Students refusing to pay their federal loans wrote to the Department of Education

[aGameOfThrones]

Fifteen students are refusing to pay back federal student loans taken out to attend schools owned by Corinthian Colleges, Inc., a network of for-profit colleges located across the US and in Canada.

The students — who refer to themselves as the Corinthian 15 — created a website where they've published a letter they wrote to the Department of Education asking for loan forgiveness.

All 15 also tell their own personal stories on the website.

In the letter, the students identify themselves as "people living paycheck to paycheck, single mothers, and young people just starting out."

They tell the Department, "... We trusted you to ensure that the education system in this country would do so. But Corinthian took advantage of our dreams and targeted us to make a profit. You let it happen, and now you cash in."


Here's the full letter published on their website:

TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION:
19 February, 2015

Who are we? We are the first generation made poor by the business of education.

We are people living paycheck to paycheck, single mothers, and young people just starting out. We wanted an education because we were driven to learn and to achieve a better life for ourselves and for our families.

We trusted that education would lead to a better life. And we trusted you to ensure that the education system in this country would do so. But Corinthian took advantage of our dreams and targeted us to make a profit. You let it happen, and now you cash in.

Each month you force us to make payments into an immoral system that profits from our aspirations.

We paid dearly for degrees that have led to unemployment or to jobs that don't pay a living wage. We can't and won't pay any longer.

Repayment plans presented as a helping hand simply aren't good enough. The wrong done to us is deeper than that.

We are not alone in this fight. Corinthian's predatory empire pushed hundreds of thousands into a debt trap. But even beyond for-profit schools, tens of millions of students are in more debt than they can ever repay. And you are the debt collector, with powers beyond a payday lender’s wildest dreams.

To the Department of Education and to the lenders, servicers, and guarantee agencies who have stolen our futures, we say: enough! Erase these loans.

To current and former college students across the country, we say: we stand with you to demand the end of a higher education system that profits from all our dreams. Join our fight.

We won't pay. We are the Corinthian Fifteen,

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/heres-...154329062.html

[asurfaholic]

They want a free education in a school they didn't care enough to research in a degree program they didn't care to research.

These people have no right to complain about the debt they brought onto themselves. These are the welfare 15.

Im making 6 figures and I didn't go to college. I could have gone but didn't see any benefit in it. I do real work in a real field that has a real need for more people like me. Oh, I never asked anyone for anything. Keep my head up and a smile on my face, and do even the most tedious and dirty jobs with a positive attitude with only the top quality completion of the job as my goal.

It's really that simple. Throw these 15 in jail for defrauding the govt.

[morfeeis]

On one hand i'm like you got the debt you freaking pay for it, on the other hand i'm like take your living wage verbiage and shove it up your ass. But on the left leg i'm like damn i hate the banking system and on the other leg i'm like if there wasn't any federal loan guarantees than a college education would be a lot more affordable.

But still; i cant get past the wording they use, $#@! those guys if they are spending on bullcrap and then crying like i think they are.

[morfeeis]

It's really that simple. Throw these 15 in jail for defrauding the govt.

I agree with everything else but that last part, they $#@! us every day, sometimes you gotta share .....

[JK/SEA]

They want a free education in a school they didn't care enough to research in a degree program they didn't care to research.

These people have no right to complain about the debt they brought onto themselves. These are the welfare 15.

Im making 6 figures and I didn't go to college. I could have gone but didn't see any benefit in it. I do real work in a real field that has a real need for more people like me. Oh, I never asked anyone for anything. Keep my head up and a smile on my face, and do even the most tedious and dirty jobs with a positive attitude with only the top quality completion of the job as my goal.

It's really that simple. Throw these 15 in jail for defrauding the govt.

too bad not everyone is as smart as you isn't it?...

government loves it when you $#@! up, and then we get people like you defending the government....

would you say tuition is too low or too high?...

[oyarde]

These miscreants will likely end up being made an example of . Sorry they had no person to tell them not to borrow from the gubmit .

[oyarde]

I need to set up an advice column for youngsters .

[AuH20]

On one hand, you have to feel for them for being deceived. On the other, you wonder if they can survive in this 'dog eat dog' world if they are this gullible. I was starting to see through this stuff in my late teens deductively.

[AuH20]

These miscreants will likely end up being made an example of . Sorry they had no person to tell them not to borrow from the gubmit .

This explains what happened.

http://youtu.be/U-apLT6Ot3s?t=2m4s

[tod evans]

I need to set up an advice column for youngsters .

I remember being "young".......

I knew everything then!

[nobody's_hero]

I need to set up an advice column for youngsters .

And they'd need to read it.

