Student Loan Debt Burdens Us All.

Stimulate the Economy -- Forgive Student Loans!

Target:
President Barack Obama
Sponsored by: 
Over the past twenty years, student loan debt in the United States has more than doubled. We are now graduating students with a marvelous skill set as well as a mountain of debt. If we were to take our tax dollars and invest them in paying off student loan debt in this country, we would be investing in our future and in ourselves. Many individuals and families pay more than a third of their monthly income to student loan debt. If we free up this earned income by paying off debt, our educated masses in this country could create new businesses, invest in homes, and become a foundation for the new economy. This will have a much deeper positive impact on all Americans than handing bailouts to corporations who have no impetus to invest in this country.

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Over the past twenty years, student loan debt in the United States has more than doubled. We are now graduating students with a marvelous skill set as well as a mountain of debt. If we were to take our tax dollars and invest them in paying off student loan debt in this country, we would be investing in our future and in ourselves. Many individuals and families pay more than a third of their monthly income to student loan debt. If we free up this earned income by paying off debt, our educated masses in this country could create new businesses, invest in homes, and become a foundation for the new economy. This will have a much deeper positive impact on all Americans than handing bailouts to corporations who have no impetus to invest in this country.

Please join our Facebook Group for more information and discussion of this important issue:

http://www.new.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=58440324477&ref=mf
We the Undersigned are writing to you to ask for a real economic stimulus plan for America.

Hundreds of billions of our tax dollars have been given to Wall Street and other corporations in hopes of "jump starting" the economy. We want to see our tax dollars going directly to Main Street rather than routed through Wall Street.

Americans are increasingly saddled with debt. Chief among this debt is student loan debt. We provide the best education in the world in our colleges and universities, but we leave our graduates at a severe disadvantage as they leave our institutions with a degree and a mountain of debt. This debt inhibits many of these young people from achieving their dreams and making productive contributions to America and the American economy.

We ask you to consider a relief package for student loan debtors. By forgiving student loan debt, we can invest in our future and save our economy. Families pay upwards of a third to half of their monthly incomes trying to pay down student loan debt. If this real wealth was freed, our educated masses could spend that money by creating new businesses, which would in turn create new jobs. Freed from debt, these families could also begin to invest in themselves by purchasing homes and land. This would infuse our economy with real wealth that would benefit all sectors not just the wealthy few on Wall Street.

We ask you to make a real investment in America. We ask you to truly stimulate this economy. We ask you to use our tax dollars to relieve the burden of student debt and allow our graduates to truly use their education to give back to this great country.

