Student loan amnesty NOW!

An idea which should be pursued, the outright cancelling of student loan debt is something unlikely to occur as financial institutions maintain their grip in the puppet holes of our so-called "public servants." It was lobbying by these same institutions which make it impossible to write off student loans when declaring bankruptcy and which legalise the garnishing of wages when loans are defaulted on. Particularly onerous is the fact that student loan companies are the ultimate predatory lenders: convinced that decent employment will not come without a college degree (in this economy, nothing will guarantee decent employment) and misled by the ignorant plebs employed part-time in the financial aid offices of many colleges, people end up beginning their adult lives in debt - a time when they should be experiencing freedom and sampling what life has to offer.

Yet another voice has been added to the small chorus of those calling for student loan amnesty. The Baltimore Sun reports:

The banks were bailed out, and automakers got help, too. Even some people who bought more house than they could afford are getting relief.

But as the economy still sputters along, Robert Applebaum thinks he has a better idea: Cancel all the outstanding student loan debt. The impact would be immediate, he says, as people paying hundreds of dollars a month on their student loans could instead spend that money elsewhere.

The seemingly fanciful idea has hit a nerve. Since Applebaum, a New York lawyer, started a Facebook group on Jan. 29, more than 156,000 people have joined and 40,000 have signed a petition intended to be sent to Congress. Applebaum, who owes about $96,000 on law school loans, has become a full-time spokesman for the cause.

[...]

He estimates that all private and publicly held student debt in the country totals about $600 billion - far less, he notes, than what has gone to banks that have used the money, in part, to pay out unpopular bonuses.

A lot more "socialism" would do this country good.