Obama Announces Executive Action on Student Loans

[boutons_deux]

President Barack Obama on Monday announced a series of executive steps he was taking to tackle the $1.2 trillion student debt crisis, including the expansion of a federal program that puts a cap on monthly loan payments.

The first of the three steps outlined was the expansion to those with older loans of the Pay As You Earn program, which allows those holding federal student loans to cap their monthly payments at 10 percent of their income. After 20 years of payments, the program forgives any remaining debt.

Welcoming the move, Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders stated, "Millions of American families are struggling to repay student loans. Capping payments at no more than 10 percent of income is one way to help."

Mark Huelsman, Senior Policy Analyst with the public policy organization Demos, writes that the executive action recognizes "that student debt is something that hits households well beyond college age. Around a third of student debt is held by those over 40, and delinquency rates generally rise by age."

Yet the Pay As You Earn program as well as other Income-Based Repayment(IBR) options can be a losing situation for borrowers, he adds. Huelsman explains that "because it lowers monthly payments, it can increase the total amount a borrower pays over the life of the loan, since interest still accrues." This fact underscores the need for those holding student loan debt to be able to refinance their loans at better rates, he adds. That ability, though, must come from Congress.

Such a proposal is expected to be heard in the Senate this week. Sen. Elizabeth Warren's "Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act" would allow student loan holders to refinance at 3.68 percent.

Obama's Presidential Memorandum also includes two other steps: "improving communication strategies" to help loan holders avoid default, and renegotiating with loan servicers like Sallie Mae to help prevent defaults.

A recent analysis by the Ins ute for College Access & Success' Project on Student Debt found that the average amount of student debt held by a borrower in the class of 2012 was nearly $30,000.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/06/09-6

The Senate Repugs will kill Liz Warrens' student loan re-financing bill.

[Winehole23]

Senate Republicans on Wednesday filibustered a bill that would have helped people with outstanding student loans refinance their debt at lower interest rates. By a 56-38 vote, the measure failed to clear the 60-vote threshold necessary to advance to debate.


The bill, sponsored by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), would have been funded by raising taxes on those who make more than $1 million.


That the bill would fail was essentially preordained given the Senate's partisan polarization, though Democrats can use the vote to further their midterm pitch that Republicans favor the rich over the middle class.
- - Jon Terbush

http://theweek.com/speedreads/index/...#axzz34LngOAPe

[Winehole23]

the onerous cost of higher education amounts to social control. puts young people on the debt/work treadmill before they ever buy cars or homes or start families. answers the question of why people work more and more in the context of rising -- indeed, historically high -- productivity.

[boutons_deux]

http://theweek.com/speedreads/index/...#axzz34LngOAPe

McConnell called Warren's bill "class warfare" since it raised taxes on the rich. KY Repug voters are as stupid as Repug voters everywhere. They hate Obamacare, but love Kynect!

I guess they're mostly the usual gun fellators, "liberty marans", and "Christian" LGBT/vagina haters.

McConnell also said the bill was useless since it didn't reduce the cost of college, duh, which wasn't the target of the bill, and for which reduction the Repugs have NOTHING TO PROPOSE.

[boutons_deux]

the onerous cost of higher education amounts to social control. puts young people on the debt/work treadmill before they ever buy cars or homes or start families. answers the question of why people work more and more in the context of rising -- indeed, historically high -- productivity.

rentier capitalism, where everybody is reduced to serfdom under the wealth-extracting financial overlords

[Winehole23]

minus the Marxist claptrap, the humanistic appeal of this endures: http://www.marxists.org/archive/lafargue/1883/lazy/

[Winehole23]

better: http://essays.quotidiana.org/chesterton/lying_in_bed/

[Wild Cobra]

http://theweek.com/speedreads/index/...#axzz34LngOAPe

Maybe people shouldn't go into so much debt...

Is it the tax payers responsibility to bail people out?

[Wild Cobra]

the onerous cost of higher education amounts to social control. puts young people on the debt/work treadmill before they ever buy cars or homes or start families. answers the question of why people work more and more in the context of rising -- indeed, historically high -- productivity.

