Reply #32: first, sorry about the risk to your job. Losing a job is at the top of the life sucks list

[bigtree]

Here's what I understand and have read (not to contradict your own situation, but to offer some perspective for discussion:


from Campus Progress.org: http://www.campusprogress.org/cribsheets/4873/best-government-takeover-ever

Lenders must still service student loans that are already on the books, and there will be more federal loans made to students than ever in future years—each of which must be serviced by employees working at private companies contracted by the federal government.

There are also many parts of the bill that will create jobs. SAFRA includes large investments in campus modernization, school construction, community colleges, early education programs, and grants to state governments to improve college access and completion.

And because loan companies often do more than just federal student loans—like offer consultation services to schools and give private (“alternative”) student loans— well after reform is passed, many will continue to operate and employ people for these activities.


here's their account of the change in policy:

If SAFRA is passed, this $87 billion would be invested in education. Specifically, the version of SAFRA passed by the House of Representatives would:

* Invest $40 billion in increasing the maximum Pell grant—given to the poorest of students—and make sure that the grants will increase each year by at least inflation plus one percent.

* Fund state and federal programs to increase college access and improve completion rates.

* Invest in community colleges and minority serving institutions.

* Make interest rates variable for Subsidized Stafford loans to allow students to benefit from low interest rates, while maintaining the interest rate cap, to protect them from high interest rates.

* Simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

* Reform and expand the Perkins Loan Program to give more students at more schools options than just private loans, which have high and variable interest rates and few borrower protections. Unfortunately, this would cause interest to accrue on Perkins loans while students were still in school.

* Create a completive grant program for early learning initiatives.

* Invest in campus modernization, which could include projects like retrofitting buildings to be more energy efficient or updating technology in classrooms.