tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post8290812213735501438..comments2024-02-23T04:59:26.907-05:00Comments on But I Did Everything Right!: Angry Future Expat Explains Why You Should Run Away From Your DebtAngelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-27647910683632468082010-06-02T01:13:47.449-04:002010-06-02T01:13:47.449-04:00I don't know who this source is, and I'm u...I don't know who this source is, and I'm unwilling to do the background research that is necessary to find out because, well, this is a comment on a blog. But it seems reputable enough for our purposes here.<br /><br />http://www.finaid.org/loans/default.phtml.<br /><br />If you scroll down to the "Consequences of Default" bulleted list, there is a catalog of consequences. Most are either laughably irrelevant for law graduates (e.g., not being eligible for future financial aid, being ineligible for deferments) or pathetically tame (e.g., wage garnishment, which according to this list, is capped at 15% of your after tax, disposable income).<br /><br />I have to think you will lose your law license.<br /><br />That's not to say that mine is doing anything for me at the moment, but it sucked getting it, and so, if only for sentimental value, I'd like to keep it. That said, I'm willing to part with sentimentality considering the circumstances. At least I'll have a convincing way to assure a future non-legal employer that I will never leave them for a law job.<br /><br />Two things concern me, however. First, and it may only concern me because I'm uninformed, but, here it is: If wage garnishment is capped at 15%, does that apply even if there is a judgment entered against you? I have to think it must. But, obviously, if lenders can skirt the 15% cap by simply getting a judgment, then you're in for a world of hurt.<br /><br />I'm also concerned about a continuing default situation in which your credit is ruined beyond repair because the default persists year-on-year without coming to any sort of resolution, as you would in a normal bankruptcy situation.<br /><br />I'd like to point out, however, that I don't think the choice is necessarily "either/or". That is to say that I don't think the only options are repayment on the lender's schedule or some kind of income-based repayment plan on the one hand, and, on the other hand, default. Granted, you'll never be rid of these people, but as long as there is only so much water in the well and everyone has a bucket, if one takes it all, there's not going to be enough to go around. At some point, the lenders all just have to take what they can get, which means you can comply in a very technical way with monthly payments, even if you're only able to send each one of them a few yen a month.<br /><br />You might take a look at the link he provides on the same page to something he's written titled "The Horrors of Defaulting on Education Debt". Despite the title, which I scoffed at as well, he may (To repeat: "may".) be alright. Buried in the stories is this: <br /><br />"Judy’s got so few options that she’s drafted mock suicide notes as a form of dark humor: 'Hey mom & dad, I really love you, but life on this planet is so miserable as a slave to debt that I can no longer enjoy my time here. Every day is filled with hardship and misery and self-loathing. Therefore, I am choosing to leave this world. Thanks for trying, sorry I let you down.' Don’t worry, she’s joking. But it illustrates how oppressed many borrowers feel by their debt. They have no exit. Student loans effectively cannot be discharged in bankruptcy except for the most dire of circumstances. Even then the undue hardship test is applied in an arbitrary and capricious manner, and most borrowers who deserve a discharge do not get one. Most bankruptcy attorneys will no longer file an undue hardship petition because the chances of success are so slim."<br /><br />So . . . anyone want to start an awesome indie band?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-5591900087045643252010-06-01T17:33:12.773-04:002010-06-01T17:33:12.773-04:00Agree very much on all of these points. There is s...Agree very much on all of these points. There is serious blaming of the victim going on. Granted we went into this willingly, but the road here has been paved with lies, misrepresentations, and platitudes. In law school, we call this kind of thing "fraud." <br /><br />If I were to not pay on my loans, what's the worst that would happen to me? I'm already unemployed, overeducated, and even if I played by the book, would have little chance of buying and house and other trappings of the "American Dream" that I was once sold. So what's the harm? Am I really going to be that much worse off? This is the question the millions of struggling people need to ask themselves. Who are you going to believe, your fellow struggling debtors, or the banks and institutions that got you here? Are you going to do what's ultimately best for you, or best for J.P. Banker's quarterlies?Posting from South American Internet Cafenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-52306312002483115302010-06-01T16:47:21.653-04:002010-06-01T16:47:21.653-04:00oops - they're, not their (made the change on ...oops - they're, not their (made the change on my site). <br /><br />Thanks for the shout out. But don't forget this suggestion!<br /><br />"Send Sallie Mae a photocopy of your ass and hop a flight to Brazil..."angryfutureexpathttp://angryfutureexpat.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com