So, why not make my research a Post on my Blog?


Several aspects of this are troubling.

The average four-year student will have more
acceptable payments, of maybe $400/month, but at a time when many are hoping to
enter the American Dream, with marriage, a home and family, there are few who
can find a job to handle all those things.
So, in this recession we may have a generation who will defer, perhaps
forever, the lifestyle of their parents.
But, to return to the Social Security question:
There are three types of student loans, listed in order of interest rates from
low to high, although 2010 legislation puts recent loans pretty much into a
federal box: Federal and State loans, Private loans, and Family loans. The
Family loans are granted to parents to allow them a payment plan to cover the
cost of a child’s education over an extended period. For the most part these have a low default
rate because they are often only a component of the education costs. Federal loans are not a great problem,
partially because they are granted with consideration for subsidies and ability
to pay.
Private loans are a bigger problem. Sixty-six percent of graduates have debt, but
almost 100% of graduates from prestigious or graduate schools have significant
debt, held by some sort of private concern.
This was true when I incurred my younger son’s loans in 1988 but while
only 10% of the loans at that time were $50,000 or more (mine was about
$10,000) now three million loans are greater than $50,000, adjusted to inflation.
Loans assumed or negotiated on behalf of the student
are not co-signed loans. They are the
sole responsibility of the parent or grandparent . Furthermore there is no bankruptcy relief,
which may explain why 1 of every 8 loans held by those over the age of forty
are delinquent. It is that “no
bankruptcy relief” factor that allows Social Security payments to be attached
or reduced. And some 115 thousand checks
have been adjusted to date.
I don’t know where there is any good news in this,
but I agree with some sage who recently said, “Why we are placing our best and
brightest under a burden of debt when they are most in need of money to reach
their new potential, escapes me.”
Me too!
We are going into the
Paralympics with the inspiration they bring, a fact made crystal clear to me
when I visited Walter Reed Hospital last weekend. In my next post I will share with you what I
saw and what I gained from the experience.
Please, come visit
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