If the dollar collapses do we get out of student loans ?

My wife has a ton of student loans. Medical school is very expensive. She owes over 250,000 dollars. Her monthly payment is 2,100 dollars. This is for 30 years.

If we make the minimum payment, we will have paid over 600,000 dollars. Thats totally ridiculous in my opinion.

My wife is a pediatrician and doesnt make the type of money a brain surgeon makes. We can barely afford to make our house payment and this student loan payment. Forget about putting money aside for our two kids for college.

Is there any trick to getting out of this debt ? We dont qualify for loan forgiveness (you need to be disabled). You cant get rid of the loan by filing bankruptcy.

We have seriously considered just leaving the country and moving to canada. We'd lose our social security retirement but Im guessing ssn wont be around anyway when we retire in 30 years. The pay for a doctor in canada is lousy though so it would probably come out even.

Any hope that if the goverment goes bankrupt we could slip through the crack and not have to pay ? Id hate to root for a total economic collapse but if it got us out of student loans Im all for it.

It really pisses me off that the goverment gives out trillions to banks but the average citizen cant get out of student loan debt.

If the dollar does a complete collapse getting our of your loans is the least of your worries. Your wife knew what she signed up for yet she still signed the dotted line and that debt is hers.

reply to post by whoshotJR


I just paid off my son's student loans. Nobody knows what's coming down the the pike and I don't want him to be beholden to the government when it does.

I can understand your desire to get out of these loan payments, but they have you over a barrel legally. Keep on trucking.

Originally posted by admriker444


It really pisses me off that the goverment gives out trillions to banks but the average citizen cant get out of student loan debt.

It really pisses me off that somebody would borrow a quarter of a million dollars and think that they shouldn't have to pay it back.
You are no better than the banks if that's what kind of integrity you have.

reply to post by admriker444


Yes, since under hyperinflation average salaries would eventually go up to at least $100,000 per month. Under hyperinflation the borrowers get off the hook while the banksters are screwed. However, at that point you may want to consider fleeing the country due to the rioting that would occur. So you really don't want that.

reply to post by admriker444

Is there any trick to getting out of this debt ?

This IS the reason we are in a financial crisis. It is the lack of personal responsibility for actions you FREELY took that are causing the problem.
People buy homes that are more than they can afford. Banks give loans to people that shouldn't get them. Then everyone wants a bailout.

Take your medicine. You/your wife freely knew what you were getting into. Do what other people have done. Get a second or third job. Send you children to community college, and let them work their way through school.

I worked my way through undergraduate and graduate school to get my degrees. Most of the students I taught in college (a state college) had jobs, and they were the better for it.

It is disgraceful to be looking for a "trick" to get out of a situation which you/your wife freely undertook. Don't expect others to pay for your/your wife's poor choices.

If the dollar collapses and becomes replaced by some other currency, no the debt is not excused because the Dept of Ed. will still exist in some form or fashion.

Now if the US federal government collapses, then maybe. Provided that the debt information is lost, not accepted as a valued instrument to another entity or there is a general proclamation of debt forgiveness.

As a doctor, wasn't there some option of exchange for performing needed services in needed areas like Appalachia or inner cities for loan reduction or forgiveness?

Also some do not some large hospitals have equally large sign on bonuses for working so many years? I know RN's and CRN's do the hopping around deal for quite a profit. As do anastegiologists, if I remember correctly.

I am pretty sure teachers get the same offer as well.

Although i don't agree with what the OP would like to happen, I do agree that's it's BS that everyone else is getting bailed out. Many have made some terrible decisions. Why does the government get to pick and choose who gets help or not?

With the government and the fed doing this kind of garbage, how can someone not think this way?

We're going down the tubes. Has the SHTF yet? No, but it's been thrown and it won't be much longer till it hits if something doesn't change.

What about the people who went to college... worked hard.. and because we aren't corrupt .. and DON'T cut corners.. don't and CANT land a job?!?! hmm?

Originally posted by badgerprints

Originally posted by admriker444


It really pisses me off that the goverment gives out trillions to banks but the average citizen cant get out of student loan debt.

It really pisses me off that somebody would borrow a quarter of a million dollars and think that they shouldn't have to pay it back.
You are no better than the banks if that's what kind of integrity you have.

Paying back nearly triple what we borrowed is fair to you ? wow...

what about how the banks are screwing us with interest ? We have usury laws in most states yet the banks have ignored these.

And if banks hadnt inflated currency so much we wouldnt need to borrow to finance our education to begin with.

