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President Obama wants to help with your student loans
By Virginia SmithOctober 26th, 2011, 3:15 pmComments (40)
Barack Obama has unveiled a new program meant to ease the burden of student-loan debt, and likely also to appease the scores of unemployed or underemployed recent graduates currently Occupying Wall Street.
Originally meant to begin in 2014 but pushed up to start this year, the initiative will cap monthly loan payments at ten percent of the debtor's current income so that graduates can, say, afford to live somewhere other than their parents' basements. Plus, if the loans still aren't paid off after twenty years, the debt will just go away. Forever!
"These are real savings that will help these graduates get started in their careers and help them make ends meet," said education secretary Arne Duncan.
Seeing as no one seems to be able to find a job and the collective student-loan debt in the U.S. hovers around $1 trillion, yes, this is a pretty big help. Maybe it's time for me to head to grad school just for the hell of it?
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Commentarium (40 Comments)
Wow...I mean, as a person with heaps and heaps of student loans, it is hard to not love this shiny golden ticket. But having it disappear after 20 years seems, I don't know, irresponsible? Not sure how to feel about this.
What you've got to remember is that, if you haven't earned enough to pay it off within 20 years even at the maximum rate of 10% of your income, you probably never will. So rather than continue to burden you until the day you die, the 20 year break could be a second chance for someone who has ostensibly had 20 years of failure.
If you haven't paid it off after 20 yrs, you've made some bad decisions.
"If you haven't paid it off after 20 yrs, you've made some bad decisions."
Yeah, like choosing a career prior to the mass outsourcing of that same career by those who already got theirs. Get fucking real.
Or choosing an unrealistic career
@Scott - Yes, a bad career choice would be a bad choice.
Who is Publius?
Also, upon reading the original article, it doesn't say anything about the 2o-year forgiveness.
And this only applies to new loans. So I'm still fucked.
Not as badly as those looking for loans in the future. The cost of all the forgiven loans will be factored into the cost of the new ones.
I don't get why people need to move out from their parent's basements?
As students.
so *graduates* can move out of their parents basements. they are no longer students once theyve graduated.
"Maybe it's time for me to head to grad school just for the hell of it? "
Or maybe just get a bachelor's in English, if we're talking about "just for the hell of it" majors.
You underestimate the impact of the vernacular in a writer's arsenal of expression.
Also, lay off the English majors. That's not the most useless major by a long shot.
True. The most used line at work for a cultural studies major at work is, "Do you want fries with that?" For an English major, it's, "Do you want whipped cream on your Frappacino?"
You know what? Fuck critical thinking all together. Critical thinking and the arts are for pussies. If I had my way, paved roads would be outlawed and we would all be required to drive 4x4 vehicles on dirt roads!
What a great president.
Some states also provide loan forgiveness. Ohio will erase your debt, from being a student, after 10 years if you work in a state position, or anything funded by the state. I believe.
But you do actually have to do something, right? Once again, people who work will have to pay for somebody else who spent $100k to get a degree in French Lit. Thanks, libs.
You're welcome!
Kids get all the perks.
It only applies to Federal loans. Not private loans. It's unlikely that someone would have 100k purely in Federal loans - especially since they cap the Federal loans you can get at a somewhat reasonable amount.
Actually, it's a BAD time to go to grad school, since Congress just eliminated subsidized graduate loans in favor of saving the Pell grant for undergraduates.
Pretty common to have over 100k (often over 200k) in federal debt if you went to medical school.
What the man wants is your vote. That's all.
Well in that case, what a dick!
What the man wants is your vote. That's all.
Good point
Please say it again.
"Plus, if the loans still aren't paid off after twenty years, the debt will just go away. Forever!" thereby piling on to the already out of control deficit spending in Washington. Typical liberal policy based on emotional fantasyland economics.
As opposed the Laffer curve, supply side bullshit that has been spewn by the Republican right since Reagan.
I don't necessarily advocate for many of the right-wing economic models either, but what's going on right now is absolutely disastrous. I fail to understand how anyone with a quarter of a brain can think that this level of spending beyond our means is a good thing.
This only kicks in for government loans beginning 2012. And I don't think that taking the attitude of "maybe you should go to back to grad school" is a good one. It's like saying your credit card interest went down a point so now go on a shopping spree.
Will my loan go away n 3yrs
you guys are ridiculas. Students right now and trying to better themselves they are your children, friends, sisters and brothers. Do you not understand the cost of an education these days? maybe you losers should go to scholl and learn something and stop talking shot because we student are finally getting a dam break! im sure if we dont pay we will wont get income tax checks and the goverment will find a way. STOP BEING SELFISH ASSHOLES.
You're the one who wants money that you didn't earn. Who is the stupid a-hole? You want money, earn it.
I have no idea what OWS wants. Isn't it obvious with my comments?
A good many vaulalbes you've given me.
School should be available to everyone and structured based on ability. Bring on the socialism and save this sinking country. Give us healthcare. Raise our taxes and figure it out. I'll be watching it all happen from Europe where it already works.