40 Million Americans have student loan debt!
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
Eugene, Oregon
February 18, 2017 10:56am CST
The total amount owed is over 1.3 Trillion dollars. According to a PBS news show I saw the median debt is about $27000, but the interest rates are not low so the debt grows. Many people have student loans that total over $100,000.
Now that is not too awful if they have great jobs paying a hundred thousand, but few do. My daughter was lucky to have only a few thousand dollars debt when she graduated and she has paid it off.
Sadly, some parents who co-signed on their kids' loans are being forced to make payments since sometimes the kids end up in low paying jobs. I have read about people losing their homes, and Social Security payments being garnished for student loan debt.
People are being preyed upon by criminals too. They are getting cold calls telling them they can refinance their debt through the "Obama Student Loan Forgiveness Program," which does not and never did exist. They end up paying double in some cases.
I was wondering if any myLotters are stuck with big student loan debt? If so, beware of offers to relieve debt or cut interest rates.
Link to article:
Student debt has been a prominent topic during this year's presidential campaign, with several candidates touting plans for tuition-free college. Indeed, more than 40 million Americans carry debt from student loans, totaling around $1.3 trillion nationally
21 people like this
19 responses
@andriaperry (118793)
• Anniston, Alabama
18 Feb 17
I know so many with this debt and the sad part is they cannot find a job besides walmart or publix. I thought it was against the law to sue anyone on S.S.
4 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
18 Feb 17
@AndriaPerry,It is sad but true.
How older Americans are suffering under the weight of student loan debt
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43602)
• Denver, Colorado
18 Feb 17
It's ridiculous. All that should not happen to someone that just wanted an education.
2 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
18 Feb 17
And when will youth get over 4 years of college means a 4 year extension of fun and games high school and ducking the real world. How many of those degrees pay off? How about a trade school? Arrogant white youth stick their nose up being a blue color worker plumber. A plumber makes more money than most grads. But that means performing real work.
4 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
18 Feb 17
There are few opportunities, I think, for trade schools and educators point kids only toward college.
@librarygeek1980 (3137)
• United States
18 Feb 17
The problem is that most trades are dissappearing, hell I'd love it if my son's took up trade jobs, but sadly, they're going obsolete.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
18 Feb 17
@librarygeek1980 I disagree. Here in the LA, the demand for work by plumbers, electricians, movers, dry wall people, handyman etc is great and I have spoken to such workers and they have more work than they can handle. Computers can't replace plumbing, electrical, physically move goods, reno a kitchen etc. There is still a market for custom carpentering. There's money to be made if you can fix it or build it.
2 people like this
@topffer (42155)
• France
18 Feb 17
The rule is that college studies are free in France, paid by the state. Not completely free as there is a registration fee varying from about $200 for a first year student to $400 for a PhD student, and a mandatory social security which is at about $240 this year. Students from families with low income can get a bursary, and the registration fee for a first year student with a bursary is only $12.
3 people like this
@topffer (42155)
• France
18 Feb 17
@JamesHxstatic We pay more taxes than you, but we have some advantages like free studies and social security for everybody
.
.1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
18 Feb 17
That is an incredibly good system compared to ours.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
24 Feb 17
@topffer And medical care, I assume.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
18 Feb 17
They were lucky to have parents who could and would do that for them.
@LadyDuck (502491)
• Italy
18 Feb 17
As we had no children we never had the problem, but I think that this is an all American problem, most European University are very cheap. In Italy and Germany students pay about 1,000$ a year to go to the University. I know that it is more or less the same for France, Belgium, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Austria.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (502491)
• Italy
19 Feb 17
@JamesHxstatic It's a shame, states should encourage the students and not punish them with prohibitive university taxes.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
18 Feb 17
The cost of education in this country is ridiculous. Students who live in Oregon are being priced out of attending our state universities.
2 people like this
@librarygeek1980 (3137)
• United States
18 Feb 17
Course, if society jobs in general weren't so picky and requiring a degree for every mundane job, we wouldn't be in this mess. If companies would stick sound long enough to actually pay people, we wouldn't be in this mess. Bottom line is, the money just simply aint there, no matter where you are.
