Topic: Student Loan Debt Relief - Why no bankruptcy option?

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josh
Posts: 570
Joined: 15 Aug 2011, 02:39

Topic: Student Loan Debt Relief - Why no bankruptcy option?

Post by josh »

Topic: Student Loan Debt Relief - Why no bankruptcy option?




Here is a recent article: http://www.blacklistednews.com/Obama_Ad ... 8/Y/M.html




So, the premise is that when we go to school and take out student loans we are expecting to be able to find employment adequate to pay off these student loans, but why are we expected to still pay off these student loans if the very system / corporate / banking structure / government that we placed our trust in to be able to both provide education and finance our education, turns around and outsources our jobs and destroys our standard of living through monetary policy designed to help only those at the very top thus disabling job seekers from getting adequate employment? Also, how has SLs with no bankruptcy option contributed to an astronomical rise in tuitions thus creating even larger debts to paid off for hopeless job seekers in a economy that has very little viable job opportunities? Why not have free education or at least bankruptcy options with student loans? Would simply having a bankruptcy option keep tuition costs down thus reducing the amount of student debt? Why not have bankruptcy options correlate with current job market opportunities wherein when times are good bankruptcy is more difficult and while times are hard, bankruptcy is easy, thus placing responsibity on the system to keep good jobs in place. And finally, is the whole college and student loan system a big banking scam? How many trillions of dollars are owed with literally our life blood due to this scam? What do the current bankruptcy laws show about our system and who it is geared to serve and protect - the bankers or the people? What would a system that was really geared toward serving the people really look like? Would there even be student loans in the first place? If we had an LIG, how many would opt out of education and student loans (if they existed) of whom are otherwise making the choice to become straddled in debt and then find themselves in the hopelessness of having no viable job options, once out of school, as in this system as it stands now? How many professionals, like doctors and lawyers, find themselves unhappy with their career choices only to have to keep on working to pay off their massive SLs? How much stress does this cause people of which causes health problems, depression, etc. Is this really living? Do we really need to have this pre-programmed idea of always paying off our debts (as if this is a reflection of our character) even if it causes life long misery for some?
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CerisePoolman
Posts: 1246
Joined: 15 Sep 2011, 19:24

Re: Topic: Student Loan Debt Relief - Why no bankruptcy option?

Post by CerisePoolman »

http://activistsjourneytolife.blogspot. ... aking.html

http://www.blacklistednews.com/Obama_Ad ... 8/Y/M.html

The Obama administration moved to block a bankruptcy court from erasing federal student loan debt, saying such an allowance would jeopardize the fiscal stability of the loan program.
U.S. Department of Education attorneys, intervening in the case of a 65-year-old man seeking to erase his student loans in bankruptcy, filed a motion urging the court to stand firm with borrowers who claim they are in a dire financial situation. Attorneys argued that Robert Murphy of Massachusetts, unemployed and of retirement age, has plenty of chances to go back to work or hit the jackpot.
No student debtors should get a break unless there is a "certainty of hopelessness" with circumstances that have a "total incapacity" to change, court documents said said.
"An individual's economic circumstances may change over time," attorneys said. "Improvements in the national economy may offer new employment prospects, changes in family circumstances may reduce the number of the debtor's dependents, a spouse may enter or reenter the workforce, or the debtor may benefit from an inheritance or other windfall."


So it seems like taking out a student loan in USA is equivalent to signing your soul away to the Devil himself - there is no way out of the contract except for death or paying in full.

It doesn't help that a tertiary education is essentially worthless - but hey, at least you'll have your degree and you can show everyone your framed certificate proving that you're super smart. Right?

Let's look at this whole loan thing for a moment: The US department of Education claims that by allowing debts to be wiped you risk the collapse of the loan program. Now I don't have all the facts and figures in front of me, though I don't see how that is really the issue. What we should actually be questioning is the design of this system at the core - why is anyone at all in the position of firstly, having to pay for their education at all (an effective education essentially being the creation of opportunity for a person by empowering them to develop themselves in a particular skill that will benefit society as a whole (well that's what it's supposed to be used for)) thereby excluding those who are unable to pay or secure a loan. Secondly, the reality that once you have sold your soul to the devil you are very unlikely to find a job that will allow you to pay him back is completely backwards. What does that say about our priorities? Sure, you can have an education, but you'll be paying for it for the rest of your life because there's no way you're going to be able to get a job that will provide you with a comfortable life, free of debt? Something is seriously wrong there.