So no, I dont feel obligated at all to pay back a bank that never gave us real money in the first place. They didnt take any gold out of some vault and hand it to us. They created digits from thin air.

You blaming us for wanting to bail on a loan is ridiculous. Blame the banks for forcing people to take a loan to begin with because of inflation.

[edit on 1-2-2009 by admriker444]

reply to post by admriker444


You and the poster ciao above you are whats wrong with this country to me. Your expecting hand outs and feel you deserve something. If you think that a loan that large because of the interest is not ok then I would advise you be smart enough to not take it and figure out another option. You hardly sound broke because your paying off 2100 bucks a month and still havent lost your home. You also decided to have kids it sounds like even though maybe you should have worked on saving money first.

And to the ciao. Maybe its your attitude or personality that are causing you to not find a job even though you went to college.

Again, your outlook is a disgrace to me. You made your bed and it sounds very comfy so it shouldn't be to hard to lie in it.

reply to post by admriker444


Hah. Don't give me all of that.
I'm saying you borrow a quarter mil, you should have the integrity to pay it back.
I didn't make you sign that contract.
I don't have a medical degree but I actually did PAY for my education out of my pocket by working 3 jobs and going to classes at night.

You want to be outraged? Be outraged that so many people feel entitled to a free education to a high paying career and expect others to carry the cost.

Once again. That attitude is no better than the banks.

[edit on 1-2-2009 by badgerprints]

reply to post by admriker444


The banks gave you enough real money to pay for your wife's education and her degree.

True, the interest rates are outrageous, but she took out the loan and got her money's worth (a medical degree is a pretty good thing in this day and age). It has to be paid back.

I understand your anger, but she got something for that money. She knew that there would be interest charged on that loan. She knew she'd have to pay it back. It isn't like either of you had the wool pulled over your eyes.

Originally posted by badgerprints

Originally posted by admriker444


It really pisses me off that the goverment gives out trillions to banks but the average citizen cant get out of student loan debt.

It really pisses me off that somebody would borrow a quarter of a million dollars and think that they shouldn't have to pay it back.
You are no better than the banks if that's what kind of integrity you have.

It really pisses me off that we live in a society that would charge $250,000 to become a doctor and then tack on another $350,000 - Why do we do this? Why do we make it so difficult to get an education to become better people and citizens.
This is what is wrong with our great America.

reply to post by badgerprints


I usually agree with the sentiment that if you borrow something you damn well better pay it back. However, I think admriker444 is justified in being upset that the US is willing to pass the mistakes of the US financial institutions on to tax-payers, while derivative traders are still getting bonuses, and providing no relief for people who spend a good portion of their life studying their asses off in school to then get a job that barely (if ever) pays off their education.

So why is it exactly that banking institutions with more gross income than the GDP of a third world country, companies that are critical to the global financial system, can declare bankruptcy and instantly eliminate all responsibility, but a single person who invested years of their life educating themselves, often for the betterment of society (ie/ doctors, scientists, engineers) under almost no circumstance can discharge their student loans?

Why do we allow a person who doesn't even possess a high school degree to accumulate 10 or 20 credit cards, max out the limit, and then declare bankruptcy with little more than a slap on the wrist?

Why is it that the government is trying to placate people (through mortgage rate renegotiation, abatement, and subsidies) who purchased homes they couldn't afford?

So, the real question is why do we reward the incompetent and punish the responsible?

I think the simple answer is the intelligencia (to borrow a word from Colbert) are the minority.

I'm left-leaning, I like social programs, I'd like everyone to have access to healthcare. I like the idea that we have a social security system in place to help our elderly, but we have got to stop letting STUPID people off the hook! I'll be paying student loans for the next 20 years of my life and I'll probably pay 40-50K in interest. And that's fine. I signed up for that and I knew what I was getting in to, but when I see everyone else getting a free ride while I work 100 hour work-weeks (yes, I really do work that much) then I'm going to look for every way I can to cheat this broken, dishonorable system. Why should I play fair when everyone else is gaming the system?

So this becomes a question of what values do we want to enshrine in our culture? Do we want to devolve to a game of last-man standing, because that's where we're headed. Or do we want to instead encourage people to stand up and be accountable?

I'm not suggesting we revert back to 18th century law, but people who purchased homes they couldn't afford should lose them. Living in an apartment ain't that bad. Investment bankers who lied should be forced to return their bonuses and pay other monetary damages. If they can't afford to do it immediately, they can pay it back over time.

