As Jon Chattman at HuffPo points out, padding bank execs wallets as the rest of us attempt to bail out our tiny sinking rafts isn't really gonna help matters. Enter Robert Applebaum, an average Joe trying to make ends meet, and at 35, still dealing with a sizeable amount of student loan debt. He has started a Facebook group and a petition to back his genius solution: Cancel student loan debt to stimulate the economy.As someone crippled by her own chunk of debt, this idea makes me giddy. And, unlike most stimulus plans being tossed around, sounds like it could actually work. Just think of how many young professionals could suddenly toss an extra 100, 200, even 500 bucks a month into the economy if they weren't saddled with debt. I could afford to maybe take a vacation, buy a car, splurge on some fancy new shoes every once in awhile. This would have a serious effect on consumer confidence (and on retailer revenue).
So, cheers to you Robert Applebaum. Unfortunately, I think there's no chance in hell this will ever happen... But then again, that's what I said a few years back about a certain awesome presidential hopeful.
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www.studentloanjubilee.blogspot.com
Yes, we need a debt jubilee, specifically for student loan debt.
Jubilee or not, the laws need to be changed so that student loan debt can be discharged in a bankruptcy (which affects negatively on a person for seven years).
AGREED! How do we get Obama and company to stop talking about how to get free government labor buy coming up with debt relief schemes that go only to people that work in certain jobs that Obama thinks are worthy of debt relief?
The answer is to provide retroactive discharge of any student loans to people have filed and my file bankruptcy. That way everyone in need of relief gets it and not just people that Obama thinks is worthy. I hate the idea of "I'll provide you relief, if you work as a special ed teacher in the inner city for 10 years...etc"
I will start to send my student loan bill to Obama with a sticky note asking him how he expects me to pay it and still have a family and retirement.
I encourage anyone reading this to make a copy of their monthly bill and send it to the White house. Maybe that will get someone's attention.
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