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Many excellent articles below to read and to help understand some of the issues and solutions to high levels of debt. In the 1990's the average credit card in the US was $7,000; as of 2018 it is $15,000.
You are not a loan.
Parents and Grandparents Student Loan Debt Heartbreak
by Roberta Badger Cain 1/19/2019
Many people know about the trajectory of student loan debt – up, up and up! – and know of family members or friends among those owing staggering student debt that has now reached $1.53 trillion. (1) But few people know that more than 173,000 Americans have seen Social Security checks (including Disability checks) garnished to pay for student loan debts. (2) Many co-sign for their children or grandchildren. Older adults trying to improve themselves and their financial future take out student loan debt themselves.
Not only that, the U.S. Department of Education has granted only 1% of legitimate applicants who have applied for federal student loan forgiveness. That amounts to just 96 people out of 30,000 who applied (3), including older student loan debtors. Studies have shown that cancelling existing student loan debt would save the average borrower more than $4,000 per year, but would put money back into the economy, and create millions of jobs. (4). It would also mean more students could graduate, contribute to the economy at a higher level, and pay back parents or grandparents, or get out of debt themselves, and maybe even afford to someday in the foreseeable future, buy a car, support a family without hardship, and rent a decent apartment or even buy a house!
What is going on? Can we do something about it? And how?
In 1996 the Debt Collection Improvement Act was passed. It went into effect in 2003. It obligated holders of federal student loan debt in default, to have up to 15% of their wages garnished until the student loan debt was paid in full. (5) These holders are any older or retired individuals who co-signed for a child or grandchild’s student loans or pursued a degree themselves. There are even attorneys who specialize in helping such people!
Wage garnishment for defaulted student loan debtors includes standard wage garnishment (by court order) or administrative wage garnishment (directly by the U.S. Department of Education and its guaranty agencies). (6) Either way, it puts a cruel burden on older debtor individuals, parents and grandparents, as well as producing guilt and dropout by those who are just trying to prepare themselves or their loved ones to make it in the U.S. heartless Neoliberal economy.
Student loans have seen almost 157 percent in cumulative growth over the last 11 years. (5) The average Oregon student owes $27,000 in student debt. (citation 7?) Costs of tuition continue to rise, predatory private for-profit colleges are being re-energized, and ever more students (now 85 percent) have to work part- or full-time while trying to get an education. Interest rates are rising, borrowing keeps increasing, and default levels keep rising. Predictions are that the student loan debt crisis will only get worse. (8) Public policies need to be changed that allow for sweeping student loan forgiveness, consumer protections for all, and debt-free college for all. (9) In the meantime, Strike Debt Portland (www.strikedebtportland.org) is: A) gearing up to raise awareness of parent / grandparent student loan debt garnishment, B) seeking and giving those in Portland in that situation the opportunity to come forward, and C) mitigating the immediate hardship by awarding money to as many garnishees as possible via current funds and future fund-raising efforts.
Opportunities to get involved include:
Forum on Parent and Grandparent Student Loan Debt
Sponsored by Strike Debt Portland
Tuesday, January 29, 2019, 5:30 – 7 PM
U.S. Bank Room, 1st floor, Central Mult. Co. Library (810 SW 10th St. on red and blue MAX line, library stop)
endorsed by KBOO radio 97.1 FM, Gray Panthers
Speakers, Organizational and Personal Networking, Planning
Identification: If you or anyone you know is among those in the Portland area who are having their Social Security wages garnished because of student loan debt, please contact Sandra Decker or Roberta Badger-Cain of Strike Debt Portland to become part of the solution and become eligible for one of our Reverse Scholarships – no strings attached! Sandra: revdecker@msn.com. Roberta: emilysing@aol.com.
(1) The Washington Post, https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/, 1-5-19
(2) Action Network, http//actionnetwork.org/petitions/studentdebt?nowrapper=true, 11-17-18
(3) Progressive Caucus, https//mail.aol.com/webmail-std-en-us, 12-20-18
(4) Action Network, Ibid.
