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:
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:
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.
We signed the "Stimulate the Economy -- Forgive Student Loans!" petition!
# 53,366:
3:52 pm PST, Nov 20,Holli Hicks, Alabama
My husband and I consolidated our loans. We are now $120,000 in debt...both educators and pay over $700 a month in payments. If our loans were forgiven, we could easily help stimulate the economy, just like everyone else.
# 53,365:
3:36 pm PST, Nov 20,Shoshana Wallenmeyer, Arizona
# 53,364:
2:30 pm PST, Nov 20,Name not displayed, Oregon
At this time, I have over 40K in school loans and I was laid off almost one year ago...bottom line, I need some assistance.
# 53,363:
2:15 pm PST, Nov 20,David Winmill, Utah
I went to school with the hopes of getting into a great "growing" field with great pay. Along the way the school "had a hard drive fail" and "lost" half a semester of my work and so I had to repeat a couple classes! This was at MY expense! They set me up with Sallie Mae who got me a loan (on top of my other FSA Loans) and I was back in school with no interruption other than having to graduate later and with another class. Sallie Mae then split my loan into two loans, without notifying me, increased my interest rate, effective during my school term and started billing me! $600/mo for these loans, on top of the $400 for the other loans and guess what?! My degree was worthless when I got out of school and so has gotten me nowhere! I make below the average median income in my State, support a disabled wife, spend more than 1/3 of my income on medical expenses and housing and still have to deal with Sallie Mae trying to collect from me! Well I've bleed my family dry getting Sallie Mae off my back this past year, but they sold the 'PAID OFF LOAN' to another company who is now attempting to collect an already paid off debt! I'm over $70K in debt and will have this taken out of my pay via garnishment effectively ruining whatever credit I had because I have to make 4 times what I make now to pay these loans back and provide for my family. Education should be a tax write off!
# 53,362:
1:57 pm PST, Nov 20,Deven Kanungo, Georgia
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1:13 pm PST, Nov 20,Name not displayed, Wisconsin
# 53,360:
1:11 pm PST, Nov 20,Molly Zajchowski, Massachusetts
# 53,359:
12:19 pm PST, Nov 20,Name not displayed, California
# 53,358:
12:03 pm PST, Nov 20,Name not displayed, Virginia
The government has done virtually nothing for the middle class who has to struggle with student loans. At the very least the interest from these loans should be eliminated. It is almost impossible to pay back loans and survive with the cost of living. There needs to be some regulation on private loans! Cash for Clunkers helped out the people who could not afford a car payment and many never went to college. The rich did not have any issues. Help the middle class by eliminating a percentage of student loan debt or at the very least the interest.
# 53,357:
11:29 am PST, Nov 20,Julie Pefferman, Oregon
My monthly student loans are $3,000.00.
# 53,356:
10:55 am PST, Nov 20,Name not displayed, Georgia
# 53,355:
7:05 am PST, Nov 20,Jeanmarie Leclair, Wisconsin
The co-signing of our children's school loans has had a crushing financial impact on me and my husband - we are going to Bankrupcty court today and will be losing our home of nearly 30 years due to loss of equity and husband's disability and there's no relief in sight.
# 53,354:
5:50 am PST, Nov 20,James Sims III, Illinois
I have accumulated 120K in student loan debt, with just two B.A. Degrees. It is crazy how I reflect back to when I was in school, and how easily loan officers were quick to push a loan at me. Never did they once explain how the decision to borrow will be payed back. Evaluating the students career aspirations (career payoff), and current student loan debt was not in the picture. Ironically, after I had graduated - that is from THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN - I heard that there were many scams of loan officers being payed incentives, gifts, bonuses, for offering the most loans. I do, feel like I was one of those individuals who were victimized in this situation. I am not placing blame on anyone for borrowing, but had I been properly informed, I would have thought twice about the LOOOOOOOONNNNNGGG TTTERRRM effects of paying back these loans. I am from a lower middle-class family, raised by a single mother, and 'til this day, I know that the middle-class cannot afford a decent education, unless there was saving involved or the child was brilliant and received a full scholarship. So much for the "American Dream." Oh yeah, and to make it worse, I work a full-time job that requires me to work well over 40 hours a week, and my salary is only $30,000. I think I am going to start a huge campaign (Michael Moore Style) against Sallie Mae Lenders.
# 53,353:
5:04 am PST, Nov 20,Robert Smith, Texas
If I could be forgiven of my student debts I'd buy a new house or two.
