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The Student Debt System: a Critical Juncture in the Production of Inequality

The following article contains thoughts that I would have liked to have shared on Democracy Now!, but didn't have time for.  Here's the clip of the interview with the article below:

 

 

For most Americans student debt is a simple matter: you got the education, you agreed to pay for it, you can't give back your brain, so suck it up and get to work.  Unfortunately, this sort of logic fundamentally misunderstands the systemic sources by which so much student debt has been incurred, and the long term inequality this debt is creating.  The misunderstanding most Americans have of the student debt cycle is particularly dangerous now that the amount of education debt is about to pass the 1 trillion dollar mark, which amounts to about four thousand dollars for every man, woman and child in this country.  According to the Project on Student Debt, of the class of 2008, 41% are either delinquent or in default.  Many recent reports have already begun to theorize student debt as the next bubble about to burst.  Unfortunately, this bubble has the potential to slowly ooze, causing unrelenting suffering for a generation, and even greater economic disparity for the 99%.

When you look carefully at the student debt crisis, you can see that it has been caused by complex relationships between four distinct types of entities:  governmental agencies, lenders, educational institutions and consumers.

Now is the Time to Refuse Student Debt (Part 1)

Later on today, the #OWS Empowerment & Education Working Group will launch a national campaign that will challenge and draw attention to the growing problem of student debt.

Student loan debt represents the largest portion of all "consumer" debt, and will exceed 1 trillion dollars by the end of the year. Currently, about 67% of students incur debt at the college level. In 2008, approximately 1.4 million seniors graduated with an average of about $26,000 dollars of student loan debt.

In spite of widespread use of loans to finance education, most Americans are unaware of the true nature of these loans, and some of the important issues around our pay-for-diploma education model. The layperson views student loans as a benevolent government program designed to help citizens move into the middle class by attending college. Unfortunately, the sad reality is that student loans have helped to create an education industry that now operates at the expense of our society.

The Feeling of Fascism

I don't watch late night TV, but I saw the clip of David Letterman commenting to Bloomberg that he must be embarrassed to have appeared on the famous Forbes list as the 10th richest man in the world.  But Bloomberg stole the joke by saying that he wasn't embarrassed at all.  This actually stumped Letterman.  I don't know how rich David Letterman is, but I'm betting he's in the top 1%.  But even for someone with that kind of wealth, Bloomberg's unabashed greed was stunning.  Yes, Dave, he really is "laughing all the way to the bank".  What would he have responded if he were asked how he felt about being in a group that made 1.13 TRILLION dollars the same year that 10 million more Americans lost their health coverage and that 1 in 7 were classified as below the poverty line.  I think he probably would have said the same thing - after all his unique qualities as a human being got him there.  This is why he should be a third term mayor of New York, in spite of the fact that a two term limit was voted on by the actual people of this city.  Yet, anytime I use the "f-word" (fascism) people seem stunned - as if that's an extreme statement, when in reality it simply describes exactly what's happening.

I'm reading Paul D'Amato's The Meaning of Marxism and thinking a lot about the way that American society is today.  Has it really changed?  Has it really changed so much that there's cause for alarm?  When work was more plentiful and the stock market going up up up, were things really any different - in reality?  Or did they just feel different, like the way you feel different like after eating too big of a meal. The hunger is gone - replaced by a feeling of fullness that makes it seem like you'll never be hungry again.

It seems to me that many of the ideas about how the world we live in works are not really connected to reality.  I grew up at a time when the ideals of class mobility and meritocracy were hammered home in middle class families.  But there's no denying that those with a leg up, regardless of merit, fared better.  Have things really changed?  Or were these just a convenient beliefs we clung to?  Who was it really convenient for?  Ridding myself of these ideas, is like jumping into a bathtub filled with ice - it's hard, and painful, but the kind of sobering truth that the doctor ordered.  So, the question becomes what to do next?  What to do when we face that American fascism feels just like democracy and capitalism does...that in reality, they are actually the same.

Growing Disparity in the New Economy

One of the most under reported stories of the financial crisis is its impact on the disparity between African-Americans and whites.  Last fall, I had the fortune to hear Congresswoman Maxine Waters speak on the issue of how the mortgage foreclosure crisis would likely impact African-American communities by striping them of years of hard earned gains, and making it difficult if not impossible to rebuild.  But recently, Brandeis University published findings depicting an even more disturbing account showing a fourfold increase in the wealth gap between whites and blacks created over the last 23 years.  From 1984 a 20K disparity between blacks and whites ballooned into a 95K gap by 2007.  In real terms, this 75K differential is a child's college tuition or the savings to weather a job loss.  So, African-American communities were clearly in crisis before the crisis.

