Take It As Red
"Blogging is, by its very nature, erratic and irregular, feverish effort punctuated by random silence, a conundrum wrapped in a contradiction wrapped in a mystery wrapped in an unclosed em tag. " - The Poor Man
Thursday, March 10Get 'em While They're Young, and They'll Be In Bondage Forever
I've been reading the summary of the new US Bankrupcy legislation ( thanks to Rude Pundit for pointing to it) and, aside from the general everyday evil clauses* that allow credit card companies to own you and your labour forever, there is this:
What are the Rethugs (and tame Dems, like Leiberman and Biden) planning? You know it's nothing good. Now that Pell grants have been substantially reduced and look to be about to be removed entirely, students will have to rely either on minimum wage jobs or credit to pay tuition and living costs at university. " A new formula for calculating eligibility for college financial aid will eliminate federal Pell Grants for up to 80,000 to 90,000 low-income students and will affect funding levels for up to 1 million others. Only after graduation do students find that they are unable to pay back the debt, because even a college degree doesn't guarantee a living wage these days.
Not exactly generous, and I note that the sciences are not included, or teaching, nursing and medicine or many other professions. In the U.S., student loan debt is exempt from bankruptcy discharge for five years after a student leaves school. And according to commentators there has been an explosion in student debt in recent years: "Student loan debt is 85 percent higher among recent college graduates who took on debt while attending public four-year colleges than among graduates from a decade ago. Recent graduates owed an average of $15,100 in 1999/2000, up from $8,200 in 1989/1990. Student loan debt increased by 55 percent among recent graduates of private four-year colleges with student loan debt. These graduates owed an average of $16,500 in 1999/2000, compared to $10,600 in 1989/1990 (all figures in 2002 dollars). This clause smells to high heaven of a future plan not to allow students to claim protection from overwhelming debt, ever. That will mean even less people will be able to afford college.
The Future of American Education? Bush and his cronies really want an ill-educated sharecropper population, don't they? "Oh no, we can't have educated people, they might figure out what we're up to, and heaven forbid they may have the time or money to fight us politically. Let's keep them in debt bondage forever." Either that or it's a way to drive poor kids into the military. Or both. And Democrats voted for this. So much for their being the party of the little person. Time for a revolution, Bring guns and money. ( What's that you say, Mr. Tony Blair and Mr. Charles Clarke? I'm advocating armed revolt and should be banged up indefinitely without charge or trial?) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Those General Everyday Evil Clauses: *During the recent debate on tightening the bankruptcy code, the lawmakers rejected a proposal to prohibit corrupt companies from issuing huge payouts to senior executives shortly before entering bankruptcy. They blocked consideration of a measure that would have curtailed the ability of companies like Enron and WorldCom to shop for the most favorable bankruptcy courts; such actions have had the effect of disenfranchising employees and retired workers from the process. *They defeated a proposal to protect those employees and retired workers when their companies go bankrupt. They refused to close the "millionaire's loophole" that permits wealthy individuals to shelter their assets from lenders by creating special asset-protection trusts. *And on Wednesday, they rejected a proposal to put a nationwide limit on the homestead exemption, a provision that has enabled corporate executives to buy expensive homes in states like Florida and Texas to shelter their assets from creditors. |
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