Thank you for bringing hope to America. Now, let us help you turn that hope into a brighter future.
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We signed the "Stimulate the Economy -- Forgive Student Loans!" petition!
# 54,150:
10:47 pm PST, Dec 31, Brenda Ballmer, Ohio
# 54,149:
10:36 pm PST, Dec 31, Marlene Miller, California
We have four children who have all graduated from college in the past 5 years. Because of their student loans they can't afford to go on for their graduate degrees but are not making enough income to save any money because half their income is going to pay back their student loans.
# 54,148:
10:32 pm PST, Dec 31, Karen Egypt, Maryland
# 54,147:
9:56 pm PST, Dec 31, Kimberly White, Tennessee
# 54,146:
8:52 pm PST, Dec 31, Virginia Cole, New Mexico
# 54,145:
8:03 pm PST, Dec 31, Name not displayed, Indiana
# 54,144:
7:02 pm PST, Dec 31, Marissa Householder, Pennsylvania
# 54,143:
6:29 pm PST, Dec 31, Name not displayed, Connecticut
I worked three jobs to payoff my student loan for my undergrad and will soon be starting it again with over $60,000 of debt from my master's degree. My field is not high paying, but it does require a master's degree.
# 54,142:
6:18 pm PST, Dec 31, Name not displayed, Massachusetts
It sounds like a modern version of It's a Wonderful Life, but sometimes I think that I may be worth more dead than alive. I've worked so hard to be the only one in my family with an education. Watching my Father try to get a GED and failing because he had to work so hard to provide for us. Education is very important, but now in retrospect was it worth it. Working three jobs, and watching my friends party. I have given so much to my students, even when they couldn't pay. I received my first bill as my deferment ends this month, and the only way I may be able to pay the monthly bill of $952 is to find a nice bridge and jump!
# 54,141:
5:59 pm PST, Dec 31, Marie Coe, Indiana
I think the combination of lack of jobs more due to over flooding the market by schools and the rising student loan debt have more to do with the failing economy than anything else, I know more college educated people out of work/working a lower income job because there are few or no options in their fields. So be careful when pushing for higher education, make sure we need it. Makes no sense to put yourself in debt to get no further ahead.
# 54,140:
5:58 pm PST, Dec 31, Connie S Weeks, North Carolina
# 54,139:
5:52 pm PST, Dec 31, Name not displayed, Arizona
I am a single mother with no financial assistance from my daughter's father it would be great to have an extra income. Also due to my student loan debt my credit has been affected to use with my fiance to finance for a house. I hope there's some help.
# 54,138:
5:11 pm PST, Dec 31, Stacy Carmichael, Florida
# 54,137:
4:03 pm PST, Dec 31, Name not displayed, Oregon
I went back to school when I was 41 years old to get a degree to help those struggling with alcoholism and drug addiction. I graduated at 54 years old. I make very little money in this field although I am licensed and have a Master's Degree. I work with disenfranchised people in Oregon who could not otherwise afford treatment. I believe the last $20,000 of my student loan should be forgiven. Thank you for your consideration.
# 54,136:
3:22 pm PST, Dec 31, J D, North Carolina
Like many other students, I was 18 when I signed my first student loan papers. Although legally an adult, I did not understand just what I was about to get myself into as loans, interest, credit, budgets, finance, etc. was never discussed in my house growing up nor was it taught in school. Semester after semester I would go back to the Financial Aid office and sign a new set of paperwork. I knew the amount I was borrowing, but mostly I just knew, or thought I knew, that signing the papers was the only way I could stay in school for another semester, and staying & finishing school was the way to a higher paying job. I'm now 33 and still trying to pay off a current balance of $40k in student loans and wondering if home ownership will ever be possible. Just out of college I was able to get a job making 21k a year. I put my loans in deferment for a couple years thinking that I just needed more experience to land a higher paying job. Today I make about 43k a year and still find myself having trouble making ends meet. It's ashame that pursuing a higher education in hopes to provide a better life for yourself and family is actually doing the opposite in many cases. Upon graduating, many students are in a worse position than those who chose to enter the workforce straight out of highschool. Sure we walk away with a higher education, but we also walk away with a debt that has us tightening our belts some 10 to 20 years. While those who go straight to the work force already have a four year advantage in the form of experience. When I was looking for jobs right out of college it seems like, although I could plunk down my diploma in front of an interviewer, everything I looked at I didn't have enough experience. Huh! I find myself telling people that, in retrospect, if I had it to do all over again I would have never gone to college -- a horrible outlook to have on bettering oneself.