(5) Brent Adams & Associates, https://www.brentadams.com/library/garnishment-of-social-security-benefits . . . 1-12-19 (6) LoanForgiveness.org, https://www.loanforgiveness.org/student-loan-default/student-loan-wage-garnishment . . . 1-12-19 (7) Bloomberg, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-17/the-student-loan-debt . . .
(8) Citation
(9) Bloomberg, Ibid.
(10) Student Debt Crisis, https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us , 1-7-19
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To see what it takes to get a Public city or state bank going, read over the Oakland Public Bank proposal at this link.https://friendsofpublicbankofoakland.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/FOPB_public_bank_of_oakland_governance_proposal_040918.pdf.
You are not a loan.
Parents and Grandparents Student Loan Debt Heartbreak
by Roberta Badger Cain 1/19/2019
Many people know about the trajectory of student loan debt – up, up and up! – and know of family members or friends among those owing staggering student debt that has now reached $1.53 trillion. (1) But few people know that more than 173,000 Americans have seen Social Security checks (including Disability checks) garnished to pay for student loan debts. (2) Many co-sign for their children or grandchildren. Older adults trying to improve themselves and their financial future take out student loan debt themselves.
Not only that, the U.S. Department of Education has granted only 1% of legitimate applicants who have applied for federal student loan forgiveness. That amounts to just 96 people out of 30,000 who applied (3), including older student loan debtors. Studies have shown that cancelling existing student loan debt would save the average borrower more than $4,000 per year, but would put money back into the economy, and create millions of jobs. (4). It would also mean more students could graduate, contribute to the economy at a higher level, and pay back parents or grandparents, or get out of debt themselves, and maybe even afford to someday in the foreseeable future, buy a car, support a family without hardship, and rent a decent apartment or even buy a house!
What is going on? Can we do something about it? And how?
In 1996 the Debt Collection Improvement Act was passed. It went into effect in 2003. It obligated holders of federal student loan debt in default, to have up to 15% of their wages garnished until the student loan debt was paid in full. (5) These holders are any older or retired individuals who co-signed for a child or grandchild’s student loans or pursued a degree themselves. There are even attorneys who specialize in helping such people!
Wage garnishment for defaulted student loan debtors includes standard wage garnishment (by court order) or administrative wage garnishment (directly by the U.S. Department of Education and its guaranty agencies). (6) Either way, it puts a cruel burden on older debtor individuals, parents and grandparents, as well as producing guilt and dropout by those who are just trying to prepare themselves or their loved ones to make it in the U.S. heartless Neoliberal economy.
Student loans have seen almost 157 percent in cumulative growth over the last 11 years. (5) The average Oregon student owes $27,000 in student debt. (citation 7?) Costs of tuition continue to rise, predatory private for-profit colleges are being re-energized, and ever more students (now 85 percent) have to work part- or full-time while trying to get an education. Interest rates are rising, borrowing keeps increasing, and default levels keep rising. Predictions are that the student loan debt crisis will only get worse. (8) Public policies need to be changed that allow for sweeping student loan forgiveness, consumer protections for all, and debt-free college for all. (9) In the meantime, Strike Debt Portland (www.strikedebtportland.org) is: A) gearing up to raise awareness of parent / grandparent student loan debt garnishment, B) seeking and giving those in Portland in that situation the opportunity to come forward, and C) mitigating the immediate hardship by awarding money to as many garnishees as possible via current funds and future fund-raising efforts.
Opportunities to get involved include:
Forum on Parent and Grandparent Student Loan Debt
Sponsored by Strike Debt Portland
Tuesday, January 29, 2019, 5:30 – 7 PM
U.S. Bank Room, 1st floor, Central Mult. Co. Library (810 SW 10th St. on red and blue MAX line, library stop)
endorsed by KBOO radio 97.1 FM, Gray Panthers
Speakers, Organizational and Personal Networking, Planning
Identification: If you or anyone you know is among those in the Portland area who are having their Social Security wages garnished because of student loan debt, please contact Sandra Decker or Roberta Badger-Cain of Strike Debt Portland to become part of the solution and become eligible for one of our Reverse Scholarships – no strings attached! Sandra: revdecker@msn.com. Roberta: emilysing@aol.com.
