government-student-loan Books

The Student Loan Scam is an excellent look at the conflicts of interest, corruption, and exploitive practices within the student loan industry. It is a must read for anyone contemplating using student loans to fund their education (especially if they plan to take out high amounts of loans), as well as for folks saddled with a heavy debt burden.

The author, among other things, makes a compelling argument to return basic consumer protections to student loans. Stories in the industry of taking disability payments from the sick or disabled or raiding an elderly person's meager finances to pay for student loans is criminal.

The bottom line is that students are told that they should "follow their bliss" and that higher education will open doors for them and provide them with good jobs and financial security. They are told either directly or it is strongly implied, that taking out student loans for higher education is "good debt."

Nothing could be further from the truth. Tens of thousands of graduates now pay whopping sums of their meager paychecks to pay debts that never actually go down, but keep rising.

Frankly, one would be safer paying for their education on credit cards if they had to, for at least if they ran into financial or medical problems that prevented payback, they would be afforded chapter 7 bankruptcy as an option.

Anyway, the last two paragraphs are my opinion based on what I have seen from dozens of graduate school graduates who are struggling to just get by, including some that can't even land $10 grocery store jobs with master's degrees because they are "over qualified," but can't find jobs in their field.

If you plan to go to school, live cheap, work as much as you can, and find any way you can to fund your education without "the debt that keeps on giving."

This book is a must read for everyone planning to borrow money to go to college. The information is important, and the book could save many people a lot of pain in the future. It is also a quick read.

//The Student Loan Scam// reveals shortcomings throughout the student loan system. Collinge writes from painful personal experience, having earned his degrees only by using student loans that eventually buried him in debt. He cites the staggering statistic that "U.S. citizens borrow about $90 billion a year to attend college." Collinge describes an unholy union between the federal government, lenders, collectors, and universities. He asserts that federal law allows lenders of student loans to avoid competition and use draconian collection techniques. He tells how universities receive financial incentives from lenders to promote loans. We learn how lenders position themselves to benefit from penalties and interest that can double or triple the size of the original loan. He gives emotional examples of students abused by the current system.

But beyond just exposing the problem, Collinge proposes standard consumer protections for student loans. The soul of the book is the call for Americans "to reconsider the whole notion of allowing our youth to assume more than token amounts of debt for their educations."

Collinge could have attained greater balance with a bit more examination of personal responsibility and less repetition of the same lender sins. This book contains useful information and suggestions for college students or anyone interested in avoiding the despair of excessive debt. It is this reviewer's opinion that the current system of student debt cannot be maintained and will be an additional drag on our economy. A timely book!

Reviewed by
Grady Jones

What American dream has not turned into a nightmare? Homeowners face foreclosure, their houses worth less than what they owe on them. Middle class breadwinners, their computer programming jobs shipped to India, are driving Airborne Express trucks. And, according to Alan Collinge's THE STUDENT LOAN SCAM: THE MOST OPPRESSIVE DEBT IN U.S. HISTORY - AND HOW WE CAN FIGHT BACK, college graduates are one missed student loan payment away from financial liability so great even bankruptcy law won't protect them.

Incredibly, loan shark operations such as Sallie Mae bribed Congress into exempting student loans from bankruptcy protection, THE STUDENT LOAN SCAM explains. Immoral interest rates and penalties resulted in author Collinge facing over $100,000.00 in debt on a $38,000.00 loan. Other stories in the book indicate his story is too common. Higher learning institutions are in on it, too, THE STUDENT LOAN SCAM says, taking kickbacks for steering incoming students to "preferred lenders" who prefer to see them default on their loans so they can charge even more money.

As college graduates toss their caps in the air on commencement day, little do many realize that, signing off on their student loan agreements four years earlier, they fell for a scheme that makes Three-Card Monte look like a sure thing. Read THE STUDENT LOAN SCAM.

Collinge argues that student loans have become the most profitable, uncompetitive, and oppressive type of debt in American history. This has occurred in large part due to legislation passed since the mid-1990s that removed stand consumer protections from student loans, and allowed for massive penalties and draconian mechanisms to collect these inflated debts.

