Comments on The General Blog of Crime: New Loan Program Encourages Irresponsibility

One of the biggest problems with the student loan ...

2012-01-18T11:56:19.126-05:00

One of the biggest problems with the student loan system is that it is constructed in a way that makes it impossible to pay back loans. First of all, there needs to be more checks and balances when it comes to signing off on student loan "awards." When you're buying a home or a car, you have to do more than just sign a promissary note. That's where I got in trouble. I thought getting my education was the most important thing in my life at the time so I took what I could get. I came from a middle-to-low income family. My single mother couldn't contribute to my education so I needed enough to go to school and pay for books and sometimes housing even though I worked at the same time. I definitely made some mistakes by borrowing too much. But now that I am in this situation -- as are so many others -- the biggest problem I see is with the interest rates. The fact that interest rates for many are 6% or more is ridiculous. You could get a car or home loan for much less. I strongly believe there should be a cap at 2%. I realize it's a business -- fine, that's life -- but when it comes down to opportunity and equality that's class warfare. Why should the same degree that my classmate cost me $200,000 more in interest? Plus, if you come into some sort of hardship (hello, recession) and ask for a forbearance, the interest still accrues on your student loan. So say you have $100k outstanding, about $500 in interest gets lopped on top of the principal until you end the forbearance. It makes it impossible for a person to get out of that situation. I'm happy to pay what I owe, my fair share - but by golly, don't make it so I can never get out of the hole.

People have to be more responsible with the amount...

2011-11-03T08:22:51.333-04:00

People have to be more responsible with the amount of debt they voluntarily take on. That is the bottom line. We need to live within our means. How much disposable income to most of us waste on cable TV, cell phones, flat screen tv's, cars (that go beyond what we 'need' to get around), etc. If one doesn't want to take on student loans or at least seriously limit it, do 2 years at a community college; work fulltime and go to school at the same time. No one is 'forced' to go to a $50k/year institution. I left my undergrad with $25k in student loans (this was 1994). Probably $10k of it I could have done without had I decided to work while I was in the school year my last two years. Would I have had less fun? Heck yes! Could I have done it, heck yes! So, a good deal of my student loan debt was irresponsibility on my part - irresponsibility I continue to pay for (literally) today. For many of us, a sizable amount of our debt is debt we voluntarily bring on ourselves.

Everyone is having problems with money today... It...

2011-11-02T22:27:17.797-04:00

Everyone is having problems with money today... It's no wonder stuff like these suddenly emerge.. What will happen to the children in the future if all they are left with are debts???

-------------------------------
Protect yourself. Wear a ballistic vest.