The disconnect between income and work that has culminated in the recent financial crisis has no doubt influenced this trend, and will no doubt widen the gap.  Since in our neoliberal capitalist society money is no longer primarily generated from labor, but rather money begets money to extreme degrees, the luck of birth will increasingly be the determining factor in an individual's future, unless we turn this tide and collectively figure out ways to stand against this type of social order.

The Racial Wealth Gap Increases Fourfold

White Families Now 95K Richer Than African-American Families on Average, According to New Study

Don't Blame the Dream of Homeownership

My Response to: "Compared to Other Rich Countries, U.S. Had Big Job Losses"

I tried to change my NYTimes moniker to "radical thinker" but somehow it reverted back to "pambrown15" - oops!  Since everyone knows who wrote the comment already, I figured I'd post it here as well...

Here's the article:

Compared to Other Rich Countries, U.S. Had Big Job Losses

Here's my comment:

It's really not surprising that this post comes via a professor at U of Chicago, the home of Milton Friedman, and the intellectual foundation of the neoliberal thinking that has caused the loss of the middle class in America, and in every country where markets have been deregulated throughout the world.

I have a feeling that most human beings would favor income without expending the energy of labor. And there are many Americans doing just this right now via investing in the stock market, where you make money not from work, but from money. Unfortunately, for most of us, we lack the money to exploit capital in this way, and are left with the crumbs.

Hope for Victims of Student Loan Scam?

I'm glad to see that the student loan issue is back on the radar.  Just this morning at the dog park a neighbor shared with me that she owed 130K for her undergraduate history degree from NYU and has given up looking for a job.  Not a day goes by that she does not regret her education - mainly its cost.  Currently, she is volunteering at a local school to qualify to become a teacher.  When even Barack and Michelle Obama, two Harvard educated lawyers, would still be in debt if it weren't for the success of Barack's book, we know something is wrong.  Hopefully, with Jesse Jackson on the case, justice can be restored to education.

 

Default, the Movie

Student Loan Justice

Reduce the Rate

Kenneth Foster Dances for Joy on Hope’s Grave

My cousin Rose wears her hat every Sunday, and always bursts into her singsong West Indian accent with a big smile. In spite of worry on her brow she looks younger than her years, and she has not become hard or cold with suffering. She goes to work everyday, yet still struggles to put food on the table, and keep the electric on. She has stayed married to the same man, who I only recall meeting once or twice, in spite of his drinking and his rage. All three of her daughters are college graduates (the first in her family) and are all gainfully employed in helping professions. Her two youngest sons are both in prison, and one may never be released.

There is Hope!: Foster Death Sentence Commuted

FOSTER WILL NOT DIE, DEATH PENALTY CHANGED INTO LIFE SENTENCE

While Were on the Subject of Predatory Lending, Let's Talk about Student Loans

I have been following the mortgage fiasco and like many Americans I am left wondering what kind of cruel lender would fail to clearly disclose repayment terms, make loans that a borrower had little hope of generating income substantial enough to pay, take advantage of financially under educated consumers, and pray upon a belief in the American dream? As a recipient of student loans I used to finance my graduate education at Columbia University, I say look no further than good ol’ Uncle Sam, America’s favorite backer of student loans.

Unlike many mortgage borrowers seeking the material rewards of equity, additional living space, and keeping up with the Jones’ McMansion next door, student borrowers often seek the immaterial benefits of a good education such as pleasurable and appropriate work, and making a positive contribution to our society.

Where is an Accomplice Subject to the Death Penalty? Texas, of course...

In the aftermath of Larry Craig's public indecency scanal, this shockingly sad story has largely gone unnoticed. From today's New York Times:

Kenneth Foster has a date on Thursday with the executioner's needle. Not for killing anyone himself, but for what he was doing -- and might have been thinking -- the night in 1996 whe he was 19 and a sidekick gunned down a San Antonio law student.

Evidently, a 19 year old Mr. Foster was the driver for a robbery spree and was about 80 feet away at the time of the shooting. But because he might have or could have (or should have) anticipated the murder, today will be his last day of life. Since when do we kill people for anticipating a murder? Sorry to be shocked by this, but this is insane! I doubt anyone would disagree that punishment is warranted, but the question here is does the punishment fit the crime? Texas has stretched the philosophical distinction between killing and letting die to it's limit here. Foster recklessly allowed someone to die, but he did not kill. Further, he allegedly tried to end the evening because he was worried about getting his grandfather's car home. And the three other parties to the murder also testified that he had no knowledge that the crime was about to be committed.

Not the Killer, but Still Facing a Date With the Executioner
Gender and Racial Statistics of Death Row Offenders
Texas set to execute accomplice
Kenneth Foster’s Fate: Death Penalty Craziness In Texas
An appointment with death despite the evidence
The Case of Kenneth Foster: Texas Prepares to Execute Man for Driving a Car Near Scene of Murder
Perry commutes Texas death row inmate Foster's sentence
Evolution in Texas -- On the Death Penalty