Americans borrow almost $90 billion/year to attend college. About 2/3 of college students require loans to make it through, and typical undergraduate borrows leave school with over $20,000 in student loan debt, $42,000 for graduate students. Student-loan holders can garnish a borrower's wages, tax returns, Social Security, and disability incomes - without a court order. Defaulted loans do not qualify for forgiveness for eg. teaching in under-served areas.

Federal loan limits, with protections, are $8,500/year for graduate students.

Fortune magazine called Sallie Mae the second most profitable company in 2005, and its CEO topped the list of highest paid CEOs in D.C. Sallie Mae's (major student loan provider) fee income increased 228% between 2000 and 2005, while its loan portfolio rose only 82% - the difference was penalties and fees from defaulted loans. As of 2007, Sallie Mae's top two executives together made more than 500 million. Universities often have "preferred-lender" arrangements with the universities and receive kickbacks. In 1999 Sallie Mae purchased Nellie Mae, followed by USAGroup and Southwest Student Services (nonprofit student loan companies and guarantors).

The national average interest rate is 12% for private student loans. Student loans are the only type of loan in U.S. history to be non-dischargeable in bankruptcy. They are also exempt from statutes of limitations for collection, usury laws, Truth in Lending, and Fair Debt and Collections. Borrowers wanting to consolidate their loans must use the original lender, if there only was one, giving them an iron grip. Further, only one consolidation is allowed, even if other firms are willing to take over.

Lenders are also allowed to take up to 25% as collection fees on defaulted loans. Loan guarantors and collection agencies can also seize tax refunds, suspend state-issued professional licenses, and even terminate public employment.

The Bush II administration strangled the Federal Direct Loan Program to about 19% of the market.

Important Point: A loan cannot be considered in default unless NO payment, even insignificant, is made for 270 days. Send registered mail!

There are now about 5 million defaulted loans, with penalties and extra interest running 2X and more than the original loan.

Dick Morris may have worked for Bill Clinton but his books BASH both Democrats and Republicans for porking out and having so many scams and underhanded trickery to partake in taxpayers' money. His chapter on immigration and unions have come true. They are getting "paid back" now by the Democrats for pouring the money into the party at the expense of American national interests. I enjoyed this book and seeing Dick Morris on television and I signed up for his emails which are extremely informative. Dick Morris is a true American for telling the truth on the corruption in Washington.

I am currently reading Fleeced and it is as mind blowing as Outrage.

Dick Morris and his wife by the way are among my favorite authors. I am going to make it a priority to do the steps he suggests to help stop the ripping off of Americans. I hope others read it and do the same. It's like we just can't stop our government from spending our money unless we vote them out and it seems as though party politics is more important than stopping them from stealing our money. I guess it'll take 50,60 or 70 percent tax to finally make them figure it out. The rich and if I were among them, me too, are going to find a way of living some where else yet still have life, liberty, ownership and the pursuit of happiness as benefits. Maybe buying their own island and establishing a New America. Sounds like a new book. Someone should investigate and write. Is it possible? If so maybe I would move there and help defend it....

For those who want to know what goes behind building the political machine, this is a great read. Gives insights to the problems that the United States of America is facing today. Fourteen abuses are probed by the authors and explained in simple terms. Eileen McGann & Dick Morris give a very stimulating read while making these grand issues understandable for those who do not have time or money to research these subjects in deepth.

Will probably scare some people, while others will not read because of who wrote it. Do as I do. Read books from those you don't agree with to get the other side of the story. Might make you a little wiser.

this author knows his principles.
and it is refreshing to see someone speak on the bovine dung that we call a government.
the same friend allowed me to borrow this tome as well.
after reading it I suggested a violent action to bring down the government
and to replace it with a community where all had a duty that contributed to the whole. and all were equal and there was no heirarchy.
again, I cannot say whether or not every tidbit is factual, having not worked in the inner circles of the political machine myself, but from information I have researched and have been introduced to, this book seems on point.