There's no reason to be unduly cruel to any of these people, but everyone should pay their due. Otherwise why should I? Why should admriker444? Why should anyone?

reply to post by Xtraeme

I usually agree with the sentiment that if you borrow something you damn well better pay it back. However, I think admriker444 is justified in being upset that the US is willing to pass the mistakes of the US financial institutions on to tax-payers, while derivative traders are still getting bonuses, and providing no relief for people who spend a good portion of their life studying their asses off in school to then get a job that barely (if ever) pays off their education.

Well, I half agree with you. The bailout bill should NEVER have been passed. However, two wrongs don't make a right. For anyone that ever took out a mortgage knows that for long term mortgages, such as 30 year mortgages, or long term student loans, you do end up paying double, or even triple what the original loan was. That is the "beauty" of interest. On the other hand, putting away a small amount every month in an interest bearing account, also results in double, triple or more, over a long period of time.

People never bother to read the terms of the loan or mortgage. Federal law requires that the terms of the loan, including total interest paid over the life of the loan, and other facts, are in the disclosure paragraphs of the loans. People just go to the bottom of the form, and sign and date. Buyer beware.

Persons that are smart enough to get into med school should know that though. Again, it comes down to personal responsibility. Remember, deny ignorance, not just on ATS, but in your everyday lives.

WOW... uptight crowd... there is a lot of hostility toward this OP... some of you Bankster-sympathizers need to take a chill pill.

I happen to think it's a worthwhile inquiry and glad that someone brought it up. I'd also like to get out of my student loans... not for a lack of character... just a lack of income due in part to a dying field and economy... and in retrospect realized that education is a scam.

Recently i discovered that if you commit to teaching in a under served school for X# of years your loans will be "forgiven". An avenue i have been seriously considering.

[edit on 2-2-2009 by The All Seeing I]

reply to post by The All Seeing I

WOW... uptight crowd... there is a lot of hostility toward this OP... some of you Bankster-sympathizers need to take a chill pill.

Actually, I don't see anyone on this thread being for the "Banksters" as your thread coined them.
I think most people are against what caused the financial crisis we're in, that is, people that are not responsible in the way they go about their financial matters. It is amazing that people will research minute details and check reviews before buying something like a flat-screen TV, or the latest electronic gadget, but fail to do the same for the largest purchases of their lives, namely a house and their education.
If people would plan better, and be honest with themselves about what they can and can't afford, they would not be in the mess they're in now.
It all comes down to personal responsibility. True, the bankers didn't have it, but that doesn't give people a reason to be irresponsible. If a nut jumps off a cliff, it doesn't mean everyone has to follow.

reply to post by ProfEmeritus


Actually it sounds like we're in complete agreement.

Yes, of course two wrongs do not make a right. However, who cares about right or wrong when the system encourages moral bankruptcy?

That's why I said,

So this becomes a question of what values do we want to enshrine in our culture? Do we want to devolve to a game of last-man standing, because that's where we're headed. Or do we want to instead encourage people to stand up and be accountable?

I'd much rather our system encourage people to take the higher road. That's why I also asked the question,

So, the real question is why do we reward the incompetent and punish the responsible?

No system is perfect, obviously, but our system is very clearly designed to assist specific groups. Where, IMHO, it should be dictated by a series of ideological / moral priorities. Obviously basic social functions (protection of the people, judicial functions, etc) would be very high, if not the highest item, on a priority list. Second or third though should be an ideology of rewarding people who are responsible and help our advance our society. Rather our social programs are a hodge-podge mess of reactionary half-step measures, that rarely address the root of a problem.

we didnt plan for inflation to double our energy bill in 5 years. We didnt plan on spending double the money to buy less food. We didnt budget to cover medical bills because our insurance decided it wouldnt pay for 20% of surgery.

We had no idea that we'd have to pay 600,000 dollars on a 250k loan. The loan officer doesnt give you those kind of details.

The Bankers arent even running a legal system so I gotta laugh at the critics here. The Fed is unconstitutional. Its inflation policies have broken my family's finances and people are blaming us for it.

No wonder why the Rothschilds remain in power. People placing blame on the wrong target.

We have no problem paying back 250,000 that we borrowed. We have made payments going on 5 years now and still owe 240,000. We have paid over 100,000 dollars back yet our balance has only gone down by 10k ! Its not like we havent tried to pay the debt off

This is outright theft and no different than what the IMF is doing to entire nations.