Stuck in loans

Some 37 million students and former students have college loans, totaling more than a trillion dollars. And tens of millions of parents who were required to co-sign loans for their kids are at risk of students fall behind on their payments.

That's a lot of college-educated people in their prime of life. Politicians need to hear from them. An entire generation is failing to get economic traction in a weak job market. College debt only adds to the delay young adults face in buying homes or starting families. This is not an abstract ideological proposition. It is up close and personal.

In 2010, President Obama got Congress to go partway towards reforming the student loan system. The program of federally guaranteed loans underwritten by for-profit financial companies was terminated in favor of less expensive direct federal loans. But banks and for-profit companies like Sallie Mae continued marketing non-federal loans to students. And former students carrying loans under the old programs are not able to refinance, even though rates averaging more than 7 percent are far in excess of the lenders' cost of money in a very low-interest environment.

The student loan program calls attention to the double standards of debt relief. Corporations are able to declare bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and write off old loan -- but college debt follows former students literally to the grave even if they go bankrupt. Big banks have gotten trillions of dollars of debt relief from the TARP program and the Federal Reserve's program of buying toxic assets from banks.

But there is no debt relief for students and former students. Can't we build a movement around that?

No student should have to incur debt in order to attend college. Instead, students could incur a moderate and progressively levied surcharge on their income tax, which could be phased out for people serving the public interest in one of several professions. This provision was included on a pilot basis in the 2010 reform, and could be extended to all college borrowers. What are some other ways we could reduce and alleviates the burden of college loans on the people if the future? 

--Krystal

Education is Supposed to be an Equalizing Factor

But something to ponder (as seen on tumblr):
Do you ever think about the fact that the US has created and legitimized a system of institutionalized inequality by funding schools through property taxes?  That basically a child’s education is only as good as the value of the property in their neighborhood.  Funny how education is so often viewed as an equalizing factor when there is nothing equal about it.

I had never really thought of education in this light before. Yes, I recognized not all school's have equal resources, but I never thought about where the funding was coming from. We get the money for our public schools from the property taxes of the neighborhoods in which they are situated. Public schools--the schools everyone has a right to attend, the schools that are open to everyone. Then we wonder why some people just couldn't "buckle down and finish" or why they weren't successful in post-secondary education courses. We think, they could have gotten "an education just like I did." Schools are only as good as the neighborhoods they are situated in--just another reason that families that have assets, money, and a history of higher education continue to achieve. Just another way that our institutions discriminate by race and class.

--Megan

After you graduate...

In one of my classes the other day we had a guest lecturer who preceded to tell us that if we are not making $100,000+ five years after graduating from our master's program then we have wasted our money on school. Not only did he make this remark to my fellow graduate students and I, but also exclaimed that he makes the same remarks to his undergraduate students.

Hearing his statement really made me think. With respect to undergraduate students, earning six figure salaries 5 years post graduation is an extremely lofty goal given the number of college graduates vying for employment and the state of our nation's economy. But what about graduate students.  I did a little research on jobs secured by people with Masters Degrees and the median salary by those jobs. On PayScale.com they have several tables and charts to illustrate median salaries.

So what do you think, should an individual be earning a six-figure salary 5 years post earning their graduate level degree? How viable is it to have that earning power?

--Krystal

People with Masters Degrees (non-MBA)

Median Salary by Job

Job National Salary Data (?) $0 $24K $48K $72K Senior Pastor $58,555 Pastor $53,513 Human Resources (HR) Manager $50,533 Program Manager, Non-Profit Organization $52,038 Instructional Designer $70,142 Executive Assistant $43,025 Elementary School Teacher $36,431 Country: United States | Currency: USD | Updated: 6 May 2013 | Individuals Reporting: 361

Key Statistics for People with Masters Degrees (non-MBA) Salaries and Jobs

Top Degrees

Salary Range

Master of Business Administration (MBA)	$57,965 - $81,389
Master of Education (MEd)	$33,899 - $47,932
Master of Divinity (MDiv), Pastoral Ministry	$49,910 - $87,600
Master of Divinity (MDiv), Theology	$63,465 - $108,500
Master of Arts (MA), English Language	$43,500 - $52,000

Years of Experience

Less than 1 year 2% 1-4 years 28% 5-9 years 28% 10-19 years 28% 20 years or more 15%

DC Literacy

Across the District of Columbia, between 20 and 37% of adults are functionally illiterate. By Grade 4, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (2011) finds that 81% of DC children read below grade level.

Literacy is the basis for all other education. Without the ability to read and analyze information, do math, communicate effectively, and use a computer – the pillars of literacy – people struggle to take part in the world around them. Low literacy is closely correlated with low earnings, irregular employment, and poverty. Further, the fragile economic circumstances of those with limited literacy skills can resonate through entire communities and across generations.

How can we increase adult literacy in DC?

investing to ensure all 3rd grade students read at grade level.

increasing funding for Adult & Family Education to serve more adult learners and to meet higher GED standards.

assessing the demand for literacy services and the capacity to meet the city’s needs for literacy services.

ensuring high standards and accountability for all literacy programs. 