# 53,352:
3:05 am PST, Nov 20,Name not displayed, Pennsylvania
I have had the desire to be a nurse since I was a little girl. As a single mother I was determined not to give up. The governments plan for loan forgiveness for nurses was an inspiration for me to continue despite the fact I could not afford it. 3 months before I graduated form nursing school, the program was cancelled. I am now going to be forced to pay back a large educational bill. While I would love to go back for my graduate degree. I cannot afford it and it will not be an option for me. I chose nursing because I wanted to make a difference in health care. Now I have to work long hours in order to afford my student loan payments. I truly feel under appreciated and neglected because there are other professions that were not affected and remain to have a loan forgiveness program. I feel like the need for nurses is just as significant. The government encouraged people to go back to school for nursing because there was a shortage...the shortage has since gone but no one is communicating this. I know too many new nurses who are struggling to find work and have the financial obligations to take of a family on top of enormous student loan bills.
It saddens me that so many people were misled into this falsehood.
# 53,351:
1:35 am PST, Nov 20,Joseph Gallagher, Florida
# 53,350:
10:10 pm PST, Nov 19,Chad Frost, Texas
# 53,349:
9:52 pm PST, Nov 19,Michael Farr, California
# 53,348:
7:46 pm PST, Nov 19,Audra Sams, Ohio
# 53,347:
7:42 pm PST, Nov 19,Name not displayed, Ohio
# 53,346:
1:44 pm PST, Nov 19,Name not displayed, California
# 53,345:
1:01 pm PST, Nov 19,Melinda Sauvage, California
I over over 200,000 in loans. I don't know how I am ever going to pay them back. I got my DR in chiropractics and the starting pay out there is in the 40k. I have been working in the industry for 3 yrs now and haven't even starting paying back my loans. It is a joke. Don't become a chiropractor. It isn't worth it.
# 53,344:
12:20 pm PST, Nov 19,Jason Skinner, Minnesota
I chose to go to a 2 year college for graphic design. The recruiter assured me that I would have low monthly payments and be able to pay on it at my own pace. Now as I sit, 6 years after graduating. I owe more than I did when I graduated. I owe $46,000 and my payments that I am expected to pay every month are just under $400. That is hardly a minimal payment. If I was able to get some of this debt forgiven or a solid fixed rate on the loan, I may be able to free my self from school loan slavery.
# 53,343:
12:04 pm PST, Nov 19,Name not displayed, Illinois
# 53,342:
10:19 am PST, Nov 19,Name not displayed, Massachusetts
# 53,341:
9:03 am PST, Nov 19,Matthew Dillinger, Ohio
Matthew Craig Dillinger
# 53,340:
8:52 am PST, Nov 19,Jennifer Sherrodd, Wyoming
# 53,339:
8:43 am PST, Nov 19,Eugene Younger, Oklahoma
I've been paying back the same 5,000 for years now, I'm paying mostly interest! I just want this debt off my back!
# 53,338:
5:30 am PST, Nov 19,Jay Anson, Illinois
Tried to "better" my life and get a degree, It has only made it worse.
# 53,337:
2:50 am PST, Nov 19,Marie Smith, Virginia
I am an educator who finds it hard to keep up with the demands of staying current in my field.
# 53,336:
12:20 am PST, Nov 19,Zachary Long, Arkansas
At 24 years old, I am $35000 in debt and unemployed.
# 53,335:
12:16 am PST, Nov 19,Name not displayed, Wyoming
# 53,334:
9:38 pm PST, Nov 18,Name not displayed, Pakistan
# 53,333:
9:29 pm PST, Nov 18,Carolina Gunther, Indiana
# 53,332:
9:04 pm PST, Nov 18,Lyndsay Privett, Utah
I think what you guys are doing is great. The reason I went back to school is because I had an abusive husband (now x) who told me if I left him, I wouldn't get custody of our child if I left him because I didn't have a college degree. . . . So I went back, got my degree and left him. Now I am stuck jobless (because the employment is so low) raising my 4 year old daughter and trying to pay off student loans, including a $7000 Sallie Mae Loan ($16000 I will pay them after their fee's for having the loan) and I am only making $1000 a month LUCKILY. I am trying to do a bankruptcy because I got left with divorce debt and I wish I could get my student loans included in them. The education I got and will pay for for 20+ years will not benefeit me with the way the economy isnt going. Thanks for setting up this site. I am a large supporter!
