March 30, 2010

Diane Rehm Show NPR – Student Loan Overhaul 2010 Obama

NPR’s Diane Rehm and her guest discuss the new system of student loans sign into law by President Obama. A must listen for anyone considering student loans or already in them. Students and parents call in with their questions and for advice. Listen online or download the podcast.

Guests
Kim Clark: U.S. News and World Report
William Wells: Director of Financial Aid at Wake Forest University.
Nina Marks: Founder of Marks Counseling Associates, and the non-profit Collegiate Directions
James Boyle: President, College Parents of America
James Boyle: President, College Parents of America

Source: NPR.org

March 24, 2010

Student Wins in Supreme Court Case over Loans

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a student in a bankruptcy case involving student loans. If a lender fails to object in a timely manner to a bankruptcy plan they cannot later seek to collect debt.

The lender, United Student Aid Funds Inc., was notified repeatedly of the repayment plan in bankruptcy. It filed no objection, nor did it appeal the bankruptcy court order approving the plan.

Source: NPR Read or Listen to the Story

March 15, 2010

Connecticut might Forgive Student Debt for Green Jobs

Connecticut’s legislature is considering forgive as much as $2,500, or 5% of loans, for those who go to work in green technology and other industries. Students would have to earn a bachelor’s or associates degree. Then work in CT for at least 2 years. This is an effort to increase CT’s work force in high-growth green technologies.

March 11, 2010

Student Loan Industry Bailout – $112 Billion

The Department of Education estimates it will buy $112 billion in FFEL loans from private student loan companies. Under the Federal Family Education Loan program (FFEL) the  government assumes the risk of default, and pays the financial fees for student loans through private companies.

These private loans are also costing the government more:

The CBO found that compared to the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program, an alternative system in which the government just directly provides students with loans, FFEL loans cost the government 10 to 20 percent more (PDF). Eliminating the unjustified subsidies and government financial backing for the FFEL program by expanding the existing direct loan program is projected to save $67 billion over the next decade.

Read the entire story at FireDogLake.com:
$112 Billion Student Loan Industry Bailout a Lesson in Corporate Welfare

March 11, 2010

Obama’s Student Loan Overhaul in Trouble

New York Times reports student loan changes Obama is trying to get passed are endangered.

Democrats in the Senate, where the private student lending industry has strong allies, predicted on Wednesday night that the education bill would not be part of an expedited budget measure containing the final revisions to the health care legislation.

Mr. Obama’s plan would end a program in which the government pays private, for-profit student lending companies to make risk-free loans using taxpayer money. Instead, the proposed overhaul would broaden the government’s existing direct-lending program, saving billions of dollars that the president had proposed using to expand Pell grant scholarships for low-income students.

Read the full story here

March 6, 2010

Denied Professional License due to Student Debt

That’s right you can be denied a professional license for student debt.  Accreditation boards have denied licenses or renewals to lawyers, nurses and physicians.  Lynn O’Shaughnessy, of CBS Money Watch, sums it up with, “The judge’s decision made me wonder what’s next: Debtor prisons for delinquent student borrowers?” Read her full story

December 15, 2009

Spike in Defaults on Student Loans in NJ

Defaults on federal student loans spike over the past year for those students who left school in 2007. In one year the default rate increased by 83%. Read more

November 25, 2009

State Sued Over Student Loan Forgiveness by Dentist

A government agency in the state of Maine is being sued by a dentist after refusing to forgive her loans after she completed her time serving an under-served area in Maine. Read more

November 18, 2009

Frontline’s New Invesgitations on Credit Card Industr’

Frontline is releasing a new report on the Banks, Credit and The American Consumer. Some of the top authorities on consumer spending agreeded to be a part of this.  Watch it on PBS or Online November 24, 2009 at 9pm.  They will be investigating the history of credit card industry and proposals for reform.

Spread the words to friends, family, and co-workers.

via DemocracyNow.org – “The Card Game“

December 23, 2007

Student Debt: 42% Live “Paycheck to Paycheck”

From the Miami Herald the U.S. Department of Education of education reports that college debtors:

- 34 percent have sold possessions to make ends meet.
- 42 percent live “paycheck to paycheck”
- 39 percent say they will take more then 10 years to pay it all off.
- 27 percent put off medical or dental procedures.
- 48 percent suffer from anxiety and sleeplessness.
- 43 percent put off grad school.
- 47 percent say their families should have done more to save for college.

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Learn about rising student debt and practical solutions to this problem. There are several causes of student debt from loans to student credit cards. Each year we cover the average student loan debt including the latest statistics for 2008, 2009, and 2010.

There are things to get student debt relief including student loan consolidations, modification, deferment, and forbearance. All options should be explored to avoid a lifetime of student debt.