Well . . . you know you just cannot earn that extra million dollars in your lifetime if you do not get that college sheepskin. Well . . . we now know that many college grads have moved back in with mommie and daddy,( if they still have a home left to live in).
Our government has chosen to export jobs and factories for profits (carpetbagger mentality) and turn this country into a "service" economy. This intentional destruction of the economy by those who own our government has resulted in an excess of "educated" workers for whom there are no jobs. ( Currently, those who own our government are trying to import "Educated People" from thse third world countries in an attempt to further undermine those citizens who possess those skills, but will not work for $20K a year.)
Of course, the Piedpipers have their followers, and believers, wearing "blinders" that will follow them right over the proverbial "Buffalo Jump". The tragedy is that in many cases
" Educational Debt" has replaced, the "Proverbial home" as being the largest "investment" (cough, cough) a person will ever make in their lifetime (remember the old Madison Avenue Mantra). I think we have driven a stake through that Harpy's heart.
Of course these were the same Nimrods, that prepare the "horse and pony" shows we witness on TV or video doing the same thing (creating the successful image) for growers aka farmers (cough, cough). Well . . . that is a rant for another thread!
This rant is on Education and the expense involved, and the non dischargabiity of Student Loan Debt in Bankruptcy when a citizen's government fails to create an economic environment where the skills learned, time spent, and cost incurred can not be used to recover the cost of these "expended individual resources."
In short, there is no ROI on this investment, thanks to our government selling our country out to the Chinese, India, Vietnam, Mexico and every other third world nation where people live on $3 a day.
The government indirectly created the run up in educational costs, when it approved student loans, pell grants, and then made the loans non dischargeable in bankruptcy when the Banksters in New York demanded that provision be placed in the Acts and Rules governing Federally Insured Student Loans.
In addition to the Student signing the "Indenture" the Parents in many cases were also "indentured" by borrowing against personal assets . . . and the largest "investment" they would ever make in their lifetimes . . . "their Home" (cough, cough) to pay the bloated tuition now being extracted by the drones who run these "institutions".
Higher Education has turned into the Vampire Squid (sorry Goldman Sachs you lost the title) of the Current Day sucking the lifes blood out of students attempting to find a job and their parents whose "largest investment they ever made" (cough, cough) is now worth half of what they paid for it, and they are underwater in their personal finances, and probably slowly slipping into the deep dark chasm of the proverbial "Abyss.
Well . . . now that I have cleared the air and reduced my disgust to words with this subject, here is the post for today. I am sure the animosity by those who signed in on my earlier post last week will again voice thier support for the way Higher Education is conducted in this country. I mean O.K., O.K. college is all about having a football team to follow. Enjoy. John
College Graduates Are The New Debt Slaves
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comingdepression February 09, 2013U.S. Scenario
With the average cost of attending college in America at $120,000, a family of four should expect their children’s college to cost more than a home. Yet, optimism about the value of education provided justification for students to borrow $42 billion from the US this year. And many of them will end up as student-loan debt slaves.
With the estimated cost of attending a four year state college in America at $120,000, the average family of four should expect their children’s college to cost more than buying a home. Even though only 24% of Americans believe college is affordable, 97% still believe getting a college degree is financially important to improve your life.
This optimism regarding the value of education has provided the justification for 60% of the 20 million students in college last year to borrow $42 billion from the United States government this year to stay in school. But with the reward for a college degree falling and default rates sky-rocketing, many students and their parents will end up as the student loan debt slaves.
College tuitions since 1986 have risen by a breath taking 498%, compared to 115% for general price inflation. The main driver for this hyper-inflation was the dramatic expansion of the Federal Stafford Loans since 1992, following Congress’ elimination of requirement that government-backed student loans be subject to parental income restrictions.
The most enticing aspect of these sub-prime loans is that repayment is deferred while a student is enrolled as at least a half-time student, then are subject to a grace period for six months after the student leaves school either by graduating, dropping below half-time enrollment, or withdraws.
The sudden access to billions of dollars in “free money” allowed highly unionized colleges to dramatically increase tuition rates without fear of driving away financially strapped under-graduates.
For students graduating this year with a four year degree, college sounded like a good financial investment when they first enrolled in 2008. At that time, the median annual earnings of young adults with bachelor’s degrees was $46,000, versus only $30,000 for
those with high school diplomas or equivalencies.
This means that on average, the bachelor’s degree salary beat a high school diploma by 53%. But average salary means that half of graduates make more than $46,000 and half make less. Eliminate engineering, economics and accounting degrees, the starting salary drops below $42,000. Graduate with an education, sociology or creative arts degree and the starting salary drops below to $36,000.
In 1970, when the overall unemployment rate was 4.9 percent, unemployment among college graduates was negligible, at 1.2 percent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that with the current national unemployment rate of 7.9%, unemployment for college graduates is substantially better at 3.7%. But many college graduates over the Great Recession have been forced to “trade down” to take $9 an hour starting jobs at Wal-Mart, FedEx and Starbucks.
Student loans just passed the $1 trillion dollar mark and continue to be the fastest growing consumer debt in the United States. The total percentage of Americans with 1 or more student loans has increased from 12.1% to 19% over the last seven years. Average student loan debt was $17,233 in 2005, but the level has swelled by 58% to $27,253 in 2012. In contrast, outstanding consumer credit cards and car loans balances in the U.S. actually shrank during the same period.
Lending to people who did not have to qualify to borrow and will not begin paying money back until after they have consumed the product, has created a colossal new sub-prime lending crisis. Over the last two years, the default rate on student loans, according to the New York Federal Reserve’s quarterly credit report, rose from 8.5% in 2011, to 11% by September 2012. The U.S. Department of Education reports the current default rate is 13.4% and estimates that 40% of student debt required to be in repayment status is not performing according to the original loan terms.
A generation of Americans has gone deep into debt for their education. Some will pay-off their loans, but many will default or seek loan modifications. Those defaulting on a student loans will face dire consequences, beyond a bad credit record — which can tarnish hopes of getting a car, an apartment or even a job. Under law, the U.S. government can attach their wages, tax refunds and even inheritance.
Unlike other consumer borrowers with onerous debt, student loans are specifically ineligible for compromise or rejection under the United States Bankruptcy Code. Going to college may still be the best time of a person’s life, but millions of students and their families are doomed to a life as student loan debt slaves.
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