[asurfaholic]

I agree with everything else but that last part, they $#@! us every day, sometimes you gotta share .....

So a person takes a personal loan to start a business then subsequently because the idea of the business was based on no foresight or plan, the business fails. So you think it's ok when this person says well damn this bank who is running a scam by offering loans to me when I could fail- I refuse to pay!

Of course not, this would be morally wrong and a crime Where the bank is a victim and deserving to be compensated.

Two wrongs don't make a right, you can't willingly take a service, even a government service, then willingly refuse to pay back according to the terms you agreed upon. This is also a crime, and like it or not, there is really a victim.

So if you are against the DOE don't take a loan from them then act all high and mighty once you realize YOU made a mistake.

I have no patience or sympathy for hypocrits. Fraud is fraud.

[asurfaholic]

too bad not everyone is as smart as you isn't it?...

government loves it when you $#@! up, and then we get people like you defending the government....

would you say tuition is too low or too high?...

There's a difference between defending morals and defending the govt. Stealing is stealing. Two wrongs don't make a right, and I got no love for these morons who asked for a loan from the federal govt, then after they made poor college choices find themselves looking to get out of the mess THEY PUT THEMSELVES IN TO.

[phill4paul]

There's a difference between defending morals and defending the govt. Stealing is stealing. Two wrongs don't make a right, and I got no love for these morons who asked for a loan from the federal govt, then after they made poor college choices find themselves looking to get out of the mess THEY PUT THEMSELVES IN TO.

While I agree that a man should pay his debts I am against predatory lending that is encouraged by the government and its system. If the government had been completely out of this transaction then I would be in agreement. The public education system has been a brainwashing mind-$#@! on this generation. 24/7 they were told that by going to college was the ticket to the good life. That there were jobs out there for them if they only had a college education.
Who here has not anticipated this? These companies made loans knowing that these loans could not be repaid because they have a bail-out waiting in the wings.

[Anti Federalist]

While I agree that a man should pay his debts I am against predatory lending that is encouraged by the government and its system. If the government had been completely out of this transaction then I would be in agreement. The public education system has been a brainwashing mind-$#@! on this generation. 24/7 they were told that by going to college was the ticket to the good life. That there were jobs out there for them if they only had a college education.
Who here has not anticipated this? These companies made loans knowing that these loans could not be repaid because they have a bail-out waiting in the wings.

This.

And once again, the long suffering taxpayer is on the hook.

[Anti Federalist]

To current and former college students across the country, we say: we stand with you to demand the end of a higher education system that profits from all our dreams. Join our fight.

Insert "WANTS MOAR GOVERNMENT - MOAR GOVERNMENT" gif here.

[thoughtomator]

this is where the concept of odious debt comes into play

[jllundqu]

I'm just pissed that my student loans are at a high interest rate and my wife's from about 10 years ago are like 1.3%.... WTH?

[AuH20]

I'm just pissed that my student loans are at a high interest rate and my wife's from about 10 years ago are like 1.3%.... WTH?

Sounds like you have a political movement to start. Male rate equality.

[heavenlyboy34]

So a person takes a personal loan to start a business then subsequently because the idea of the business was based on no foresight or plan, the business fails. So you think it's ok when this person says well damn this bank who is running a scam by offering loans to me when I could fail- I refuse to pay!

Of course not, this would be morally wrong and a crime Where the bank is a victim and deserving to be compensated.

Two wrongs don't make a right, you can't willingly take a service, even a government service, then willingly refuse to pay back according to the terms you agreed upon. This is also a crime, and like it or not, there is really a victim.

So if you are against the DOE don't take a loan from them then act all high and mighty once you realize YOU made a mistake.

I have no patience or sympathy for hypocrits. Fraud is fraud.

Businesses can be liquidated to pay back lenders. Schooling can't. There are plenty of good criticisms of this bunch, but you've chosen (probably) the weakest one.

[heavenlyboy34]

While I agree that a man should pay his debts I am against predatory lending that is encouraged by the government and its system. If the government had been completely out of this transaction then I would be in agreement. The public education system has been a brainwashing mind-$#@! on this generation. 24/7 they were told that by going to college was the ticket to the good life. That there were jobs out there for them if they only had a college education.
Who here has not anticipated this? These companies made loans knowing that these loans could not be repaid because they have a bail-out waiting in the wings.

This^^ Let's also not forget the regime's brilliant anti-discrimination laws that forced employers into demanding degrees for jobs that previously didn't in the first place because intelligence testing is illegal.

[UWDude]

So a person takes a personal loan to start a business then subsequently because the idea of the business was based on no foresight or plan, the business fails. So you think it's ok when this person says well damn this bank who is running a scam by offering loans to me when I could fail- I refuse to pay!

