INSTITUTE... PAY... CUTS...!
* REIN... IN... EXPENSES!
"In our system, almost everybody except rich people
are dependent upon federal financial aid to educate their children," said
David Swinton, president of Benedict College, a historically black school in
Columbia, S.C.
* SO CHANGE THE SYSTEM!
* AND WHILE WE'RE AT IT... LET'S STOP EQUATING
"EDUCATE" WITH "CREDENTIALIZE."
After the 2011 tightening of lending standards, the share
of applicants at Benedict approved for Parent Plus loans fell to 24% from 43%.
School revenue declined by more than $50 million, or 20%, in the first year,
Mr. Swinton said.
* AND...??? (THAT SOUNDS LIKE GOOD NEWS TO ME!)
A report from the United Negro College Fund, which
represents historically black schools, said the number of students at such
schools with Parent Plus loans fell by 17,000, or 45%, in 2012-13 from the
prior year. Those colleges lost $155 million in funds from the program, the
group said.
* TIME TO CUT EXPENSES!
The share of the three million borrowers defaulting
within three years, while relatively low, has doubled since 2009 to just over
4%.
* "DOUBLED." DURING THE OBAMA YEARS.
(*GNASHING MY TEETH*)
That figure is artificially low because the government
has allowed parents to postpone payments while their children are in school.
* THE WORD IS "CONSPIRACY."
Credit counselors say they have seen a rise in borrowers
who took out large sums despite being on limited incomes.
* HMM... ANY GUESSES ON HOW THIS IS GONNA PLAY OUT...?
"This debt will remain a huge problem for the rest
of their lives," said Toby Merrill, head of the Project on Predatory
Student Lending at Harvard University's Legal Services Center.
* AGAIN... IT'S NOT ABOUT THEM... NOT ABOUT THE
STUDENTS... NOT ABOUT THE PARENTS... NOT ABOUT SOCIETY AS A WHOLE. IT'S ABOUT
THE ELITES... THE INTELLIGENSIA... FLEECING THE YOUNG, FOOLHARDY, AND NAIVE -
AND THEIR PARENTS.
For Melanie Daye, a 51-year-old real-estate agent from
Boston, the reward was worth the risk. Ms. Daye, who says she earned a
bachelor's degree but had to work throughout school...
* POOR BABY... HAD TO WORK THROUGH SCHOOL...
* JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY... WHAT DID DAYE EARN HER
BACHELOR'S IN?
...took out $130,000 in loans to help her twin sons
attend college. Both earned degrees and now have jobs — as a signal man for a commuter railroad and
the other as a county corrections officer.
* AND EXPLAIN TO ME... WHAT ABOUT BEING A COMMUTER
RAILROAD SIGNAL MAN OR COUNTRY CORRECTIONS OFFICER REQUIRES A COLLEGE DEGREE...
LET ALONE A COLLEGE DECREE COSTING AT LEAST $65,000 (HALF OF THE $130,000
BORROWED TO SEND TWO "KIDS" TO COLLEGE?)
While she hopes she will be able to pay off the debt, she
said, "I wanted them to have a college experience because I never had it,
like living on campus and all that."
2 comments:
Oops! Forgot to embed the link! Here it is:
http://online.wsj.com/articles/parents-poised-to-gain-easier-access-to-college-loans-1410542622
The endoctrination continues. Unfortunately, we both have relatives that have used student loan money to purchase cars or pay expenses unrelated to school. They see it as free money. I don't think most ever started with an intention to repay.
I worked full time while in college. David worked full time while earning his certification. His parents contributed nothing to his tuition. My aunt saved our whole lives to pay ours in cash each semester. David made payments while in school and paid off his small loan as well.
I have to wonder about higher education when universities aren't even churning out folks smart enough to realize there are no jobs jn their field of study.
It's a racket. Eventually, a "progressive" will forgive student loans (already been talked about) burdening several MORE generations because nobody thinks ahead.
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