<p>“Ah, so you agree that what you are really talking about is the default rate of minorities going to vo tech schools and NOT the traditional college/university student (minorities included)”</p>
<p>Essentially in agreement, although I would tend to view the population attending vo techs as being of economic class rather than minority. Because if they are considered part of a class they are certainly not a small proportion of the population. </p>
<p>“Second, I still maintain that all that entails is at most around $16,000 of debt over 4 years. Since most vo tech degrees or certificates (more likely) don’t take anywhere near 4 years to complete, what you are really talking about is a much smaller amount of loan debt, shall we say $7,000? The stuff they sent us for our kids seemed to indicate you could only borrow around $3500/yr the first two years. So, $7,000 of loan debt for vo tech school.
Tell me what trades these vo tech schools train these kids for where they cannot pay off a $7,000 loan over 10 years at a ridiculously low interest rate.”</p>
<p>The problem here is not in the initial loan amounts. The problem has resulted from in the stripping of normal consumer protections from student loans. A few deferments, or late payments are enough for these loan amounts to substantially increase. And adding to the problem are the policies within the USDOE and sweetheart lobby deals with congress which have allowed the big loan companies to charge excessive enhanced fees. As noted earlier and openly admitted to by the CEO’s of these companies the fee enhancements are a major element to their strategy. SMC alone has admitted to 200%+ fee increases since 2001. </p>
<p>And the populations attending CC’s and trade schools will, due to economic troubles fall very quickly into the paradigm wherein these fee enhancements take over. And if they go even temporarily into default, its not unknown for the collection fees and refinancing to increase the original amount by 30%.
And in some cases, even when they are not in default they are reported as such to the US government. Several of the larger companies have been caught pulling the little trick of reporting to the US government deferments which came back into into payment as mediated defaults. </p>
<p>And because of the unique and abusive collections tactics allowed the loan companies (well in excess of any other sector of the financial industry) they have little need to work with borrowers in trouble. Even if they themselves were instrumental in causing the problems with 'fee enhancement". There is good cause for Harvard Laws Professor Elizabeth Warren to describe the debt tactics of the SL industry as something the mob would envy. </p>
<p>And since the AMA recently begged the USDOE to reinstate loan forgiveness programs, extend deferments and etc its obvious that the great mass of poor are not the only ones having trouble with this issue. And with many in academia they are in a similar situation. </p>
<p>“…so that my tax dollars can go to just giving away free money…”</p>
<p>And the USDOE essentially allowing NNC to over bill the US government almost a quarter billion of taxpayers money is any better…? It all really is coming down to which sector of the student loan system deserves slaughter. Or to whom we might prefer our tax money to go…but since students and families have virtually no voice in the poisoned atmosphere of the congressional or USDOE chambers…I expect it will go to the same people. </p>
<p>That little NNC over billing would have paid the tuitions for every two year college student in a state like Colorado. But since that money was diverted, taxpayers will effectively pay more than once for what could have actually benefited students. </p>
<p>And these kind of abuses have been rampant in the SL industry, as has repeatedly been written about in Chronicle, Higher Ed Watch and by the IG’s within the USDOE. So the SL system was broken well before Kennedy and Pelosi began their activities. </p>
<p>Kennedy and Pelosi will break it by misapplied liberal reform, but such as Lord, Enzi, Boehmer and McKean have already sledge hammered it in the interest of corporate sweet heart agendas. </p>
<p>So on both the right and left there’s more than enough moral slime to be distributed in the student loan debacle.</p>
<p>Todays student loan debt…544,785,950,800 and…</p>