# 53,331:
4:11 pm PST, Nov 18,Mark Skellie, Louisiana
# 53,330:
4:08 pm PST, Nov 18,Lacey Koby, Minnesota
I wish the government would step in to regulate private loan interest rates and make sure that they inform the person who is signing on a loan that if they get a $20,000 education they will be paying back double that or triple depending on how long you are in school and how long it takes you to find a job (good luck right now! Jobs are hard to find in well paying positions!) These private loan companies are just as bad as credit card companies and our schools recommend them! Ridiculous!! I feel like I have been robbed with my private loans! They try to work with you, but they cannot drop down payments if it is a private loan! That is not "working" with you if they can't meet your needs with payments....
# 53,329:
12:43 pm PST, Nov 18,Stuart Winslow, Florida
Many individuals and families are uneducated about the true impact that student loans will have on their lives after school. Besides the overwhelming anxiety it creates on young adults, many of whom can't immediately cash in on their overpriced education, have to feel the immediate burden of trying to work the loans into a small budget. This can lead to them having to compensate by perhaps running up credit card balances, or worse, going default on their loans. In the long term, it affects the decision to buy a house, start a family, take a chance on a new career or go into business for themselves... for most of us these things seem impossible due to the burden of student loans, both private and federal.
For one, the amount of interest that can be written off on a tax return is pathetic... $2500. If you make over $70k, you can't write any off.
Two, we can't consolidate for a better rate. Many companies promise this, but it is a ploy.
Three, we can't have a positive affect on the economy. We can't buy houses, new cars, travel, etc. Some of us are stuck in a job we hate because we need the paycheck and we see no way out.
Please, help. "CHANGE"... sound familiar?
# 53,328:
10:23 am PST, Nov 18,Name not displayed, Georgia
# 53,327:
7:55 am PST, Nov 18,Teddy Adams, New Mexico
It is unfair to use our monies to help private companies and not private citizens. This would give them more to spend on consumer goods.
# 53,326:
7:30 am PST, Nov 18,Steve Skirvin, Indiana
# 53,325:
3:03 am PST, Nov 18,James Wieske, Michigan
# 53,324:
12:04 am PST, Nov 18,Name not displayed, Florida
I am struggling to pay off the student loans I currently have. I used to have a job in my field after graduation but the mortgage bubble collapse led to my lay off. Now I am finding it difficult to obtain even a minimum wage job. This is not what I was raised to believe would happen. Please forgive my student loans. In fact please consider making Education FREE so that we catch up with other nations (such as China where they surpass us). You are already considering providing Free Health Care, why not Education as well? If you want America to be great help students get a quality education so they can stimulate this workforce. Going to college is challenging enough without worrying about obtaining and paying off loans.
# 53,323:
10:54 pm PST, Nov 17,Renna Lake, Louisiana
# 53,322:
7:15 pm PST, Nov 17,Name not displayed, Ohio
I went to college a very naive young woman that came from a highly dysfunctional family. There was no one there to guide me through the financial process of funding school properly, choosing a wise degree, or the skills necessary to network and find a job after graduation. Both of my parents are broke, blue collar workers who pushed me to go to college because they believed that it was the right thing to do. I wish I had never gone to school. I got my BA in a useless major, went back to get my teacher's license and a TESOL endorsement, and have not been able to find a teaching job. However, I blame myself for not questioning why I was going to school and how I was actually going to get a job afterward. I trusted my parents and other adults in my life, including relatives who went to college twenty years before me and are much more successful, and I bought into the idea that college would bring me more success than my parents. I will be paying a $400/month student loan payment for the next twenty-five years. Since I graduated, I have never made more then $20,000/year at my full-time job. I enjoyed the college "experience", but it will never justify being in this much debt for almost the rest of my life.
# 53,321:
6:48 pm PST, Nov 17,Anthony Mosko, Michigan
# 53,320:
6:32 pm PST, Nov 17,Elisheva Levine, Michigan
Hello. I am a law school graduate who is about $150,000 in debt. I am a native Michigander and hope to stay in the state, even though it is one of the most economically devastated states in the country. I am entering the professional world with mass amounts of debt and limited job prospects, both in the private and public sector. I am concerned about my present and future spending abilities along with the spending abilities of those in my generation "privileged" enough to get a higher education. I know that I and many of my peers have had no other option but move back home with our parents to save what little costs that we may. The student debt is a catastrophic burden on our society and on the future of the economy.
# 53,319:
6:21 pm PST, Nov 17,Name not displayed, Texas
This would greatly help me out in these tough times. Not paying a student loan would ease the burden. Please pass this.
# 53,318:
4:55 pm PST, Nov 17,Adele Lassiter, Montana
The interest rates were not explained to me properly and I realize that when it's all said and done I'll owe 30,000 in Interest. This from a degree that can't get me a job in my field let alone McDonald's in this economy!
