- New York Times Op-Ed columnist Gail Collins entitled her piece "When Sallie Met Barack" and proceeds to note the trials and tribulations of one couple who saw their loan forgiveness program canceled:
"This week, Jonathan Glater of The Times reported the story of Travis and Stephanie Gay,
a couple in Kentucky who had borrowed about $100,000 to become special
education teachers, under the impression that they could pay their
loans off in five years via a special state forgiveness program for
people who worked in low-salary service professions. Right after they
got married last summer, the Gays got a letter from the state agency
that ran the program saying that due to tough economic times, it was
canceling most of their assistance and good luck with that debt."
As for the guaranteed student loan program, she notes with just a bit of sarcasm:
"And then, there’s the epicenter of the college loan strangeness, the federally guaranteed loans. This is a system that goes something like this:
¶We the taxpayers pay the banks to make loans to students.
¶We the taxpayers then guarantee the loans so the banks won’t lose money if the students don’t pay.
¶We the taxpayers then buy back the loans from the banks so they can make more loans to students, for which we will then pay them more rewards.
Are you with me so far? Wait, I see a hand waving back there. What’s that, sir? You want to know why the government doesn’t just lend the money out itself? Excellent question!"
- Inside Higher Ed has recently had Op-Ed pieces from financial aid directors at both FFELP and Direct Lending institutions, each of which has generated significant numbers of comments:
- Schenectady Daily Gazette: Cut out the middleman on student loans
Comments