Yes, these poor, poor borrowers really deserve our sympathy. And while they do seem to want that sympathy, what they're really after is some free money. Or, rather, they've already obtained the free money, now they just want a free pass to never pay it back, because they are too damn special to be expected to do anything but bask in the glow of their own specialness.
The story here is: some people borrowed a bunch of student loan money which they agreed to pay back. They haven't paid it back and have since decided that they don't want to pay it back and, further, that everyone else should agree that they shouldn't have to pay it back.
Our story begins with the ONLY character in this article that is even remotely deserving of sympathy. The first dude is a 39 year-old man dying of AIDS and living off government largess. The evil forces that lent him the money want to take $35/month from the free money he receives from Uncle Sugar each month. He deserves more sympathy than anyone else mentioned in this article. Not because of his loan situation (not at all), but because he is dying of a terrible disease.
But enough about that poor man. Let's move on to the dirtbags.
In 1998, largely unnoticed, the federal law governing the loans was changed so borrowers could shed them in bankruptcy only by proving it was an "undue hardship" to repay. Student loans thus joined a rarified class of obligations, such as child support and restitution in criminal cases, that can almost never be shirked. It is a very hard test to meet, as cases such as Carol Ann Race's show.
In the 1980s, Ms. Race borrowed $20,000 to study theology and philosophy at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., and another school. Now 42, she has five children, ages 4 through 11. Two are autistic.
Her husband earns $18,000 a year as a nursing-home aide. The family of seven lives in Bertha, Minn., on $28,000 a year, including government disability payments to the autistic children. Ms. Race says she made $300 monthly payments on her student loan for 2½ years before she lost her job as a religious educator in a church in 1994.
She filed for bankruptcy in hopes of getting the loans -- the family's only debt -- canceled. A year ago, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Dennis O'Brien ruled against her. In an interview, the judge says he wanted to let her out of the loans but was sure he would be reversed on appeal. His opinion said that because of higher-court rulings, he couldn't cancel her student loans unless he found that repayment would "strip Race or her family of all that makes life worth living."
At the end of her case, Ms. Race owed $34,000 at 7% interest. Pursued by two state agencies that made the initial guarantee on her loans, she has signed up for a repayment program with a 5.125% rate; the payments will be linked to family income. She says she will be paying the debt for decades, making it difficult to set aside money to care for her children.
"I always felt if I could get a judge to listen to me, it would be simply gone -- they would forgive the loan," Ms. Race says. "Anybody who has any heart at all could see that our circumstances weren't brought about by our actions or our foolishness."
No, Ms. Race, you are wrong. Your circumstances were brought about entirely by your foolish actions and your selfish, greedy ways. Theology and philosophy aren't exactly known for bringing in the big bucks. Not to say they aren't worth studying, but you'd have to be a damn FOOL to borrow money for such a pursuit, since there's a damn good chance that you aren't going to make enough after completion of your studies to pay back that money without some real sacrifices. But instead of making those sacrifices after choosing that course, this woman decided to have five children. Her children's autism is the only misfortune this woman has suffered through no fault of her own. And she's getting money from the government for the autistic children. Plenty of people would love to waste their time in college studying interesting stuff that will do little or nothing to increase their earning potential, but most recognize that doing so is a luxury. And I'm sure a lot of people would love to have five children, but they recognize that children require care which costs money. This chick thinks she is somehow entitled to things that are luxuries to everyone else, and she thinks everyone else should be required to foot the bill. A sympathetic character indeed.
While this woman's obviously a greedy bitch, I've saved the best for last:
That leaves borrowers like Jonathan Gerhardt, 46, little choice but to pay. He is a cellist. The child of two classical musicians in Columbus, Ohio, he studied at the New England Conservatory of Music, performed with two city orchestras and finally won a spot as principal cellist at the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in New Orleans. Despite climbing this high in his field, he was earning just $20,000 a year three years ago, including pay for teaching cello at Tulane University. He buckled under his $100,000 in student loans and filed for bankruptcy.
Lawyers for the Education Department and a guarantee agency that held some of the loans sought to make him pay. The opinion of a bankruptcy court in New Orleans says the lawyers told the court Mr. Gerhardt could trim his expenses, such as $23.90 a month for Internet access and $48.51 for a gym membership. They also suggested he get rid of his cat to save $20 a month.
Bankruptcy Judge Jerry A. Brown, however, said Mr. Gerhardt had to work out to relieve back pain from playing the cello, and needed the Internet to look for extra work. "Expenses related to his cat are not luxuries, considering he is single and lives alone," the judge wrote. He ruled that repaying the loan would be an "undue hardship" and expunged it.
So we have here a dude that has back pain as a result of pursuing a hobby that he also happens to get paid for and we're supposed to feel sorry for his worthless ass. I think it was a bit harsh for the lawyers to suggest he get rid of his cat, but the fact of the matter is his financial situation does not permit him such luxuries as pets. He's not responsible enough for pet ownership, otherwise he'd be paying his bills. He voluntarily borrowed $100k to be educated in something fun at a fancy school, and simply cannot believe that he's actually expected to pay it back as he agreed to. This is equivalent to chilling out in the Caribbean charging sailing and snorkeling lessons on your credit card then screaming about hardships when the bill comes due. This dude has no business whatsoever complaining about his predicament. This pathetic, destitute graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music should be ashamed of himself. I would have LOVED to major in art at a top school then spend my days painting and having fun and making very little money at it, but I recognized that as being about as practical as bathing in Champagne every day so I pursue my painting as a hobby and at my own (considerable) expense. But since this dude didn't approach things that way, he should be given piles of free cash. Forget about the Sri Lankans being crushed by a massive wall of water for a minute and let's all shed a tear for this asshole. Or, better yet, let's not. Be sure to look at the picture of this smug jerk.
These people are no more deserving of sympathy than people who shoplift DVDs at Best Buy, but for some reason, they think they're better, and they've found people who agree with them. People who charge hundreds of pairs of designer high-heels on their American Express have as much right to have their debts forgiven as these fools.
Ignoring the sob stories of the assclowns in the story, one finds more fodder for blogs. Student loans are treated differently than other types of debt, in many different ways. This is wrong, in many different ways. But since a big deal isn't made of this unfairness in the article, I'm not going to dwell on it here. There isn't time. I'm still reading through the Constitution, looking for the part that authorizes a federal student loan program.
10:30 AM