Of course not, this would be morally wrong and a crime Where the bank is a victim and deserving to be compensated.

Two wrongs don't make a right, you can't willingly take a service, even a government service, then willingly refuse to pay back according to the terms you agreed upon. This is also a crime, and like it or not, there is really a victim.

So if you are against the DOE don't take a loan from them then act all high and mighty once you realize YOU made a mistake.

I have no patience or sympathy for hypocrits. Fraud is fraud.

Actually, this happens all the time. It's called filing for bankruptcy.

I intend to pay my loans back as slowly as possible, and invest in real assets. Eventually inflation or downfall will cancel my debt, paying it forward and fast would be retarded, (I realized this after paying about 3000 ahead of schedule).

I'd hate to be one of the suckers that paid off my loans, only to have inflation, downfall, a bankruptcy option, or politics make it so that I have nothing, while those who didn't pay have everything they got in the meantime. It's a dog-eat-dog world.

And I really don't care about the fiat system, or my obligation to the bailed out, too big to fail banks, who will take far more than me in taxes to pay off the national debt interest.

[euphemia]

Did they not know they had not saved up money for college? Did someone hold a gun and make them sign up for a loan? It's funny. I feel like I have been robbed at gunpoint every time I look at my pay stub.

Edited to add: I am up to here with people whining about being victims of society or banks or whatever. They had choices. The answer is not to victimize everyone else.

[asurfaholic]

Businesses can be liquidated to pay back lenders. Schooling can't. There are plenty of good criticisms of this bunch, but you've chosen (probably) the weakest one.

Does it matter if you get a loan to pay for a car or finance your dream? A loan is a loan. Its an agreement where you are well aware that you are to pay back, regardless of what happens next.

Its a shame that the "weakest" argument against this group is pointing out the lack of morals coming from the group. I really dislike using the term morals when arguing that someone is doing something good or bad, because I realize that not everyone shares the same morals. But at some point there is a line that needs to be drawn where it becomes a real crime, and just because the person committing the crime is doing it against the government doesn't make it any less a crime. Morally it is wrong to steal - doesn't matter really what you do on Sundays.

But I think you may be focusing on the lesser of my point- Some people seem to think that these people should be let off the hook because they were "brainwashed" or whatever from a "very young age" to think that they NEED the government or higher education. But lets be real. These were young adults when they went off and applied for college. I dont think I saw in the article what their major was, but seems that half their complaint was that they got a major LOL and couldn't see it into real success past college. Who's fault is that? But even before that, these people embarked upon a journey that involved living in a situation where they would be minimally productive at the cost of obtaining some extra education. To that end, you would think that someone should have taught these people how to add and subtract. So easy to do with a calculator. But they didn't do this, they just planned to go ahead with whatever visions of grandeur they could dream up and embark upon a quest for college at everyone else's expense. This was their plan all along. So now they want out of their loans because "the DOE and colleges profit" off of people like that.

Well too bad, and pay the damn loans back.

[sparebulb]

I will have sympathy for the Corinthian Fifteen at such time that the Southern Poverty Law Center places them on their list of extremist organizations and live in fear of a midnight visit from the Dept. of Education SWAT team.

Until then, they can go pound sand.

[CPUd]

On their site, they each tell their stories. A couple of them claim Everest took out loans in their name without their approval- a bit hard to believe, but if true, I could see their gripe if it was done in a way that was not transparent.

For a lot of them, it looks like they were partially through their respective programs when the school went under. Because this is Everest, like 90% of their credits won't transfer to other schools' programs that have more mainstream accreditations. Some others had just graduated when the school went under, but they had to clear their account with the school before they award the degree. So these folks walk away with nothing but useless credits. But they should at least share the responsibility for getting into a program that has useless or nonexistent accreditations.

The ones who thought the school was under some kind of obligation to get them a job should just chalk this up as a very expensive life lesson.

[heavenlyboy34]

Does it matter if you get a loan to pay for a car or finance your dream? A loan is a loan. Its an agreement where you are well aware that you are to pay back, regardless of what happens next.

Its a shame that the "weakest" argument against this group is pointing out the lack of morals coming from the group. I really dislike using the term morals when arguing that someone is doing something good or bad, because I realize that not everyone shares the same morals. But at some point there is a line that needs to be drawn where it becomes a real crime, and just because the person committing the crime is doing it against the government doesn't make it any less a crime. Morally it is wrong to steal - doesn't matter really what you do on Sundays.

