Nearly 5 Million Americans in Default on Student Loans

Wall Street Journal ^ | December 13, 2017 | Josh Mitchell

[C19fan]

The number of Americans severely behind on payments on federal student loans reached roughly 4.6 million in the third quarter, a doubling from four years ago, despite a historically long stretch of U.S. job creation and steady economic growth.

In the third quarter alone, the count of such defaulted borrowers—defined by the government as those who haven’t made a payment in at least a year—grew by nearly 274,000, according to Education Department data released Tuesday.

The total number of defaulted borrowers represents about 22% of the Americans who were required to be paying down their federal student loans as of Sept. 30. That figure has increased from 17% four years earlier.

[LostInBayport]

Something is going to happen whether some sort of forgiveness or allow student loans to be discharged in bankruptcy.

As a taxpayer, I am beyond tired of my earnings being used to remove consequences from the poor decisions of others. You have a degree in Eskimo Lesbian Poetry to the tune of sixty grand and you want me to pay the bill? Sure, but the amount forgiven must be taxed as income. Meet the IRS, kiddos!

[glorgau]

Defaulting on a student loan is actually the last required course in many majors.

[pinkandgreenmom]

Well gee whiz. I borrowed $100k to go to law school in the 90s and paid it all back within 5 years. I want a credit back for that or somemthing. /s

[utahagen]

The degrees aren’t “useless”. The people themselves should not have gone away to college, should not have gone to college so soon in their lives, or are deliberately not paying back their loans. Liberal arts education.

[Freee-dame]

These degrees often lead to non-productive government jobs. I think loans are partially forgiven if you “serve” in a gov job or a non-profit. Does the latter include The Clinton Foundation?

[ConservativeMind]

I agree.

[Terry Mross]

It used to be the government would put a lien on your wages. Apparently not anymore.

But the real problem is not student loans. It’s universities constantly raising tuition cost because of tenured professors constantly getting big pay raises.

[Amendment10]

Thank you for referencing that article C19fan. As usual, please note that the following critique is directed at the article and not at you.

Patriots are reminded that the states have never expressly constitutionally delegated to the deep state feds the specific power to tax and spend for INTRAstate schooling purposes. This is evidenced by the following excerpts from the writings of Thomas Jefferson and Supreme Court case opinion.

Thomas Jefferson had noted that the states would first need to amend the Constitution to give Congress the constitutional authority to tax and spend for schooling purposes, something that the states have never done.

• On a few articles of more general and necessary use, the suppression in due season will doubtless be right, but the great mass of the articles on which impost is paid is foreign luxuries, purchased by those only who are rich enough to afford themselves the use of them. Their patriotism would certainly prefer its continuance and application to the great purposes of the public education, roads, rivers, canals, and such other objects of public improvement as it may be thought proper to add to the constitutional enumeration of federal powers [emphases added].”—Thomas Jefferson : Sixth Annual Message to Congress

• "Congress is not empowered to tax for those purposes which are within the exclusive province of the States."Justice John Marshall, Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824.

Career lawmakers probably make unconstitutional students loans available in order to win student votes. But it’s solely the job of state governments to tax and spend for INTRAstate schooling purposes, evidenced by the following excerpts from the congressional record and Supreme Court case opinion.

• ”... the care of the property, the liberty, and the life of the citizen, under the solemn sanction of an oath imposed by your Federal Constitution, is in the States, and not in the Federal Government [emphases added].” —Rep. John Bingham, Congressional Globe, 1866. (See about middle of 3rd column.)

• ”From the accepted doctrine that the United States is a government of delegated powers, it follows that those not expressly granted, or reasonably to be implied from such as are conferred, are reserved to the states, or to the people. To forestall any suggestion to the contrary, the Tenth Amendment was adopted. The same proposition, otherwise stated, is that powers not granted are prohibited [emphasis added].” —United States v. Butler, 1936.

Patriots are also reminded that they will ultimately need to support Pres. Trump in working with the states to repeal the 16th and ill-conceived 17th Amendments (16 & 17A) in order to permanently put a stop to unconstitutional federal taxes.

Patriots will also enjoy Trump’s vision for MAGA for many generations imo if the states repeal 16 & 17A.

[stars & stripes forever]

They could have elected to attend an affordable Jr. College or college rather than go into debt. Poor planning.

[Keyhopper]

Take their degree until they make arraignments to repay the loan.
Treat them like you do people who owe child support.

[EQAndyBuzz]

“The degrees aren’t “useless”. The people themselves should not have gone away to college, should not have gone to college so soon in their lives, or are deliberately not paying back their loans. Liberal arts education.”

Actually the degree is the students best friend, but they are too preoccupied with SJW stuff to see it. A college degree gets first look at every job. If you have 15 years of experience and no degree compared to some idiot with a African American studies degree and no experience the degree will get first look. That’s just the way the resume searching programs are designed.

[Wally_Kalbacken]

85% of outstanding student loan balances are federally guaranteed. It’s an easy to understand zero-sum game concept - what student borrowers do not repay, taxpayers repay. Discharge-ability in bankruptcy? Forgiveness? Same result - taxpayers, many of whom never went to college, are retroactively on the hook for the unwise choices they were not consulted about, of people they do not know. Nice concept.

I had a 29 y.o. come to my office several months ago. Has a medical degree and two health related master’s degrees. At the time he spoke with me he owed just shy of $590k in student loan debt. (I have seen the documentation, it’s real.) The minimum repayment was set to start at $8800/month. He earns a gross income of $1200 a month at present, tutoring kinds on SAT and PSAT exam prep.

After earning his medical degree (funded by student loans) he was not offered a residency “invitation” and elected to earn a master’s degree in a related field (funded by student loans.) He then participated in another round of residency applications and once again, received no invites. Then earns another masters degree in a related field (funded by student loans). Once again tries for residency but is not picked up by anyone. So he’s a highly educated guy who cannot practice in the field he was educated to work in.

I have sympathy for someone in such a spot, but where does it say you get to slough off that debt on the general revenue taxpayer? The schools got their piece. The student got his education. Why is it an equitable result that the rest of the country picks up the tab?

[Dexter Morgan]

Part of my job is reviewing credit reports and I’ve seen the number of student loan defaults increase over the last couple of years.

There are lots of people who have tens of thousands in student loan debt who never completed a significant amount of college courses, let alone a degree. Many of these people lie about the status of their student loans (they say they don’t have to repay until they find a job, or the loan is in forbearance or deferred) when in reality, the student loan debt is in collection (and it won’t go away).

The interest rates and terms of repayment are so generous with unsecured student loans that seeing student loan problems is an immediate disqualifying factor—in my world. Student loans and child support problems speak louder about ones character than many other credit parameters.

[sergeantdave]

I’m kinda leaning toward executing people who refuse to pay their student loans unless they’re willing to enter into involuntary servitude and cut my lawn once a week and clean the cat box.