Ditchin tha collage loanz...free collage 4 all!

[Playa76911S]

Collage tuichin is off tha heezy...thse brave stoodents R doin sumthin about it:

Debt Dodgers: Meet the Americans Who Moved to Europe and Went AWOL on Their Student Loans | VICE | United States

Tha kwote sumz it up:

"I think at this point I owe about $40,000. I really, truly, honestly don't want to pay it back. Sure, I realize the responsibility I took on when I signed the papers and agreed to take out the loans, but I should have never had to do it in the first place. I would rather spend my money on things that I need like food and shelter than to give it back for a service that should have been provided for me."

[LWJ]

Dude! Yer back!

[Rick Lee]

Some real gems in that article.

In my experience, people leave because there's a sense of hopelessness and they see greater opportunities overseas, usually through a combination of higher pay and lower living expenses.

Really? Where in Europe are living expenses lower and wages (for recent college grads) higher than in the US? Not saying it's great here, but it's crazy expensive in Europe. The pay there is sometimes supplemented by gov't. subsidies for getting married and having kids. But I doubt that applies to foreigners.

A year ago, I was working at a fancy restaurant in Berlin and made a lot of money in tips.

I find this hard to believe. Berlin is insanely expensive and restaurants tack on 14% for service to their dinner checks. It's customary to round up one or two Euros, which makes it unusual to make close to 20% in tips.

The past two years I've been banking on this rumored Obama loan forgiveness bill that still hasn't really been passed.

This is obviously a person who, at best, belonged in trade school and not in college.

[ckelly78z]

Originally Posted by Playa76911S

a service that should have been provided for me."

Entitled youngsters who have always gotten thier way by stomping thier feet. These are the kids that voted Democrat for the last 8 years.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Children are our future, and the future is bright!!!

To be fair, 35 years ago you could have written an article about draft dodgers in Canada and kids hiding out in college to avoid military service. So d-bag kids is not a new thing.

[72doug2,2S]

France has a 36 hour work week, free heathcare and hip coffee joints for all. They're all going to wait it out there until their bills are forgiven.

[fintstone]

Originally Posted by 72doug2,2S

France has a 36 hour work week, free heathcare and hip coffee joints for all. They're all going to wait it out there until their bills are forgiven.

One can only hope they stay. Anyone with that attitude would just be a further burden on the welfare state.

[Nickshu]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Children are our future, and the future is bright!!!

To be fair, 35 years ago you could have written an article about draft dodgers in Canada and kids hiding out in college to avoid military service. So d-bag kids is not a new thing.

Or the tax loophole where one could claim bankruptcy the day after graduating and get out of all student loans. This was very popular amongst physicians, a family friend who is now retired after a long career did it, along with several of his classmates. They had no credit or money anyway, were entering 3-6 year residencies, and had nothing to lose. I think that loophole closed in 1986 or 1988.

[red-beard]

How are they working in Europe with a work permit?

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by red-beard

How are they working in Europe with a work permit?

It's not impossible. I've done it. My German employer arranged it. But I don't know how it works if you just walk into a restaurant and say you want to work. My employer was big enough that they could get any kind of permit they wanted for any worker from anywhere. A small restaurant, probably not. And you'd probably have to be pretty proficient in the local language to work there, which is not real common among Americans.

[red-beard]

In no case in the article, with the exception of the film guy, do they state what they studied.

Also, the younger people, the only "bank" they could have used for student loans was/is the US Federal Government.

[1975porsche]

If you put your name to that debt, it is yours you pay it off.

[BE911SC]

Keep in mind that the congress passed a law in 2002 that forbade college loan debt from being forgiven through bankruptcy proceedings. The same bill made it impossible for debtors to collect Social Security and Medicare benefits until all their student loans are paid off in full.

Imagine if these same restrictions were put on wealthy individuals and corporations?

Walking away from debt is as American as apple pie. You just have to be rich enough to do so.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

All of these debt-dodging clowns might have a little more credibility if they hadn't racked up $120k in loans to major in "Gender Identity Issues in Medieval French Villages".

[Arizona_928]

I've considered it. However, I'm still under 4 figures for my undergrad.
Would be nice. Live like a bum in Germany, working crap jobs for 8 years. Apply for citizenship, then give the US gubberment the big ole middle finger.
However, I enjoy spoons too much to do it.

[uncle_scott]

My wife and I together owe just over $80,000 in student loans between undergrad and graduate degrees. I wouldn't have my job without the degrees I hold, so it was practically a requirement for advancing in my field. We are in the position now of sucking it up and paying for it. We have chosen the shortest repayment periods possible at 10 years, and are chipping away at the debt slowly. The collective payment is nearly what our first house mortgage payment equaled. I am filing our taxes soon, so the number for our paid interest is still fresh in my head. We paid $7430 in just interest on those student loans.

I don't mind paying back the money I have borrowed, but the forced high interest rates bother me. I would feel much better paying 2-3% instead of the nearly 7% for the loans. It is what it is though, and for us all we can do is complain about it and make the payments.

[KNS]

Spineless parasites. Their parents failed them in instilling good morals but even after they left home their thinking became even more warped - "Everybody is doing it".

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Originally Posted by uncle_scott

My wife and I together owe just over $80,000 in student loans between undergrad and graduate degrees. I wouldn't have my job without the degrees I hold, so it was practically a requirement for advancing in my field. We are in the position now of sucking it up and paying for it. We have chosen the shortest repayment periods possible at 10 years, and are chipping away at the debt slowly. The collective payment is nearly what our first house mortgage payment equaled. I am filing our taxes soon, so the number for our paid interest is still fresh in my head. We paid $7430 in just interest on those student loans.

I don't mind paying back the money I have borrowed, but the forced high interest rates bother me. I would feel much better paying 2-3% instead of the nearly 7% for the loans. It is what it is though, and for us all we can do is complain about it and make the payments.

You should be able to consolidate those into a much lower rate than that!

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Nickshu

Or the tax loophole where one could claim bankruptcy the day after graduating and get out of all student loans. This was very popular amongst physicians, a family friend who is now retired after a long career did it, along with several of his classmates. They had no credit or money anyway, were entering 3-6 year residencies, and had nothing to lose. I think that loophole closed in 1986 or 1988.

I was always told that you can't make college loans go away by filing for bankruptcy. That loan stays with you for life. I think they should pass that burden onto their children. That will make em' think twice about getting out ot it.

[wdfifteen]

Selfish airheads, the lot of them. This guy really gets my blood boiling, "My parents own a home and were planning on leaving it to us as inheritance. They were nervous about having their house taken away from them because of me not paying student loans, and subsequently signed the house over to my sister so they wouldn't own anything the bank could come after."

It's one thing to screw over a lender but screwing with the family home because you are too irresponsible to pay your debts ... this selfish brat ought to be beetch-slapped into the next century.