But I think you may be focusing on the lesser of my point- Some people seem to think that these people should be let off the hook because they were "brainwashed" or whatever from a "very young age" to think that they NEED the government or higher education. But lets be real. These were young adults when they went off and applied for college. I dont think I saw in the article what their major was, but seems that half their complaint was that they got a major LOL and couldn't see it into real success past college. Who's fault is that? But even before that, these people embarked upon a journey that involved living in a situation where they would be minimally productive at the cost of obtaining some extra education. To that end, you would think that someone should have taught these people how to add and subtract. So easy to do with a calculator. But they didn't do this, they just planned to go ahead with whatever visions of grandeur they could dream up and embark upon a quest for college at everyone else's expense. This was their plan all along. So now they want out of their loans because "the DOE and colleges profit" off of people like that.

Well too bad, and pay the damn loans back.

No, not all loans are created equal. That's why in non-cronyist industries/economies lenders expect collateral. Say you're a lender. An 18 y/o asks you to lend 10,000-20,000 FRNs to major in women's studies. He offers nothing as collateral should he default. He graduates into an economy which can't offer him a job and he lacks the personalty traits to be an entrepreneur. You gave away thousands of FRNs to a dumbass kid on a gamble that he might somehow figure out how to repay. That's just plain dumb lending practice.

But I think you may be focusing on the lesser of my point- Some people seem to think that these people should be let off the hook because they were "brainwashed" or whatever from a "very young age" to think that they NEED the government or higher education. But lets be real. These were young adults when they went off and applied for college. I dont think I saw in the article what their major was, but seems that half their complaint was that they got a major LOL and couldn't see it into real success past college. Who's fault is that? But even before that, these people embarked upon a journey that involved living in a situation where they would be minimally productive at the cost of obtaining some extra education. To that end, you would think that someone should have taught these people how to add and subtract. So easy to do with a calculator. But they didn't do this, they just planned to go ahead with whatever visions of grandeur they could dream up and embark upon a quest for college at everyone else's expense. This was their plan all along. So now they want out of their loans because "the DOE and colleges profit" off of people like that. Well too bad, and pay the damn loans back.

You're right, it is easy for a rational person to think through consequences of taking out a loan. But, few 18 y/o's are so rational. AND, as I mentioned before, a sane lender would recognize that the borrower is an unwise/irrational investment-and demand collateral accordingly. The lenders took an insanely dumb gamble because Uncle Sam made them greedy. As with other types of loans, let the lenders eat the loss for being stupid. The free market can be a cruel mistress to the greedy and foolish.

(IMO, people ought to pay back the loans like I am, but it's rational to tell predatory lenders to take a hike as in every other walk of life)

[heavenlyboy34]

Did they not know they had not saved up money for college? Did someone hold a gun and make them sign up for a loan? It's funny. I feel like I have been robbed at gunpoint every time I look at my pay stub.

Edited to add: I am up to here with people whining about being victims of society or banks or whatever. They had choices. The answer is not to victimize everyone else.

That's interesting. We can say something similar about S.S. Do any adults really not know that S.Security is not a big trust fund in D.C.? Srsly? Why do they whine so whenever someone wants to reform or "sunset" the program?

sheesh. Institutionalized socialism is silly enough to make a guy crazy...

[euphemia]

That's interesting. We can say something similar about S.S. Do any adults really not know that S.Security is not a big trust fund in D.C.? Srsly? Why do they whine so whenever someone wants to reform or "sunset" the program?

sheesh. Institutionalized socialism is silly enough to make a guy crazy...

You won't hear me whining. We do without a lot now to make sure our private retirement accounts have something in them. We don't expect to ever draw Social Security. Didn't retirees take a math class or two when they were in school? They should know that I can't support them and me when they demand a discount for everything.

[VIDEODROME]

I felt I made a reasonable choice focusing my studies on Cyber Security. Everyone has been hyping that field. Unfortunately, there are no entry level computer security jobs that I've seen. So am I one of many who just made a bad choice or was given bull$#@! advice?

I've been deferring and delaying my payments for half a year. I finally got a job doing phone tech support which kind of sucks but it's something and my foot is in the door now. Maybe I can claw my way up the ladder. It has been freakin hard for me to get any kind of tech job at all though.

I do think a lot of IT hopefulls went to college and have been screwed. They put in their time, but the college curriculum is mostly a waste of time at least as far as IT goes. In my program, I had to classes in Firewalls and not once did I configure a Firewall. We just read about management and disaster recovery plans. Also, from my experience, colleges are being damn lazy when it comes to following through on promised Job Placement assistance.

It seems like a lot of students are being ripped off and the government as the lender is being ripped off. Perhaps it's the government who should be threatening to withhold payment to the colleges if they clearly fail to live up to promises the Admissions people give to students.