Young adults should be supported to fulfill their potential, not smushed into a gooey paste upon entering adulthood. There is nothing sustainable about the way we live - and this can be reflected into how the mind functions as well: The mind relies on the generation of positive and negative energies to fuel itself, but that energy has consequences on who you are and on the state of your body. It manifests as inner demons taking over who you could have been and as physical ills and illnesses debilitating your body. The backbone of our society - the system around which it functions - is well and truly broken. There is no way that it can sustain itself as well as create a life in which every single living being is taken care of - and when you look at it, that's all that really important: creating a life that is best for all and supports every living being to reach their utmost potential.
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viktor
Posts: 1394
Joined: 13 Jun 2011, 20:50

Re: Topic: Student Loan Debt Relief - Why no bankruptcy option?

Post by viktor »

Student Debt – A Crime Against Human Rights
https://functionaleconomy.wordpress.com ... an-rights/

Student Debt is one of those things in society we all tend to take for granted. Most that go to college or university are required to in-debt themselves in order to pay for tuition and living expenses. Some countries, like Sweden, do not have tuition fees – though the majority of students are still required to take out loans to cover their living costs.

Young people in this world find themselves between a rock and a hard place. Either you take out hefty loans, make it through university, and potentially land a well-paid job afterwards. Or you come to terms with maybe having a low paid job and no debt. Both of these options are completely horrendous. To be forced into debt to make a life for yourself is a crime against human rights – and yet – this is what young people are required to do.

What should be happening is that young people growing up in this world are nurtured and receive all the support and assistance they require to make the best out of their lives. Because if we cripple an entire generation with debts, imposing unto them the choice of either debt serfdom, or unemployment, we are most certainly creating immense and global consequences in the future. Not only are we creating class warfare, we are also creating generational warfare – were those that are older and have had the opportunity to build a life for themselves without debt will be the target of resentment and blame of the younger generations.

However, one of the most fascinating points that this point with the student debt shows is how we as human beings really have a major issue when it comes to caring for other people. Because how many of us are not benefiting from student debt? Do you for example know what sort of assets your pension funds have invested in? Most certainly big parts of their investment portfolio are made up out of student debt bonds – and would you be willing to give up your pension to release students from their debt? And really – at the end of the day – this is the question we as Humanity face: Are we willing to care for another as we care for our children and ourselves? Are we willing to give up our self-interest to stand for a solution that will benefit all people, youngsters as well as old people, and are we willing to give up some of our luxury to achieve that outcome?

Debt is artificial, which means that its existence is a mental abstract creation. Debt exists in databases and registers made up out of numbers and names – to remove these numbers would be very easy. We could decide today as a society to not anymore accept and allow debt to be part of our lives. Instead of debt, we could decide to give our future generations the best possible conditions to create themselves a life of fulfillment, joy and happiness. We do hold that power – so the question we should ask ourselves is: Why are we not creating the world that we want to see?

And – Why not take it even further? Money is artificial, which means that its existence is a mental abstract creation. Money exists in databases and registers, called banks, that are made up out of numbers and names – to change these numbers would be very easy. Why then not change the numbers a little, so our youths do not have to go through their lives paying debts for which they got things that should have been theirs as part their HUMAN and UNCONDITIONAL RIGHTS. See, life, this world, our monetary system, our way of doing things, it is not set in stone – there are many solutions to the problems we face – though to see them – we have to let go of our small, confined and limited world view – our self-interest – and start seeing our reality from a greater, and more expansive perspective – and ask ourselves the daring question: What is Best For All?

I am one vote for world equality, and I am one vote for a Living Income Guaranteed – because I want what is best for youths as well as elders. I want, for all those that wish to experience higher education, to be able to do that, without incurring any debts – and I want all children to be certain that when they grow up – they will be embraced into a society that cares for and tends to them – and want what is best for them. We can create this world – and it all begins with us letting go of our self-interest and developing that real and genuine care for others.
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