Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Marking the third anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement, the group's Strike Debt initiative announced Wednesday it has abolished $3.8 million worth of private student loan debt since January. It said it has been buying the debts for pennies on the dollar from debt collectors, and then simply forgiving that money rather than trying to collect it.
In total, the group spent a little more than $100,000 to purchase the $3.8 million in debt.
This is absolutely stunning to me. A $100,000 expenditure resulted in the abolishment of nearly $4M in private student loan debt for those students who were lured into attending a predatory for-profit college who is under a major federal investigation and will soon close it's 107 campuses.
A couple of things:
1) I support for-profit businesses assuming those businesses operate with integrity. For-profit colleges rarely pass that test and should receive special scrutiny of their recruiting, teaching, and graduation practices.
2) If Occupy Wall Street can pull off such a feat for such a meager amount of money, then it should be a lesson for any other private social-advocacy group to employ this method to help students out of private student loan debt. Taxpayers should NOT be dragged into the student-loan-debt-forgiveness business.
3) Righteous indignation has no role here (for me). I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that if an organization approached me to pay for my student loans (I have none), then I would absolutely accept that offer without any regret.
How bout people don't over spend for college in the first place and read the damn loan contract before putting your signature on the solid line.
Isn't it nice that you can borrow all you want and not have to pay it back.
How bout some ****ING personal responsibility.
Where's my Loan Forgiveness Plan?
I have about $750,000+ in loans paid over the course of my lifetime including business loans I've had to personally guarantee that I'd like to get back.
That's great, but the amount of student loan debt in this country is staggering. Filing bankruptcy will not abolish your debt, either, nor will dying, if there is a co-signatory. Many parents have been saddled with these debts when their children have defaulted on repaying them.
The cost of higher education is a racket unto itself.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