# 53,317:
4:02 pm PST, Nov 17,Frank Romano, Illinois
I was pursuing an undergrad IT degree but couldn't continue my education due to under employment. When I was again gainfully employed it required me to travel out of town for 6 consecutive weeks at a time with only a day or two at home. I was devorced and on a single income again. Couldn't continue my education. I never saw my financial situation get any better. I fell back on my trademan skills because I just didn't have the IT credentials. I got into a sub prime loan for a home and after much negotiation have stabilzed this but my student loans are in default and collections. I'm being made to make 8 monthly payments at >11% of my net wages in order to rehab my loans. The holder of the loan demanded I make a $500 down payment. This hurt, and I now risk having my income tax return grabbed by the IRS. I need my tax return to survive through the winter months when the lay offs come. Who would have thought that making an attempt to further educate myself would lead to financial hardship.
# 53,316:
12:20 pm PST, Nov 17,Allison Merkley, Minnesota
Please Mr. President, nearly an entire generation is struggling to find ways to pay off their loans and remain responsible citizens and credit-holders. We did not know how hard it would be to find jobs in the current economic conditions when we took on our education, nor could we anticipate employers making it increasingly difficult for new graduates to successfully land entry-level jobs. Help the economy and millions of new graduates by forgiving some or all of our loans.
# 53,315:
10:01 am PST, Nov 17,Name not displayed, Ohio
It's just an impossible situation. So many other countries pay you to go to univerity in europe. I'd say it's about time to see the benefits of that system. It clearly works better.
# 53,314:
8:44 am PST, Nov 17,Shannon Griffith, Pennsylvania
# 53,313:
8:04 am PST, Nov 17,Rob & Wendy Christiansen, New Mexico
If the government really wants to stimulate the economy it shouldn't make the rich people richer. It needs to concentrate on helping the middle and lower classes. This is where the real spending power is and ultimately the way out of the recission. Incidentally, the middle and lower classes also have the greatest clout in voting if we get together to make a change. Forgive Student Loans now!
# 53,312:
7:24 am PST, Nov 17,Mercedes Darnaby-Moye, Georgia
I think this is a great way to start to rebuild education, job skills, an our overall future. Sign Sign Sign an lets try to make our furture Greater!!!
# 53,311:
10:28 pm PST, Nov 16,Adam Waitt, New Hampshire
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9:31 pm PST, Nov 16,Name not displayed, Illinois
# 53,309:
8:56 pm PST, Nov 16,Name not displayed, New York
I am a recent college graduate with a double major in Psychology and Sociology from a highly rated public university. I am currently living at home in the city of Buffalo with no job prospects and no hope of being able to relocate because of the financial burden of student loans. I am working as a server in a restaurant due to the lack of jobs in my area. My full-time position is searching for the next time so, it is by far not a lack of motivation that has put me in the situation. Everyday I feel the burden of this crushing debt and some days I even regret attending college because of the situation and massive debt I have looming over me now. Please forgive student loans for those of us who really need it (had parents in the middle class that affected their FAFSA drastically) not just those who practically got a free ride through school anyway.
# 53,308:
7:25 pm PST, Nov 16,Lynn Kazmark, Oklahoma
# 53,307:
6:11 pm PST, Nov 16,Adora Sayre, California
# 53,306:
4:56 pm PST, Nov 16,Amanda Hrubetz, Minnesota
# 53,305:
4:47 pm PST, Nov 16,Brian Fulbright, South Carolina
# 53,304:
2:24 pm PST, Nov 16,Joshua Reed, Utah
I have 45K of student loan debt. I wanted to consolidate this amount into one loan and several banks will not allow any kind debt consolidation on unsecured debt. I have a Master's degree in accounting and still am not able to find a job that makes the student loan repayment an easy task. With the amount of money that I would be able to save every month from this burden, I would be able to have the extra funds needed to be in a home again or to buy a more reliable vehicle. Please consider the proposal with seriousness as it comes not from people trying to avoid debt but who are truly concerned for the future of the economy of the nation and feel powerless to change it. This would empower us to be a large part of a change for the better. This would be a great step in the right direction.
Joshua Reed
# 53,303:
2:19 pm PST, Nov 16,Edward Pavone, New York
# 53,302:
2:13 pm PST, Nov 16,Dirk Adams, Massachusetts
# 53,301:
1:58 pm PST, Nov 16,Kurt Gardner, North Carolina
no more student loans equals me buying a house.
