The Trump administration Will Be Tough on Student Loans

The Trump administration Will Be Tough on Student Loans

Here’s how…. 1. Opposition to Broad Forgiveness: The administration has stated that “Taxpayers—not students and parents—must not be forced to repay student loans that do not belong to them.”   This administration is broadly opposed to presidential-level debt cancellation plans. 2. Ending Repayment Plans: The administration is moving to terminate certain existing income-driven repayment (IDR) plans,…

Medical Debt Forgiveness is Beautiful – But Not a Cure-All 

RIP Medical Debt has become prominent in the fight against health care debt burdens. Once the funders purchase these debts, their next step is always to cancel them. This should be a blessed event for the families who are currently in debt. However —   are these efforts delivering on their promise? Not completely, according…

Can You Declare Bankruptcy From Student Loans?

Student loan debtors are very nervous about their new higher loan payments. If they cannot get “income-based repayment” — for whatever reason– the new payments may be economically back-breaking. I have had borrowers ask me if they could declare bankruptcy. Until a couple of years ago, my answer was that they would probably fail. In…

Payday Loans Can Be Made By Non-Profits

Payday Loans Can Be Made By Non-Profits

Payday loans nationwide are responsible for a large percentage of the really awful, disastrous, family-killing debts that trap low-income Americans.  Payday lenders will gladly tell you about the problems they face, and the costs they have to cover. These loans are massively profitable, nonetheless, for everyone from multinationals to Indian tribes.  Lenders blame their  high…

Book Review…..Debt’s Grip

This new book looks like a great one ……. Debt’s Grip: Risk and Consumer Bankruptcy by Pamela Foohey, Robert M. Lawless, and Deborah Thorne Debt’s Grip uses eleven years of court records and surveys to describe what it means to live in financial precarity in the United States. Bankruptcy filers describe the privations and struggles they suffered. It documents…