# 54,135:
3:20 pm PST, Dec 31, Angie Davidson, Iowa
# 54,134:
3:03 pm PST, Dec 31, Name not displayed, Florida
# 54,133:
2:00 pm PST, Dec 31, Eston Allen, Georgia
# 54,132:
10:59 am PST, Dec 31, Name not displayed, Massachusetts
# 54,131:
9:36 am PST, Dec 31, Roger Latak, Ohio
I think the idea of investing out tax money into paying for student loan debt is impeccable. Then the students would have more money to invest in the their future by starting a business or having extra money to buy that house. I have $46000 in student loan debt, and it's putting a huge strain on myself and my family. I think the government should do more to help the hard working people who keep these big businesses alive, because without us their would be no businesses.
# 54,130:
9:15 am PST, Dec 31, Susanne Dawn Plumb, California
# 54,129:
9:09 am PST, Dec 31, Name not displayed, Missouri
# 54,128:
8:49 am PST, Dec 31, Bethany Miller, Oregon
My husband and I struggle every month to pay our bills. Between the two of us, we pay out $335/month for student loans. As a result, any spending on "things" that we used to do has been cut way back. Imagine what an impact it would have on our economy if every student had that money back in their pockets every month!
# 54,127:
8:30 am PST, Dec 31, Name not displayed, Washington D.C.
It's funny how they expect you to start paying off loans within 6 months of you graduating ans charge interest when most people can't find jobs now. Even when the economy was good a college graduate fresh out does not make much money. It still takes time to find a job. I am dying because of these student loans and interest. People want to go to college to better themselves not enough financial aid forced to take out loans you really dont want to take out. I mean geesh, do I blame the school for milking students out of their money, the lenders who take advantage of that or myself for wanting to go to college knowing the cost. The cost at times seems to out weigh the benefits. Especially when I'll be paying off students loans until I'm 40. Why not take the taxes I pay every year instead of me paying into whatever else and use it to pay school loans.
# 54,126:
8:12 am PST, Dec 31, Name not displayed, Indiana
# 54,125:
8:08 am PST, Dec 31, Justin Hoin, New York
# 54,124:
8:03 am PST, Dec 31, Andrea Rogier, Missouri
# 54,123:
7:32 am PST, Dec 31, Adam Wells, Colorado
# 54,122:
7:18 am PST, Dec 31, Name not displayed, Michigan
I took out over $75K in loans for my graduate degree. Two courses and my thesis from completion, my husband lost his job when the telecom industry tanked. Forced to sell our home and move for a job in another state or end up foreclosed on, I was unable to finish my degree (the university refused to work with me - after all that time and money invested!!). I had to consolidate my loans with my husband's to try and make our payments. Since 1999, it's been mostly in forbearance, accruing interest. I now owe nearly $150K, an amount I will never be able to repay. We live in Michigan, where I've been unable to find a job for more than two years; my husband was laid off a year ago and has no prospects in the state at this time. Unemployment barely covers our mortgage, we've lost our car, and we're struggling to pay the bills and ensure our children have the things they need. We're not eligible for refinancing the house (because we have no jobs), and we have yet to see anything from the stimulus package that can help us in any way. So here we are, on the verge of bankruptcy and not even THAT can pull us out of the crushing debt we're now suffocating from. We really need some help.
# 54,121:
6:47 am PST, Dec 31, Danielle Benford, Iowa
I am certainly not asking for a free ride. However, if even half of my student debt were cut I would be able to purchase a car that I desperately need. I currently make a payment of $440 a month and that will be going up as I am on a graduated repayment plan where your payments go up every few years in the assumption that your income will increase. However, due to the economic crisis my income has actually decreased and I have friends who never went to college that make as much money as me or nearly as much without the debt load. We need reform on the college loan system and something should be done for those of us who have already gone through our college training and have the massive amounts of debt to show for it. Not all of us had the luxury of our parents paying for college and had to take out large amounts of money just to live on while we went to school and worked. In addition, for those of us who want to pursue further education beyond a bachelor's degree find it impossible with the debt load that we already have.
