Who Will Pay My Student Loans?

For the past week or so there's been an Obama radio ad running in this area that just infuriates me. I get worked up and end up yelling for half an hour or so, much to my husband's delight.

I haven't been able to locate the ad online to share, but it features a young female saying something like, "I'm a 25 year old with so much student loan debt. Who is going to help me?!" The ad goes on with the usual speil about Obama and change.

I'm not anti-Obama, but this ad pisses me RIGHT OFF, and I surprised there's not state-wide outrage over it. Is there anyone in Texas who feels that it's the PRESIDENT'S JOB to PAY OFF YOUR STUDENT LOANS?

Consider your ass lucky to have a college education and be responsible and pay your bills or suffer the consequences. On what planet is a healthy, college-educated 20-something (presumably single and childless) considered in need or in some kind of dire situation just because she has to make student loan payments?

In my family the payments we make on various debts including our vehicle, student loans, (soon!) mortgage, and good old fashioned credit card debt would make your hair curl. Is the solution to our on-the-brink-of-over-extended-ness some sort of Presidential proclamation?

Of all the many, many problems in our nation, is THIS the one that's important enough to be run in a radio ad prior to a Primary vote? REALLY?!?!?!

What, exactly, does Obama feel he (or more accurately, the American taxpayers) should do about a healthy, educated 25 year old who is being asked to pay back (at low interest rate) the money she borrowed to educate herself to prepare for a satisfying and financially beneficial career?

EVERYONE has student loans! (Ok, not literally everyone, but most of us fortunate enough to have been able to attend a college/university/trade school, left school with some amount of student loans.) We all have to suck it up and pay for it!

Obama, I'm a 29 year old mother of 3, and I have student loans and a car payment, and a cell phone, and credit card debt for unneccessary crap I bought years ago, AND I have to buy food every day! Who will help me? It's just not fair that I have expenses and that I have to be responsible for financial choices I make! Isn't there something the President of the United States can do to make sure I can afford to take my kids to Disney World this summer?!? Where's the justice in this world?

ARRRRGGHGHHHH!!

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Tags: democrat

Comments 1 - 25 (62)

Democrats - taking personal responsibility out of our lives.

Is there anyone in Texas who feels that it's the PRESIDENT'S JOB to PAY OFF YOUR STUDENT LOANS?

Yes, most people who voted for Obama.

This is how democrats operate. They feed on people who have loans, are poor, etc. just to get votes. They make peopel think that electing "change we can believe in" will suddenly make their lives better and all their bills will be gone.

Anybody who thinks that is just stupid.

Well, from a conservative point of view, a college education is one of the best investments the government can make. People who have a Bachelor's Degree or higher earn far more than those who don't and therefore pay far more in taxes. The cost of an education has become exorbitant and out of reach for many who might otherwise pursue it.

Something needs to be done to make education more affordible. I don't know what Obama said about it, but if the government should definitely help people get an education.

It scares me that people in college (Barak was big at the college here) think the government OWES them an education. They want the government to give them everything. Healthcare, education, whatever.

The only reason I can imagine they want all this is because they've never really paid taxes AND tried to support a family. If they did, they wouldn't want to pay more taxes so an able bodied person could get free bennies..

I served in the military for the money to go to college. I didn't want to graduate with a debt hanging over my head, so I made a choice. I think the government should encourage that 25 year old to serve her country for a few years in lieu of payment...or heck, something as wild as PAYING IT OFF.

Jythier: It seems like that's the gist.

ID: I have seen a surprising amount of pro-Obama signs and bumper stickers around here.

It's one thing to say our foreign policy needs to change or something that would demand the attention of the leader of the free world.

To me it is just appalling that a healthy, educated person with student loans is THE PROBLEM that we all need to hear about. How is that something a potential President should focus on?

This just blows my mind. It's offensive, actually, that he (or his campaign people) would think we are so stupid that we would be swayed by some little piddly anecdote problem that we might be able to relate to when it's something that is not in any way shape or form an issue that the government should intervene in.

It's like hearing an ad with an old lady who has weeds in her yard and Obama says he'll step up for her and he's the change she needs. WTF is he going to do, and why is it anyone else's problem?!?!

It's like hearing an ad with an old lady who has weeds in her yard and Obama says he'll step up for her and he's the change she needs. WTF is he going to do, and why is it anyone else's problem?!?!

Now I finally figured out the change Obama represents... diaper changes!

His 'change' bit always seemed full of crap.

Ben: The thing is, college is accessible for most people. I have a college education and we were poor as hell. I got a combination of Scholarships, Pell Grants, and Student Loans.

No, going to Harvard was probably never a choice for me, but education is pretty accessible. I don't agree that more needs to be done.

Tova: Good point about government service. Of course I'm sure that would be unfair in some way.

I think this is just one of those things that people need to learn to deal with. In my personal family (me, Adrian, and the kids) we have a vow to get into and out of our own messes. OK, so we shouldn't be getting into messes, haha, but we are responsible to fix whatever we break in our lives and that includes any financial decisions.

Oo, oo, you could pay off all your debt utilizing your impressive rampaging ability.

Jokes across threads - because I can.

Jythier: Good advice. It's not exactly a work-from-home solution, but I think I could squeeze it in during school hours. Isabella would have to hang out in the stroller or the Moby Wrap, but she could learn the skills of the trade as I rampage. Hahaha.

I like the way you think!

Isabella would have to hang out in the stroller or the Moby Wrap

Probably the stroller would be best.

