Student loans are unlike any other loan in the free market. They were uniquely stripped of bankruptcy rights and protections. Every other loan on the free market has this essential feature which prevents predatory lending, and absurd interest rates.
Student loans are a disaster.
Lyndon Johnson in 1965 declared that the loans would be free of interest! The higher education act was created to enable youth to pursue education without the burdensome debt that has accrued among 43 million Americans today. Today the loans have exceeded $2 trillion, and every day over $300 million of interest alone is clicking off on the backs of people who simply aspired for more in life.
Why should student loans be treated any differently than other consumer debts?
Both the Democrats and the Republicans need to pass a law to restore standard bankruptcy protections without any strings attached; and rights to future prospective borrowers. Come October when the loans are turned back on without bankruptcy rights as leverage for the borrowers? It is going to have serious consequences and mass defaults will accrue.
Before the pandemic, 60% of all borrowers were not paying! Imagine what it will be now? In six months from September 2023? October? People are done, finished!
This entire system needs to be demolished, rebuilt and legitimized. Education should be a right, not a privilege for the few. Sincerely, a concerned construction worker who aspires for more.
Anton Vanrey, North Logan