# 54,120:
6:43 am PST, Dec 31, Lori Lee, North Carolina
I was the first grandchild on my mother's side of the family to graduate from a 4 year institution. As of today, I am still paying back loans and I graduated 8 years ago in 2002. Being a public schools teacher, I am not making enough money to survive and pay back these loans. I really feel that TEACHERS especially should have their loans forgiven if they teach for so many years in the field. Forgiving the loans would really help the economy!!
# 54,119:
6:21 am PST, Dec 31, Ashley Yanz, Missouri
# 54,118:
6:17 am PST, Dec 31, Hollie Crutchfield, Alabama
Colleges do not do enought to educate studnets on obtaining these loans. They are seen as easy money to pay for school and possibly survive while in school. Tens of thousands of dollars are amassed by students while in school and these obligations are unable to be fulfilled when students finish school. Credit ratings are being ruined for people just starting out and this is a vicious cycle that needs to be managed more effectively.
# 54,117:
3:00 am PST, Dec 31, Amanda Garrison, Indiana
# 54,116:
2:33 am PST, Dec 31, Name not displayed, Montana
My husband and I have a total of $56,000 in student loan debt. We have 2 small children (under 3) and are trying to make mortgage payments and have childcare bills and other basic living expenses. Our loan payments are running $530.00 a month total it is killing us. If everyone that had these kinds of payments could put this money back into the economy it would help a ton!!!
# 54,115:
11:59 pm PST, Dec 30, Kim Fry, California
# 54,114:
11:58 pm PST, Dec 30, Name not displayed, Idaho
# 54,113:
11:19 pm PST, Dec 30, Melissa L., New York
# 54,112:
9:55 pm PST, Dec 30, Laurie Osburn, Texas
I am an older, non-traditional student who is working on a M.S. Family Studies via distance education. I am having to take a semeseter off due to caring for elderly parents. I have a total of $45,000.00 due in loans because I also have several parent-plus loans for my children as well. Needless to say, because I am not in school at least half-time I have began repaying my loans....which is close to $600.00 per month. It would be a really nice reward for those that pay consistently for 10 consecutive years with no late payments or pentalites to be able to have the remaining debt forgiven. Please think about this proposal, because I think a lot of folks might be willing to stick to this plan and you stand a better chance of collecting money for the loans owed than you would if there were no incentives. Thanks for your time, Laurie Osburn
# 54,111:
9:36 pm PST, Dec 30, Erin Ash, Missouri
My father lost his job my senior year of high school and then passed away after my first year of college with no life insurance. This caused me to have to take out student loans, along with my grants and scholarships, to complete my education. In this economy I am worried enough about finding a job. The added weight of paying back student loans really worries me and could restrict my job searching. This would be a huge blessing and upon graduation, would free up my money to put it back into the economy!
# 54,110:
8:28 pm PST, Dec 30, JULIO RIVERA COLON, Puerto Rico
# 54,109:
8:06 pm PST, Dec 30, Glenn Melcher, Minnesota
Why not.. The total forgiven probably does not come to 1/2 of 1% of What Corporate America has already gleened from the US Treasury.
# 54,108:
7:32 pm PST, Dec 30, Nicole Brugger-Dethmers, Michigan
# 54,107:
5:19 pm PST, Dec 30, Ashley Kuehner, New York
I am a single mother on unemployment. I went to a 4 year private university, and truly did not realize I would be graduating with over $50,000 in college loan debt. After I HOPEFULLY pay them off someday, I will have paid over $100,000. My company was sold, and the new company closed my branch office. So I have been looking, and there is nothing out there right now, unless I want to take a 50% pay cut. I would love to go back to school, but how can I afford to take out more money???? This country needs EDUCATION REFORM ASAP. Not even for myself, but for my daughter someday. Reports show that a college education will cost upwards of $200,000 in 18 years. How can employers ask for college educated employees while barely paying over minimum wage??
# 54,106:
4:44 pm PST, Dec 30, Name not displayed, New York
# 54,105:
3:25 pm PST, Dec 30, EM Thomson, Massachusetts
# 54,104:
1:30 pm PST, Dec 30, Tiffany Feazell, Nevada
# 54,103:
12:41 pm PST, Dec 30, Rhain Walter, Arizona
# 54,102:
12:36 pm PST, Dec 30, Correy Tomford, Minnesota
I'm signing this petition on behalf of my good friend who struggles with Student Loan debt, he pays outrageous amounts of money just to pay off his schooling debts, it's not a good situation. :( I support this petition!
# 54,101:
11:28 am PST, Dec 30, Alexis Bevilacqua, Massachusetts
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