I finally read the article. First thing that bugs me is the title:
Student loans puts college graduate into deep financial hole
It should have read "Student puts herself in deep financial trouble". I hate this "I'm a victim" attitude. I'm fat because they have commercials for food, I made bad financial decisions because people offered me loans, that new car looked so cool I HAD to buy it, etc.
Heck, she was getting a business degree. Who is going to hire her into that industry after she couldn't even figure the impact of loans? I also hate the "entitlement" attitude. Here she is, under these tough financial times, but she had her own apartment ($600 a month on rent)? How about sharing? *Most* of the engineers I knew that were starting out shared apartments. These were people with good starting salaries, good job stability outlook, good opportunity for advancement and raises within a year.
And then, add to the $600 a month on rent...
... the $120-a-month cable and Internet bill.
... $329-a-month car payment
... $150-a-month cell phone plan
Geez, my cell phone is $8.33/month (prepaid), no cable, GIVE ME A BREAK!
And to break down the generation gap, my two college kids share a family plan with plenty of minutes and texting for them (if they don't go nuts, which they don't) - that is less than $90 for TWO people. What the frick kinda cell phone plan does she need?
Drop those above costs and guess what? She's got *more than enough* money to pay the loan. She can't do the math? The reporter can't do the math? $1200 > $1100, right?
Before she gets any kind of assistance at all, there sure ought to be some requirement that she cuts these expenses out. I know the administration of that would be a nightmare, but it just is not right.
And then... Her 80-year-old grandmother co-signed for the loans and could lose her house in North Fayette if the debts are not repaid. well, that *is* what co-signing is a all about. How can people sign stuff, and then just think they should be able to walk away from their responsibilities? But they make the loan people the bad guys? What about this girl, it appears keeping an expensive phone, cable, etc is more important to her than the risk that her grandmother will lose her house.
OTOH, these *is* something wrong on the loan offer side of this. I mean, outside of maybe some of the crazy loans made during the housing bubble, there is no way a 20 YO is going to get a $120,000 mortgage (and that would have had the house as collateral) with no job. There probably need to more on the education side of just what these loans really mean, and all the implications. Of course, the loan programs are probably part of the reason that education costs have increased faster than inflation. One of those unintended consequences of "everybody should be able to get an education", or "everybody should be able to buy a house", etc, etc.
-ERD50