Time to Get Fired Up for the Weekend!

Hey!  Where the hell are my Lobbyists????  That was my reaction when I read this article about how Sallie Mae is lobbying the shit out of the Government to counteract everything Obama seeks to do regarding Student Loans, as stated in the State of the Union.

"President Obama called the idea a “no-brainer” last fall, predicting it would take billions of dollars from the profits of private lenders and give it directly to students, and many colleges were already moving to get loans directly from the federal government in anticipation of the next move by Congress."


"But an aggressive lobbying campaign by the nation’s biggest student lenders has now put one of the White House’s signature plans in peril, with lenders using sit-downs with lawmakers, town-hall-style meetings and petition drives to plead their case and stay in business."

Who in the heck is going to sign a petition agreeing that students should be screwed because they irresponsibly went to school and incurred debt instead of becoming a compulsive gambler or shopaholic--let's say.  The Private Lenders are the evil middlemen... And the government would be in a better situation to give kids a break, than heartless Sallie Mae.  Reps of Sallie Mae probably attend your funeral to make sure you're dead before they stop calling you for your payments.

"Sallie Mae, a publicly traded company that is the nation’s biggest student lender with $22 billion in loans originated last year, led the field in spending $8 million on lobbying in 2009, more than double the year before, and other lenders spent millions of dollars more, according to an analysis prepared for The New York Times by the Center for Responsive Politics."

How many students' loan payments did it take to pay for $8 million dollars worth of lobbying efforts?  This is worse than buying sneakers made by child laborrrs in Indonesia.  At least the child laborers don't have a vendetta against you.  Sado-Masochist takes your money and flogs you with it until YOU DIE.

"The student loan industry, which would be forced out of the loan origination business if the proposal became law, is seeking to cast the administration’s plan as an ill-conceived government takeover that could put thousands of people out of work at private lending centers around the country at a time when unemployment is hovering around 10 percent."

For some reason, I don't give a shit.  I don't care if we put the producers of child porn out of business either.  Nor do I care if drug traffickers join the realm of the unemployed. If you are in an evil business that makes money off of the torture of innocent people, then you deserve to be out on your ass, joining the bread line.

“We anticipated this,” Arne Duncan, the education secretary, said of the lending industry’s lobbying efforts. “They’ve had a sweet deal. They’ve had this phenomenal deal that taxpayers have subsidized, and that’s a hard thing to give up.”

Bravo!  Calling a spade a spade.  The jig is up, fellas.  I hope to God your evil scheme of buying our legistlature doesn't make our elected officials blind to the fact that students are defaulting left and right and there is no where for people to go.

"At the same time, Sallie Mae and other lenders have staged a series of town-hall-style meetings at their job centers around the country to help mobilize opposition to the White House plan and collect thousands of signatures for a petition drive in support of their own plan."

WHO THE FUCK IS GOING TO THESE MEETINGS?  ARE THEY DEAF, DUMB OR STUPID???    This is not a socialist agenda put out by Obama.. this is Corporation that is on welfare from the government, screaming entitlement.  I wouldn't want to give up those perks either.  They are worse then big business, they are big business--minus risk.

Look, I don't like Obama's plan either.  But something needs a'fixin.  In fact, if my plan for education went through, it would be the end of education and lending as we know it. So, until my liberatarian principles are followed.. let's do something different, PLEASE!

President Obama Must Have Received My Letter!

Finally, the President has noticed that Middle America is drowning under the weight of student loans and is planning on discussing the issue during the State of the Union Address on Wednesday Night.  Everyone should tune in!  And tell me what he says too, beause I most likely will not watch it. 

Anyhoo, this Forbes Article offers a primer of his proposed solution:

The president's plan would cap payments on federal loans at 10% of a borrower's income for those earning above $33,075 (which is 150% of minimum wage). Under the president's plan someone who earns less than  $33,075 would owe nothing on a monthly basis. Those with higher incomes would have monthly student loan payments that equal 10% of their income above $33,075. The plan also allows loans to be forgiven after 20 years instead of 25.

So, this is great news for the plethora of unemployed attorneys who are earning $0 a year.  This is also great news for the poor attorneys that have managed to snag "experience traps," a.k.a. associate type positions earning $30K that claim to be a good experience. 

The bad news, of course, is that you will be paying the mounting principal and interest one day. In our beautiful Capitalist model, banks don't take risks and they never lose. Remember that!

By the way, the plan does not apply to private loans.  So, since most law students have maxed out on federal loans at the undergrad level, I'm not sure how much that will help my readers.  Maybe this will help reinforce that private loans are to be avoided like the plague--as if you didn't know.

So, in conclusion, I'm happy if he manages to get this passed.  However, I will never be satisfied until private loans are dischargeable in bankruptcy.  To have it any other way is a testament to our government's bow to big business. 

Thanks Obama!  I realize that the New World Order owns you, but just try a little harder.