(1) The Washington Post, https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/, 1-5-19
(2) Action Network, http//actionnetwork.org/petitions/studentdebt?nowrapper=true, 11-17-18
(3) Progressive Caucus, https//mail.aol.com/webmail-std-en-us, 12-20-18
(4) Action Network, Ibid.
(5) Brent Adams & Associates, https://www.brentadams.com/library/garnishment-of-social-security-benefits . . . 1-12-19 (6) LoanForgiveness.org, https://www.loanforgiveness.org/student-loan-default/student-loan-wage-garnishment . . . 1-12-19 (7) Bloomberg, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-17/the-student-loan-debt . . .
(8) Citation
(9) Bloomberg, Ibid.
(10) Student Debt Crisis, https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us , 1-7-19
************************************************************************************************************************************************************
To see what it takes to get a Public city or state bank going, read over the Oakland Public Bank proposal at this link.https://friendsofpublicbankofoakland.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/FOPB_public_bank_of_oakland_governance_proposal_040918.pdf.
November 9, 2018
Post election update from Ellen Brown on LA ballot measure to start a City Public Bank: learn more under About US on the bar above.
Hi, I've gotten inquiries on the outcome of the Los Angeles ballot measure to approve a city-owned bank , so thought I would send a quick update. Unfortunately it did not pass, but it did get 42 percent of the vote. It was a remarkable outcome considering that the dynamic young Public Bank LA advocacy group effectively only had a month to educate 4 million voters on what a public bank is and why passing the measure was a good idea. If they had had another month, the bill could well have passed.
The City Council took supporters by surprise when it put the charter amendment on the ballot in July, leaving only four months to promote it. Passing a ballot measure typically takes a campaign war chest of $750,000 or more, and the all-volunteer PBLA group began with no funding and no formal group. The first challenge was clearing the legal requirement of forming a campaign committee, which itself takes funding and some expertise. The committee only began amassing campaign funds a month before the November 6 vote, after which it managed to bring in $60,000.
Most of the campaign, however, was conducted with sheer people power. According to PBLA political director Ben Hauck, in that short time the all-volunteer team managed to gain endorsements from over 100 organizations and community leaders, text message 350,000 voters, hand out over 50,000 flyers, reach over 500,000 voters through social media campaigns, get included in three mailers reaching over 1,200,000 voters, put up hundreds of yard signs and banners across L.A., talk with thousands of voters at events, universities, rallies and gatherings across the city, get featured in dozens of major news stories, articles and TV coverage, manage their own paid social media campaign, drive over 150,000 video views on a YouTube campaign, contact 200,000 voters via a robocall from the Chairman of the California Democratic Party, put on several significant campaign events, get featured in a press event with senatorial candidate Kevin de León and City Council President Herb Wesson, and create several featured videos, dozens of ads, and countless pieces of written content.
The PBLA team is pressing on undaunted. Leader Trinity Tran wrote after the vote, "Over a quarter million Angelenos voted in support of Measure B and the conversation on public banking has now been amplified across the country. This is just the beginning of the national movement. And it's a fight we are certain will be won."
We’re hugely proud of the PBLA team! Their dramatic achievements in a very short time are a testament to the power of a committed group of volunteers working together at the local level for a cause they feel strongly about.
If you would like to follow the progress of the public banking movement across the country, please sign up for the Public Banking Institute newsletter, linked here.
Best wishes,
Ellen
http://EllenBrown.com
http://PublicBankingInstitute.org
August 27, 2018, Cory Turner, NPR
Student Loan Watchdog Quits, Blames Trump Administration
Post election update from Ellen Brown on LA ballot measure to start a City Public Bank: learn more under About US on the bar above.
