Washington Post: “Forgive Us Our Student Loan Debt?” No Thanks! The Washington Post, which owns for-profit Kaplan, published an op-ed on Monday in favor of loan forgiveness. This is a company that has profited greatly from student loans. Naturally, they will push an agenda whose language is not particularly well-received among a large portion of the American public. As soon as individuals, who have either already paid off their loans or never had loans in the first place, see grads demanding “loan forgiveness,” many people begin to groan. They say things like, “It was their damn decision to take out those loans? Now they don’t want to pay them back?” Or, “No one put a gun to their heads to take out that huge loan! Tough shit! Pay up!” Or, “So people who have loans are bitching and whining, when they got to go off to school and party and enjoy college life? And now they want a bailout too?!?” These are the dismissive remarks that follow any article on student loan debt. That is why redefining the movement is necessary, and that is precisely what #OWS is doing. The language of loan forgiveness is archaic, and why it’s being sloughed off. Those who have promoted this must deal with the fact that we live in very different times now, and that means bolder language is necessary. The 99% are taking responsibility for systems that are corrupted, and that goes for the student lending industry. They are seeking new ways to seize the rhetoric, and they don’t need to be on their knees begging for forgiveness. Currently, there is an Occupy Student Debt group calling upon people to sign a pledge to refuse paying their loans. [Full disclosure: Although I am a freelance journalist, I am also an advocate for student loan debtors, and I am currently calling for a debtors' strike. Contrary to the misinformation and lies being circulated about these efforts, there are well-known authors, activists, union organizers, etc. on board with this next move. As an activist, I believe fully in collaboration and do not stick to one particular idea for personal gain. That's not how this works, especially when you are part of OWS]. The Washington Post piece also inaccurately pits the call for loan forgiveness against the Occupy Student Debt campaign. If read carefully, it is clear that the groups seek similar things. However, using the terms “loan forgiveness” is poor. As I have stated before, it presumes that the borrower is a sinner and they are to blame for this catastrophe. It does not illustrate the problem in an accurate way, and it is easily dismissed or denigrated. On the other hand, Occupy Student Debt is reasserting the power of borrowers, and insisting that something must be done in a more direct action way. Asking policymakers to forgive of us our sins is not needed. Did borrowers who sought higher education do anything wrong? Absolutely not. So why do they need to ask for any sort of forgiveness? As Mitchel Cohen aptly pointed out: Thank you for this article. There is no contradiction [my emphasis] in principle between seeking legislation that provides ‘debt forgiveness’ and organizing one million student debtors to sign a pledge that they will refuse to pay their debt. In fact, a million student refuseniks can serve as a very strong base from which to accomplish that legislation. On the other hand, putting one’s faith in Congressional reps ‘morality’ (you’re kidding, right?) alone is, I would argue, delusional. Do both! Mitchel Cohen It is time for a new set of demands and that requires new, innovative language. Loan forgiveness? That’s soooo post-bailout! Cryn Johannsen is the founder and executive director of All Education Matters (AEM). She is currently writing a book about the student lending crisis and how this mess can be fixed. Read her full HyperVocal archive here, and make sure to follow her on The Twitter @cjohanns. Cryn Johannsen Cryn Johannsen is the author of Higher Ed, Greater Debt: The Student Loan Debt Crisis (Seven Stories Press, 2014. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of All Education Matters(AEM), a 501(c)(4); She is a freelance journalist for The Huffington Post, The Loop 21, and Hypervocal. Cryn has a strong interest in finance and education and her work has appeared in USA Today, Truthout.org and The New England Journal of Higher Education.
Anonymous 28.11.11 @ 4:14 pm I will admit the concept of a student loan bailout, no matter what language you use, is completely anathema to the general American electorate. It sounds too much like whining of siblings form the back seat of the car on a long journey. “But ma! The banks got their bail out why can I have mine too…” My personal feeling is that asking for the extreme of ‘loan forgiveness will be too much for the American population to bare. A proverbial straw so to speak. I believe that a government sponsored long term deferment would be a safer bet and a better play in the eyes of the American people. I also feel that EVERY bank that took bail out money above and below the table should be forced to comply with the legislation or be required to immediately repay all bail out funding plus the appropriate interest. The government should force banks to treat these loans like a 30 yr mortgage allowing the payout to be spread over a much longer period of time with a mandatory 3-5 yr deferment of payment effective immediately. A path such as this is easier for voters to accept and back. Regards, Mikel King http://jafdip.com
spirit happy diet 29.11.11 @ 2:10 pm Every American shoiuld be given amnesty for student loans..period! let 2012 Start new for all! Start with a clean slate and this will help rebuild the moral of the country. If the average American knew the breaks that were given to businesses(way beyond wall st) It would make their heads spin. The aveage man and women is very ignorant and this is why they get abused by big business and Washington The occupy Wall st movement i 20 year too late but the people were too busy watching Family Guy,Married with Children and Jerry Springer
C Cryn Johannsen 29.11.11 @ 7:12 pm Nope. It’s not too late. It has arrived at just the right moment. Have more faith in your fellow Americans!
Guest 05.12.11 @ 8:10 pm The bank did pay back the money they borrowed plus interest, don’t know where you’ve been getting your facts from.
Anonymous 05.12.11 @ 8:21 pm Anonymous coward…. No where did I state that they did not pay back what they were loaned.
Iamlegion 14.12.11 @ 10:32 am There is no need to forgive student loans. The only thing needed is allowing the debtors to go bankrupt. Why are student loans the only type of debt EXEMPTED from bankruptcy? How many people would GLADLY turn in their diploma and professional licenses to have their student loans debts cancelled?
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Vance 15.05.13 @ 10:12 am So much for trying this myself, I’ll never be able to manage it. I’ll just read.
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