Thanks GOP. Parent's Of Deceased Children Inherit Their Student Loan Debt.

[Orrex]

37. Zero risk of default? Ultimately, very close to it..

Assuming that the borrower has any income at all, his wages will be garnished until he comes out of default, regardless of the hardship that this inflicts, and then the repayment will continue until the debt is cured. Unless the borrower is lucky enough to die or become permanently and totally disabled, the lender will get its money. The lender faces no risk except delayed repayment, and the penalties and interest on the loan will greatly exceed any losses to which the lender is exposed in the meantime.

As for a zero interest rate, that is ridiculous on its face. Banks are in business to make money, just like any other business.

Well, yeah. But there's no justification for interest rates that exceed the rate of inflation, since the risk of default, again, is very close to zero. And there should be a lifetime cap on penalties, not to exceed--say--15 percent of the borrowed principal. Inescapable debt is not a blank check for the lenders to fuck their victims for decades at a time, but that's how it's been used and continues to be used.

As for the consequences of not paying back the loan, I think the onus should be on the borrower to review the terms of the loan and understand what they are getting into. Same logic applies for the potential consequences of co-signing.

Since we are facing a nationwide catastrophe of student loan debt, I'd say that something needs to change on the supply side, rather than scolding the millions of victims. The language of the loan agreement should be in plain English easily accessible to the average reader; I can think of no reason why the terms can't be entirely laid out in 200 words or less. We're not talking about an intricate, nuanced debt instrument spanning national borders with fifty-nine cosignors; it's an straightforward agreement between two or three parties at most.

You're not actually proposing any solutions, by the way. You're articulating various methods by which we can continue to shit on the grieving family and everyone else who's been fucked over by student loans. There is no shortage of people eager to say "what you should have done is this," which is simply a frenzy of victim-blaming. What we need are people who are able to say "here is what you can do now."

Judge Smails said, "The world needs ditch diggers too".

Seriously? You channel the worst caricature of entitled Republican assholery for your mantra? Smails can stuff his ugly hat up his ass.