Hi, I've gotten inquiries on the outcome of the Los Angeles ballot measure to approve a city-owned bank , so thought I would send a quick update. Unfortunately it did not pass, but it did get 42 percent of the vote. It was a remarkable outcome considering that the dynamic young Public Bank LA advocacy group effectively only had a month to educate 4 million voters on what a public bank is and why passing the measure was a good idea. If they had had another month, the bill could well have passed.
The City Council took supporters by surprise when it put the charter amendment on the ballot in July, leaving only four months to promote it. Passing a ballot measure typically takes a campaign war chest of $750,000 or more, and the all-volunteer PBLA group began with no funding and no formal group. The first challenge was clearing the legal requirement of forming a campaign committee, which itself takes funding and some expertise. The committee only began amassing campaign funds a month before the November 6 vote, after which it managed to bring in $60,000.
Most of the campaign, however, was conducted with sheer people power. According to PBLA political director Ben Hauck, in that short time the all-volunteer team managed to gain endorsements from over 100 organizations and community leaders, text message 350,000 voters, hand out over 50,000 flyers, reach over 500,000 voters through social media campaigns, get included in three mailers reaching over 1,200,000 voters, put up hundreds of yard signs and banners across L.A., talk with thousands of voters at events, universities, rallies and gatherings across the city, get featured in dozens of major news stories, articles and TV coverage, manage their own paid social media campaign, drive over 150,000 video views on a YouTube campaign, contact 200,000 voters via a robocall from the Chairman of the California Democratic Party, put on several significant campaign events, get featured in a press event with senatorial candidate Kevin de León and City Council President Herb Wesson, and create several featured videos, dozens of ads, and countless pieces of written content.
The PBLA team is pressing on undaunted. Leader Trinity Tran wrote after the vote, "Over a quarter million Angelenos voted in support of Measure B and the conversation on public banking has now been amplified across the country. This is just the beginning of the national movement. And it's a fight we are certain will be won."
We’re hugely proud of the PBLA team! Their dramatic achievements in a very short time are a testament to the power of a committed group of volunteers working together at the local level for a cause they feel strongly about.
If you would like to follow the progress of the public banking movement across the country, please sign up for the Public Banking Institute newsletter, linked here.
Best wishes,
Ellen
http://EllenBrown.com
http://PublicBankingInstitute.org
August 27, 2018, Cory Turner, NPR
Student Loan Watchdog Quits, Blames Trump Administration
"In his resignation, Frotman also accuses the CFPB's leadership of suppressing a report, prepared by his office, revealing new evidence that some of the nation's largest banks were "saddling [students] with legally dubious account fees."
"The Trump administration has also taken steps outside the CFPB to curb oversight of the student loan industry. The Justice and Education departments have argued that debt collectors should be protected from state efforts to regulate them."
August 8, 2018, Eugene Weekly
New Data Reveal Extent of Oregon Student Loan Debt
More than half of Oregon college grads are in debt
New Data Reveal Extent of Oregon Student Loan Debt
More than half of Oregon college grads are in debt
More than 50 percent of Oregon college grads are in debt, and Oregon is ranked 22nd in the country for its amount of average student loan debt per borrower.
That amount per borrower in Oregon is $27,500,
August 7, 2018 Wall Street on Parade
Financial Health of US Consumer Will Determine Severity of the Next Recession
Financial Health of US Consumer Will Determine Severity of the Next Recession
According to the report, “aggregate household debt balances increased in the first quarter of 2018, for the 15th consecutive quarter. As of March 31, 2018, total household indebtedness stood at $13.21 trillion,” which is $536 billion higher than it was at the end of the third quarter of 2008. That was when the country was ravaged by the worst financial crash since the Great Depression.
May 19, 2018, S.F. Examiner
Build a public bank in S.F.
Build a public bank in S.F.
A public bank would serve San Francisco in many ways; first and foremost as a place to ethically store our public dollars. With a public bank, we can ensure that our deposits do not go toward fossil fuel emissions, gun manufacturing or purchases or support of unfair labor practices. We also provide that any profits made off our deposits don’t go to the bottom lines of big banks but rather get reinvesting into our community.