Well, as long as there is an edless supply of government loans and grants, the education costs will continue to rise.

Maybe the standards for getting these loans should be raised... Reduce the number of available student too these places, so supply and demand can take it's natural course.

[Winehole23]

Is it the tax payers responsibility to bail people out?

Did I say it was?

Anyway, college isn't for everyone, especially now that it tends to reduce all but those who can already afford it to debt peonage.

[boutons_deux]

better: http://essays.quotidiana.org/chesterton/lying_in_bed/

slapped by the Great Boutons, WhineHole is so hard working, so UNlazy, he can't look up rentier capitalis, aka, "captalists RENTING money to the serfs (to pay for college, or anything)"

[Winehole23]

Well, as long as there is an edless supply of government loans and grants, the education costs will continue to rise.

guaranteed loans caused tuition to rise? prove it.

[Winehole23]

slapped by the Great Boutons, WhineHole is so hard working, so UNlazy, he can't look up rentier capitalis, aka, "captalists RENTING money to the serfs (to pay for college, or anything)"

you're slapping the air, you cliche ridden bot. I'm familiar with rentier capitalism. I'd even be willing to bet my use of the term in this forum predates yours.

[Wild Cobra]

guaranteed loans caused tuition to rise? prove it.

Common sense supply and demand.

If colleges had to start enticing student enrollment, the costs would go down.

[Th'Pusher]

guaranteed loans caused tuition to rise? prove it.

He can't.

[Wild Cobra]

I'm not going to waste my time. I see simple common sense isn't around for you younger people.

[Winehole23]

common sense is usually neither

[boutons_deux]

When the Repugs "privatized" student loans, the banks made/are making $100Ms off loans GUARANTEED by the hated govt.

And the banks of course say the interest rate is 7%+ because ..... the students are too risky!

So the Repugs basically shovelled guaranteed interest to the banks instead of into the US treasury, aka, wealth transfer upwards.

And when a student loan fails, the govt pays the bank, the bank sells the loan to a collection agency that immediately adds many 10s of % "collection fee" TO THE PRINCIPAL.

Thanks, Repugs.

YET ANOTHER wonderful wealth-sucking, beast-starving misgovernance that America just adores you for.

[Wild Cobra]

When the Repugs "privatized" student loans, the banks made/are making $100Ms off loans GUARANTEED by the hated govt.

And the banks of course say the interest rate is 7%+ because ..... the students are too risky!

So the Repugs basically shovelled guaranteed interest to the banks instead of into the US treasury, aka, wealth transfer upwards.

And when a student loan fails, the govt pays the bank, the bank sells the loan to a collection agency that immediately adds many 10s of % "collection fee" TO THE PRINCIPAL.

Thanks, Repugs.

YET ANOTHER wonderful wealth-sucking, beast-starving misgovernance that America just adores you for.

So, what is your solution?

[boutons_deux]

So, what is your solution?

The govt should lend all and only the education loans that it guarantees, at the Fed's lowest rate.

Doctors, dentists, and RNs and other critical govt employees like software system designers, professional project managers, who agree to work for the VA get their education free for 20 years post-education govt employment.

Private lenders, if they are any, get no guarantee.

[Wild Cobra]

The govt should lend all and only the education loans that it guarantees, at the Fed's lowest rate.

Doctors, dentists, and RNs and other critical govt employees like software system designers, professional project managers, who agree to work for the VA get their education free for 20 years post-education govt employment.

Private lenders, if they are any, get no guarantee.

LOL...

Seriously?

You are effectively guaranteeing a union government job with pension for them.

[boutons_deux]

LOL...

Seriously?

You are effectively guaranteeing a union government job with pension for them.

so?

[Wild Cobra]

so?

LOL...

What about the people who want those jobs, but don't qualify for the low income financing?

[boutons_deux]

LOL...

What about the people who want those jobs, but don't qualify for the low income financing?

I didn't anything about low-income, you did. "my" govt loans would be available to all comers

[Wild Cobra]

I didn't anything about low-income, you did. "my" govt loans would be available to all comers

OK, but what happens when not everyone makes the cut? How can you decide who will be qualified to become a doctor beforehand?