A well written book, exhaustive, sometimes boring. Lots of detail. Gives a very good look at politics, at how power, money, sinecure and ego all come together to get a bill passed. Shows that politics is 90% money and 10% intention. Lobbyists, senators and businessmen get together to divvy up the loot. Clinton is shown as a smart operator who attempts to play to the largest possible audience and still stay true to his beliefs/ethics/ideals.

I do not think I have ever taken this much time to read such a short book. At least it seamed to me that it took a long time. It was like walking up a never-ending hill. The only reason I kept plodding along is that I was interested in the overall outcome. What I am trying to say is that the book is dull. It is also that the subject is a bit on the non-sexy side so coupled with the authors "mathematics textbook" style of writing, it made a little book into something close to the Battan death march. Ok, I may be overstating it a bit, after all I did work my way through the book. The one good thing I can say is that the first half of the book was far better then the second half. How the author turned his already dull prose into something that was almost life threatening I will never know.

With all this said there were some parts of the book that gave me some insight on how legislation works its way along the process. The part I thought was most interesting is all the groups that stick their hands into the bill. People with what appeared to me to have almost no or little effects from the bill got involved and tried to get their two cents in. Plus all the back handed and obstructionist activities made me wonder how anything gets done in Washington. Overall the book was dull, but did offer a tour of what it takes to get a bill passed. There has to be better books out there on the topic, I just do not know what they are.

The story itself isn't a very interesting or informative one. The author tries to end chapters with a catchy phrase that is cynical/humorous/meaningful, but they rarely come off well. Journalistic style, if you like reading a 250 page news article, then you'll love it, but if you have a hard enough time getting through the lead of a front page article in the "New York Time," then don't bother.

Steven Waldman does an excellent job of explaining the substantive issues surrounding the national service bill and its corollary, student aid reform, and showing how conflicting ideals were reconciled or submerged. The detail gets a bit tedious in the last chapter, but the book does live up to its subtitle. Johnson & Broder's "The System," about the 1994 health care reform campaign, is a longer but more exciting book along the same lines.

Great look at all the inside games that must take place for a bill to pass Congress. Who switches sides, who you can trust, who stabs whom in the back at the last moment. Any AmeriCorps member should read this to get a perspective of all that went into creating the program that you were a part of. Made me realize why things are the way they are in a program that has stived to do so much for our country and the young people in it.

I think this book was very informative it realy helped me to understand alot of what the guidence counslors had been saying for my last two years of high school. it helped me understand what the standards were for financial aid was. and how to apply for grants and loans i never even knew existed. also helped me find i was eligible for a military grant through my fathers sevice record. thank you amizon . com for helping those who are physically challenged have acess to all of thes wonderful books. without having to go from store to store looking for the book you want or need.

I think this book was very informative it realy helped me to understand alot of what the guidence counslors had been saying for my last two years of high school. it helped me understand what the standards were for financial aid was. and how to apply for grants and loans i never even knew existed. also helped me find i was eligible for a military grant through my fathers sevice record. thank you amizon . com for helping those who are physically challenged have acess to all of thes wonderful books. without having to go from store to store looking for the book you want or need shandra cdoughman2@cinci.rr.com

When I received the cd-rom, it looked like it was a bootleg copy, and I'm still not sure it isn't. I bought it brand new, not used, directly from Amazon, so it shouldn't be. When I tried to use the item, I found out it's not even set-up already. Most cd-roms you simply pop in and start using. This one requires set-up and even once completed, does not do anything more than what was already on the internet. It's merely a bunch of Adobe documents one must open individually to review. The search ability is nothing more than a "find" method and not something specifically set up for the program. This was honestly the worst waste of money I've ever spent on a cd-rom. The item is of no help to me whatsoever and is a huge disappointment. If there was an option for less than 1 star, I would have chosen it.

This CD-Rom was cheaply made and extemely hard to navigate through. I would not recommend this product to anyone.