May 8, 2018, IPS (Institute for Policy Studies)
Restoring Opportunity in California
Taxing Wealth to Fund College for All in California
Restoring Opportunity in California
Taxing Wealth to Fund College for All in California
There was a time in the not-too-distant past when Californians could attend top tier research universities as well as state and community colleges without incurring student debt. It was not that long ago that public colleges and universities didn’t even charge tuition.
This report details the transition from a debt free public higher education system to one that leaves hundreds of thousands of students deep in debt year after year. It also details the corresponding tax cut given to the wealthiest Californians, the lost revenue of which could have been used to pre-empt the growing student debt crisis.
April 25, 2018 HuffPost
Kristen Gillibrand Unveils a Public Option for Banking
The idea would provide a low-cost alternative to payday loans — and it might just save the Postal Service, too.
Kristen Gillibrand Unveils a Public Option for Banking
The idea would provide a low-cost alternative to payday loans — and it might just save the Postal Service, too.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) is introducing legislation Wednesday that would require every U.S. post office to provide basic banking services, an ambitious step aimed at improving the lives of Americans with limited financial resources.
March 1, 2018 The Progressive Populist
An Unprecedented Grassroots Effort Could Put a Stop to Fraudulent Debt Collections
It could finally bring to heel the profoundly abusive banking system and its main collaborators.
An Unprecedented Grassroots Effort Could Put a Stop to Fraudulent Debt Collections
It could finally bring to heel the profoundly abusive banking system and its main collaborators.
Longtime monetary-reform advocate Mickey Paoletta of Mortgage Defense Systems in Mechanicsburg, Pa., (hermitageway7@cs.com) has helped scores of individual homeowners being sued in foreclosure proceedings expose their mortgage “loans” as invalid in court.
Feb. 9, 2018, New York
We must cancel everyone's student debt, for the economy's sake
We must cancel everyone's student debt, for the economy's sake
Late last year, congressional Republicans passed a $1.5 trillion tax cut, which delivered the lion’s share of its benefits to the wealthy and corporations. The GOP did not justify this policy on the grounds that all corporate shareholders and trust-fund hipsters deserved to have their wealth increased. Rather, the party argued that, however one felt about making the rich richer, the tax cuts would ultimately benefit allAmericans by increasing economic growth and lowering unemployment.
But what if we could have achieved those objectives, at roughly the same price, by forgoing tax cuts — and wiping out every penny of student debt in the United States, instead?
Read the article here.
Feb 5, 2018, The Sanders institute
Report: THE MACROECONOMIC EFFECTS OF STUDENT DEBT CANCELLATION
Report: THE MACROECONOMIC EFFECTS OF STUDENT DEBT CANCELLATION
More than 44 million Americans are caught in a student debt trap. Collectively, they owe nearly $1.4 trillion on outstanding student loan debt. Research shows that this level of debt hurts the US economy in a variety of ways, holding back everything from small business formation to new home buying, and even marriage and reproduction. It is a problem that policymakers have attempted to mitigate with programs that offer refinancing or partial debt cancellation. But what if something far more ambitious were tried? What if the population were freed from making any future payments on the current stock of outstanding student loan debt? Could it be done, and if so, how? What would it mean for the US economy?
Read the report. Click here.
The agents arranging these loans can get fat commissions of up to 16 percent, an example of the perverse incentives created in the lucrative student loan market. Servicers often profit more when borrowers default than when they pay smaller amounts over a longer time, so they have an incentive to encourage delinquencies, pushing students into default rather than rescheduling their loans
Read article. Click here.
Dec 26, 2017, Ellen Brown
Student Debt Slavery: Bankrolling Financiers on the Backs of the Young
Student Debt Slavery: Bankrolling Financiers on the Backs of the Young
Slaves had to be housed, fed and cared for. “Free” men housed and fed themselves. For the more dangerous jobs, such as mining, Irish immigrants were used rather than black slaves, because the Irish were expendable. Free men could be kept enslaved by debt, by paying them wages that were insufficient to meet their costs of living.
Read article. Click here.