Can hide more rampaging equipment in it.

My drain is plugged, I want the President of the United States to come here right now and clear it! free of charge of course or if not free raise taxes on the wealthy so someone else can pay for it!

The toughest part about affording college is living expenses. I went to college during the early 90s when the cost of living was extremely low. I was only paying $175 a month for rent, and in fact, because my expenses were so low, that's one of the reasons I decided to get my degree.

Unless someone is supporting you, it would be really tough to get through college without being deep in debt when you're finished because the cost of living is so high now.

When I attended college (late 90s to early 00s) I was married and both my husband and I worked and went to school. We were responsible for our living expenses AND those of our CHILDREN.

I am just not sympathetic. We paid off my husband's student loan last month and we're working on mine.

It's just the way it is. If working doesn't meet your cost of living and college expenses, look into scholarships and loans. You are not going to be able to get out of the experience for free. You are going to have to pay for it. Things of value tend to work like that.

I realize the cost of living has gone up a lot, but I don't believe a college education is a right. The opportunity is there, but it may suck and you may have to sacrifice and work hard to seize that opportunity.

MM: I'll send Obama over to clear your drain after he picks up some supper for me.

Some people abuse the system and borrow far more than they should. I've heard of people owing over $100,000 when they're done! I don't feel sorry for them in the least.

Ha, well, lenders are usually willing to give you more than you can reasonably pay back, so you have to know what your limits are. I think with college especially there is this idea or expectation that your income will be so much more when you graduate and you can just worry about it then. That's a false expectation, haha.

I have also known people who weren't good with their payments and because of that the amount they had to pay back ended up doubled or even tripled.

You really have to stay on top of that stuff.

I went to a state college, so that kept my expenses down. I applied for, and utilized, as many scholarships as I could and then made up the difference with Pell Grants and Student Loans. We didn't use our loans to pay our living expenses, though.

I think that's probably where a lot of people mess up (trying to pay for living expenses via student loans).

Student loans? The government will pay for those.

Join the Army.

In Australia, it is a given that if you go to University, you will incur debts. If need assistance to pay and are eligible, you will be helped. Then once you've completed your degree and are working, you have to pay it back, like anyone else. In Austrlia, this is called the Higher Education Contribution Scheme or HECS, for short.

It seems unreasonable to me that someone incur a debt then expect someone else (in this case, the Federal government) to pay it off for them. I wish it worked that way with my bank.

I did a search for this and came up with nothing. I believe this topic is based either on misinformation or misunderstanding. Here is something I found on Obama and the student loan problem:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sen. Barack Obama, a U.S. presidential candidate, said on Tuesday he backs centralizing federal loans for college students under the government and ending federally guaranteed bank loans for them.

The bank loans program is a lucrative business for many financial institutions including Sallie Mae, or SLM Corp. as it is now known, Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp..

Obama, an Illinois Democrat, said a conflicts-of-interest scandal rocking the $85 billion U.S. student loan business underscores the need for such a major reform, which he endorsed originally in 2004.

"It is long past time to put an end to the rampant abuse by lenders of our student loan programs," Obama said in a statement. He would eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan program that provides subsidies to banks and mandate that all federal student loans be provided through the direct loan program.

He said using direct loans to handle this year's volume of federally guaranteed loans would have saved almost $6 billion.

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1517993920070515

Cutting out the middle man would save the government (us) a huge amount of money.

My gawd, dear, you sound more like a Conservative every day.

(Hehe, my plan is working.)

Ditto.

Not much else I can say.....why should I be expected to pay for your lack of willingness to work, laziness, or general stupidity when I have scrimped and saved and suffered and done without?

Some people abuse the system and borrow far more than they should. I've heard of people owing over $100,000 when they're done! I don't feel sorry for them in the least.

Why would you feel sorry for someone who absued the system? They are part of the problem.

MM: I'll send Obama over to clear your drain after he picks up some supper for me.

Then send him to my house to SHOVEL snow...after all, it makes me uncomfortable to lift all that heavy stuff. The government should make my life as easy as possible!

As a person who knows what it is like to have a super butt load of student loans (a B.S. and working on my graduate degree) I can understand a persons frustrations about paying them back especially if you have to live in a city like LA or NYC where average rent hovers around 2000 a month (yes that is misleading... you can get rent for around 900-1200 but that is still around 12,000 a year) for a one bedroom apartment. and then thre is electricity, phone, internet, gas... and then the taxes!!! fed, state, local, FICA, SS... so you get out of school, get a job a year later in something you didn't study to be and around 2-3 years later you are finally making 30-35 a year and you can move out of your parents house LMAO

Anyway, no the goverment should not have to pay back student loans. Getting an education is the best thing you can do, but you have to be pratical. It really doesn't matter too much as to what school you go to (don't believe the hype...) just do the best you can, get internships, join a club that helps the community and you will be surprised how many job offers you get once you graduate and even more surprised as to how many graduate school you can get into.

school costs have skyrocketed for the middle class (not the working class of poor because they get Pell grants and other stipends... I didn't pay for my undergraduate degree, but I did pay in a big way for trying to get my second degree and going to grad school). 30,000 a year is the norm.

I think if there is going to be any complaints it is that school costs to much. but no one should be paying for your student loans. If I am not mistaken, if you work a civil service job for 10 years, you loan amount will be forgiven... so maybe you should find yourself a goverment job and work there for a spell.

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Obama Says, Send ME the Bill!