Taking these steps to improve literacy of District residents ensures a better community for all. And if we work together we can accomplish these steps. But it will take work, including speaking with your council member, volunteering your time to programs or adults in need of literacy and reaching out to other elected officials including the May0r. The important thing is to make your voice and your beliefs heard.

--Krystal

In Guns We Trust

Amidst the tragedies this month is the legislature for stricter gun control that was voted down. I am extremely disappointed in our elected officials, as it has seemed, at least since the Newtown tragedy in December, that our country has at last been crying out for change.  When the bill wasn't passed, I couldn't believe it. The bill contained nothing extreme--just stricter enforcement on background checks nationwide for those that wish to purchase guns. Given the sheer number of homicides, mass tragedies, and widespread fear that legal and illegal guns alike have caused over the past few years in the US, it seems like a given that we should have tighter restrictions on who's hands guns are landing into. 

I found on the Washington Post, a few different graphics and charts that better explain what might have gone wrong when passing this bill. One idea is that the urgency was gone: it is hard to keep the momentum going with the greater American public, and with the Newtown tragedy fading from memory, Americans weren't keeping the conversation going. 

The second shows that many Americans perhaps really didn't care for the legislation after all. This infograph breaks down some of the different groups that were interested in the bill or not interested in the bill. 

We live in a large, widespread country with people of various backgrounds and belief systems; it can be difficult to unify all these people under one legislature or even to get people to care all about the same thing. I am personally very disappointed in the American people for letting this go by, but these graphs and breakdowns simply demonstrate that truly not as  many people were on board as was necessary. 

Get involved with a group like The Brady Campaign to better reach others about this important issue. Let's not give up hope for a safer America!

--Megan

Accidental Racist

I don't think there can be someone known as an "accidental racist." I do believe that we all make mistakes, and perhaps have grown up in a place that has not allowed for entire racial understanding and sensitivity. I think perceptions based on our backgrounds, education, and upbringing are entirely normal, and that many have not been taught about the racist institutions built into our culture and how to combat them; perhaps this makes someone a racist by choice or a racist by psyche and nurture, but there is no accident about what behaviors you choose. 

Part of living in a community, living as part of a larger, interconnected society, is knowing how to live WITH community. This involves respecting one another. Racism is ingrained into American society, but that doesn't mean we need to act on it. 

I heard about Brad Paisley's new song, "Accidental Racist," on The Colbert Report. While the segment was comedy gold, I am truly horrified that the song is real. The song is implicitly racist, despite the narrator singing that he wants to bridge the divide between whites and blacks. In the lyrics, it is the black man serving the white man coffee, a white man who knows the full meaning and history behind the confederate flag, but despite these implications, chooses to wear it in public because he's a "Skynyrd fan." This is not accidental. This is a choice. Bigotry and hatred is always a choice, and alienating people with uncomfortable symbols of superiority, history, etc, simply because you "like the design," for example. The lyrics are filled with assumptions about racial relations and the typical African-American lifestyle. 

Even worse, LL Cool J features in the song. I can't imagine a sum of money large enough to convince him to sing the demeaning lyrics, including "if you don't judge my gold chains, I'll forgive the iron chains." As Colbert surmises, "That's a pretty good deal, Paisley. LL will forget 250 years of enslavement if you accept his taste in accessories." 

The song misses the entire conversation about racial and cultural sensitivity and veers off into a racist and offensive place. Paisley claims to want an open dialogue with African-Americans and for both to be understood, but cannot give up his pride in the way he was raised, nor let go of racist generalizations and stereotypes such as black men being from the hood, wearing "saggy pants", "do-rags", and "gold chains." This song is a product of him, and, in fact, the song seems so unaware of the demeaning and one-sided dialogue, that perhaps it truly is "accidental." 

Colbert changes the tone, however, and gives us something to laugh at. You can check out the whole clip here. Be sure to watch to the end to catch Colbert's spoof of "Accidental Racist," what he calls "OopsieDaisy Homophobe." 

--Megan

Power of the People

The tragedy that occurred at the 2013 Boston Marathon yesterday will always be remembered by this generation. Some people are even saying that events like this are things we just have to get use to and expect along with the shootings of Newtown, New Jersey, Aurora, Colorado and others. Do you accept that? I know I don't.

I know that disaster is living and apart of our wild, but I can hardly agree that these incidents should be accepted as just part of our culture. It is unacceptable to think that you can't enjoy a movie at a local theatre or participate in a marathon without fearing your life. And is beyond unacceptable for our children, our babies, the future of our nation to not feel safe in their neighborhood school.

It is terrible what happened in Boston on Monday, but I always feel inspired by some of the miraculous stories you hear about people putting their safety in danger in order to save or protect the life of a stranger. One man called in to a local radio station and spoke of his young song asking him whether there are more good people than bad in this world and the father responded that there are more good people. I agree with him.  And I truly believe in the power of the people. And our power to have peace. Check out this picture taken of Martin Richard, the 8-year-old victim of the the Boston Marathon bombings, in class prior to Monday April 15th.

If only this sign would have reined true on Monday.


--Krystal