2 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
18 Feb 17
So many modern jobs require computer skills that training someone with out education costs too much money for a business. The old manufacturing and mining jobs are gone and are not coming back, despite what some promise. Even those jobs are far more computer oriented.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (189880)
• Boise, Idaho
19 Feb 17
This really makes me glad I didn't go.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (189880)
• Boise, Idaho
20 Feb 17
@JamesHxstatic ......I worked for Mountain Bell as a long distance telephone operator until the divestiture when it became AT&T.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
21 Feb 17
@celticeagle That sounds like it might have been good.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
20 Feb 17
I can understand that, but hope you got a good job despite not going.
1 person likes this
@changjiangzhibin89 (17240)
• China
19 Feb 17
I can understand how people feel as they are up to their necks in debt.It is great your daughter didn't involve you in her student loan.Utterly detestable ! The wicked criminals rub salt into the student loan debtors' wounds,
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
20 Feb 17
Yes, in this land of opportunity, there are opportinists are aplenty.
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
20 Feb 17
This is so puzzling, as countries that are supposed to be poor compared to us have free education. Is there something wrong with this picture.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
21 Feb 17
There really is. Everything here seems to be based on the profit motive. I wrote a while
back about the local non-profit hospital being the most profitable hospital in the northwest. Double talk.
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
18 Feb 17
That is very sad to hear and it is true for millions.
1 person likes this
@jillybean1222 (6406)
•
19 Feb 17
we have a huge loan that my husband took out for a degree he never used. waste of money. i hope that our refinancing that we did was real. we haven't received anything from the original debtor. so i hope so!
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
21 Feb 17
@jillybean1222 I am glad to hear that, @jillybean!
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21845)
• Canada
26 Feb 17
Both my husband and I had student loan debt when we married but not nearly the totals of our own children. My parents paid mine as a wedding gift and it took a few years to get rid of my husbands. Two of my children worked hard to pay it off as soon as they left university. We watched they starting it up on a regular basis and of course we sent them chunks of money to go towards the debt and it made it easier for them. Our youngest didn't want to be bothered so he ignored it and we were not going to help until he helped himself... He was sued last year and given a Canadian program which will allow him to pay it off every two weeks from his pay check and the total amount is tiny compared to the total debt. We are helping him now, not with his debt, but we buy his metro pass every three months to make it easier for him to continue getting rid of the debt off his back..
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21845)
• Canada
26 Feb 17
@JamesHxstatic I think its universal especially with the high cost of college and university today..My husband an I went to college and university in the states.
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
26 Feb 17
I did not realize that Canada had problems with it too.
1 person likes this
@nanette64 (20363)
• Fairfield, Texas
19 Feb 17
That is insane @JamesHxstatic . I think the cost of schooling is ridiculous to begin with. First of all, the books and materials shouldn't be very expensive and as for the teachers salary; if you've got 30 students in a classroom and each kid is shelling out $20,000 for a semester; that's a lot of money. Where is it all going? Probably to the damn college sports teams.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
19 Feb 17
I agree that far too much money is spent on sports. There is no way they are self-supporting. Some college classes, freshman and sophomore, have over 100 students.
1 person likes this
@TheInvisibleMan (17594)
•
18 Feb 17
This number is very worrying. Something needs to be thought out urgently because that system can't continue.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
18 Feb 17
@TheInvisibleMan Nor do I. It is a difficult thing.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
18 Feb 17
Yes, it is really a problem, keeping people from getting on with lives too.
1 person likes this
@TheInvisibleMan (17594)
•
18 Feb 17
@JamesHxstatic I don't believe that situation will improve so soon, but I hope so.
1 person likes this
@KrauseHome (36445)
• United States
19 Feb 17
Personally there needs to be something more out there that can be done about this. In reality if it costs so much and the only way anyone can get a decent job, they need to look into helping them more then.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
19 Feb 17
But who is to help? The taxpayer or the university or ?
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
19 Feb 17
It was not nearly as expensive then I am guessing.
@Tampa_girl7 (54715)
• United States
18 Feb 17
I was blessed to owe very little and my husband paid it off for me years ago.
1 person likes this
