Debt-Trap Debbie needs to stop shilling for predatory payday lenders who siphon $8 billion in fees and interest each year from those who can least afford it. That was the message delivered this week to Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s doorstep at the Democratic National Committee, which she chairs, by a hundred grassroots leaders fromContinue reading “Debt-Trap Debbie Swimming With the Loan Sharks”
Tag Archives: debt
New Report: Disenfranchised by Debt
For Immediate Release March 8, 2016 Contact: Kathy Mulady Communications Director (206) 992-8787 kathy@allianceforajustsociety.org Washington D.C. – Poverty isn’t supposed to be a barrier to voting in the United States, at least according to the Constitution. Yet, more than 50 years after poll taxes were prohibited by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, people withContinue reading “New Report: Disenfranchised by Debt”
Student Debt: Study Up Before You Sign Up
It’s that time of year again. Students nationwide are heading back to college and signing fresh promissory notes for financial aid. I am one of them. Many of us will mourn the loss of the summer sun while we simultaneously anticipate carving pumpkins and the smell of fallen leaves. As our quest for knowledge continuesContinue reading “Student Debt: Study Up Before You Sign Up”
Beating Cancer Is One Thing; Beating Medical Debt Is Another
It was a dreary Wednesday afternoon, about a year-and-a-half ago. I was rehearsing in Seattle for an upcoming performance with my rock band, Theory of Change. I was working out some parts with the saxophonist, and things were sounding good. Then, I got the call that would change my life.
Household Debt Is a National Crisis
Years after Toni Potter’s husband passed away from pancreatic cancer, debt collectors in her state of Washington were still relentlessly hounding her about his hospital bills. Andrea Anderson, a young student in Oregon, has been saddled with $150,000 in college loans as she pursues her dream of becoming a social worker. She knows she’ll beContinue reading “Household Debt Is a National Crisis”
Graduates Struggle Under a Mountain of Debt
College is supposed to be the pathway to a better job and a better life, but for students across the country college is also the pathway to a life of debt. Since 2008, states across the country have decreased their investment in higher education, with every state except for Alaska and North Dakota providing lessContinue reading “Graduates Struggle Under a Mountain of Debt”
Learning Experience: Two Bachelors Degrees and Deep in Debt
In my family, going to University was never a question. My sisters and I were raised with the idea that higher education was our ticket out of poverty. Like our peers, we clung to the American dream of graduating and establishing careers that would allow us to fulfill our dreams of traveling, building a family,Continue reading “Learning Experience: Two Bachelors Degrees and Deep in Debt”
Starbucks’ Free College Gimmick Clouds the Real Problem
As we’ve reported here and here, the state of higher education in this country has reached a crisis. The cost of tuition has risen substantially faster than any other good or service over the past 40 years. There are many that are calling the student debt crisis the next financial bubble. Under the Starbucks plan,Continue reading “Starbucks’ Free College Gimmick Clouds the Real Problem”
Sallie Mae Slap on the Wrist Doesn’t Go Far Enough
This week the Department of Justice levied a $97 million fine against the student debt servicing giant Sallie Mae. The findings of the DOJ’s long investigation revealed a host of bad practices and illegal behaviors at the company, including overcharging on nearly all military service members’ loans, and mishandling borrowers’ payments to maximize late feesContinue reading “Sallie Mae Slap on the Wrist Doesn’t Go Far Enough”
Student Debt Threatens the Future for Everyone
A college degree was once an investment in the future, a path to a good job, a home, car, vacation and money set aside to retire some day. But that college education has for many, become a ball and chain limiting future growth. Unless we begin to address this debt issue we will continue toContinue reading “Student Debt Threatens the Future for Everyone”