Ugh Student Loans

Here is a Haiku about my feelings on student loans: 

no no no no no

no no no no no no

no no no no no 

But all that aside- "The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimates that one-fourth of the American workforce may be eligible for repayment or loan-forgiveness programs, the Associated Press reported last month."

So maybe there’s some hope.

Date: December 8^th  

Title: Student loan forgiveness: What you don't know (but should)

News Source: USA TODAY

Article Date: 12:02 p.m. EST December 6, 2013

Author of Article: Emily Atteberry, USATODAY

Summary: The article is nifty. It helps one understand a way around student loans (in a sense) and makes them seem less ominous and scary.

Issue: Student loans can be crippling but there are ways to lessen the burden.

• Become a public teacher in a low income area
• Join the military
• Get a non profit job

Argument: No everyone wants to join the army or get a non profit job.

Claim: Well, there’s always the thrifty Apply for the Income-Based Repayment Plan that I just learned about

·         The program adjusts students' monthly loan payments to be no more than 15% of their "discretionary" income (the amount of money they make that falls above the federal poverty level).

·          Simply talk to your loan provider

• It's entirely possible, Maylotte says, that some recent graduates make so little that they qualify to make $0 payments.

Analysis:  So I still hate student loans and the idea that college tuitions have increased so greatly still makes me really mad but… this article is like a nice breeze. At least I know I can get some relief from the income based repayment plan if it boils down to having a lot of student debt (fingers crossed it doesn’t). So this article is really great to be honest. The subject still makes my toes curl but at least now I feel like I’m at the beach instead of freezing in no man’s land.

Relate to economic concepts: Well, if people have less to pay off after college (or even nothing to pay off wow) they will be more likely to spend money and feel safe and secure. More money put into the economy means a healthier economy which is greatly needed after so many lost faith after the crash (see my previous article about people not investing in the economy.)