Student Assistance

I am writing to bring to your attention a growing problem in the nation. I have researched the internet extensively concerning student loans and the common theme is that former students are unable to pay back their student loans. Financial aid is made easy for us to receive but the terms of repayment are rarely if ever fully explained. It is my belief learning institutions are leading students into an agreement with the notion that once they have completed their education the income will be readily available that paying back these loans will be easily managed. Often the promised job placement assistance is never delivered and the student is left on their own to find a job with little or no knowledge in how to enter the market as a valuable commodity. This creates a situation wherein students who have amassed great debt are unable to win the jobs that will garner wages sufficient to offset repayment and provide for themselves and their family. That is where my problems began.

I fully believed that upon my graduation, I would be days away from a new career that would make all the expense and effort worth while. I was dismayed to find that was not the case. I was unable to find on my own, a job that would allow me enough disposable income to repay the large debt I had incurred. I ended up using my new education to manage a gas station. Not exactly the bright shining future I had expected. I made an effort to pay what I could but it was too much to bear and eventually I began to receive notices of collection on the loans I had made against my future. I contacted the school because I truly wanted to do the right thing in this matter and return the money I had borrowed from the taxpayers. The schools response seemed elementary, return to school with further loans and expand my education further. This would halt the collection activities and give me even more ability to sell myself in a competitive job market.

This was not to be the case. During this period I met and married the love of my life. She was a wonderful woman but unskilled and undereducated. Ultimately, I assumed the burden of pretty much all financial responsibility for our family which included her three children. It was a struggle in those early years let me tell you, but we made it through. But, again as before the sizable payments demanded from the government and school were too large for my pay to accommodate especially with my wife not being able to provide a significant portion monetarily to our marriage. Being responsible in large part for our well being I made tough decisions about what we could afford and what was important for us. Sadly as much as I wished to repay the loans they were very inflexible about payment arrangements. Eventually I gave up entirely.

I moved years later to a different part of my state to be closer to my wifes family and took a job in making less money than my previous employment hoping that the decreased cost of living would help to offset the loss of pay. Again I was disappointed when I was unable to negotiate an acceptable amount for a monthly payment towards my debt. I offered to pay 200 dollars per month they demanded 300. I told them I was willing to pay but unable to meet all my financial obligations with such a large payment. My pleas fell on deaf ears and I was informed that they were going to seek garnishment of my wages.

Shortly afterwards I received notice the procedure had begun officially and submitted the necessary paperwork to mitigate the loss of wages and attempted again to negotiate a more feasible rate of repayment. I was rebuffed again. The garnishment began soon after. I have now received notice that another collections company having purchased one of the loan debts is seeking to garnish my wages. I have roughly estimated that I owe close to 95,000 dollars. I may never be able to pay these loans off in entirety but I dearly wish to make good on my debt. If only I could find a way to make them listen to me, compromise a little and accept smaller payment. I am robbing Peter to pay Paul as it is. My existing financial troubles have already had a dire effect on my marriage and my health. This new twist is already increasing the considerable pressure on me and my family.

In the past year the government has bailed out companies who have made bad decisions lending money, spending almost a trillion dollars of tax payer money doing so. Yet, we as tax payers still suffer under the burdens of massive debt and in some cases due to the poor lending practices of our Federal Government through student loans. We know the executives will never pay back the loans, and not only do they not fear garnishment, they continue to receive large bonuses. It seems that tax payers are always getting stepped on but there is no bail out program for us. I feel a law needs to be passed to make it harder for schools to lend money to those who cannot obviously afford to pay it back. Tuitions are on the rise and the problem will ultimately get worse.

In short I and others like me need help. I have made some decisions in life that I regretted; going to school is not one of them, but I truly wish I had known more about what I was getting into. I would like to know that I matter and that as a taxpayer I can look to my elected officials in a time of great need. Please sign this petition if you agree that the current system is broken and requires a serious overhaul in order to function in the best interest of the tax payers.