25 years old and deep in debt

[Zanza]

Almost half of Americans with a degree are in jobs that do not require one, according to a study by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity. Fifteen per cent of taxi drivers in the US have a degree, up from 1 per cent in 1970. Likewise, 25 per cent of sales clerks are graduates, against 5 per cent in 1970. An astonishing 5 per cent of janitors now have a bachelor's degree. They must offer endless nocturnal moments to repent those student loans. Only at the top of the system do the labour and education markets mesh well. PhDs and postgraduates are the only US category to enjoy rising incomes, often dramatically so.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/52ad8b04-a2c6-11e2-bd45-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2QYrXw8lA

[MadImmortalMan]

I'd say more than half of the jobs that require a degree shouldn't.

[MadImmortalMan]

Hey, a bankruptcy discharge.


http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/7th_circuit

7th Circuit OKs $25K student-loan discharge for 'destitute' paralegal

Posted Apr 10, 2013 1:20 PM CDT
By Martha Neil


A "destitute" paralegal who has made reasonable efforts to repay her student loan debt is entitled to a bankruptcy discharge of the remaining $25,000 or so despite the fact that she never enrolled in a federal income-contingent repayment plan, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Reinstating a bankruptcy court's determination that Susan M. Krieger is entitled to the discharge and reversing a federal district court's decision to the contrary, the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the bankruptcy court had discretion to decide whether requiring Krieger to repay the student loan debt would be an undue hardship.

In a Wednesday opinion (PDF) authored by Judge Frank Easterbrook, the 7th Circuit also said that requiring Krieger to enroll in the income-contingent repayment plan as a show of good faith, was contrary to the purpose of bankruptcy law.

"The district judge did not doubt that Krieger has paid as much as she could during the 11 years since receiving the educational loans," the opinion states. "Instead the judge concluded that good faith entails commitment to future efforts to repay. Yet, if this is so, no educational loan ever could be discharged, because it is always possible to pay in the future should prospects improve."

In a concurring opinion, Judge Daniel Manion, said he agreed with the court that the bankruptcy judge had discretion to decide the case. However, Manion said he sympathized with the district judge's opinion that Krieger, at age 53, in good health and well-educated, could surely find work of some kind, despite being located in a rural area, where she lives with her elderly mother, and lacking resources to look for work elsewhere.

Like other well-educated individuals who are having a hard time finding good jobs, or work of any kind, in a tough economy, Krieger should be required to enroll in the William D. Ford Income-Based Repayment Plan, Manion wrote. Absent discretionary income, she would not be required to make any payments. And after 25 years of complying with the program, any remaining balance would be forgiven.

A quick google finds this.

Law degree, naturally. And divorced too.

Educational Credit conceded that part (1) of this circuit's standard has been met but argued that parts (2) and (3) have not been. Its argument was based on what it characterized as Krieger's failure to search harder for work (she has made "only" 200 or so applications during the past decade) and to accept work at jobs other than the ones for which her training best suits her (the educational debts were incurred to obtain training as a paralegal, and most of Krieger's searching has been for paralegal jobs). The bankruptcy judge concluded, however, that Krieger had made a thorough effort. Educational Credit does not contend that she has the resources to sustain herself during a wider geographical search. And the bankruptcy judge observed that Krieger's good faith is demonstrated not only by her decade-long search but also her decision to use a substantial chunk of a divorce settlement to pay off as much of the educational loan as she could. (The amount remaining is about $25,000.)

As it is presented, this case is truly an exception. But Ms. Krieger is fifty-three years old and is in good health. She resides with her seventy-five-year-old mother on a small rural farm. She has given up looking for a job, a search which she concludes is an effort in futility. Under normal circumstances that should not happen. She is healthy and well-educated. In 1999, Krieger received an Associate of Arts degree in Business Accounting from St. Charles Community College. In 2000, she enrolled at Webster University in Webster Groves, Missouri, where she earned a paralegal certificate and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies. She had a high GPA and she received significant recognition for her academic achievements. She clearly received the education that she borrowed for. Yet as a result of years of non-payment, her remaining $17,000 student-loan debt has grown to approximately $25,000 with interest.

She is 53 years old and has not held a job since 1986, when she left the work force to raise a family. She did not earn more than $12,000 a year in her working career (between 1978 and 1986). That's not the sort of background employers are looking for.

[Ideologue]

$25k?  What a crybaby.

Anyway, if 200 job applications is thorough enough, I reached the standard for discharge two years ago.  GO GO BK.

That's really weird, though.  I thought you had to be basically quadriplegic to successfully get an SL discharged (iirc, they've denied people older and in worse circumstances than Ex-Paralegal here).  Is this the turning of the tide?

[Grey Fox]

She lives on a farm, so she's a farmer? That's an occupation.

[Scipio]

Hey, a bankruptcy discharge.


http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/7th_circuit

7th Circuit OKs $25K student-loan discharge for 'destitute' paralegal

Posted Apr 10, 2013 1:20 PM CDT
By Martha Neil


A "destitute" paralegal who has made reasonable efforts to repay her student loan debt is entitled to a bankruptcy discharge of the remaining $25,000 or so despite the fact that she never enrolled in a federal income-contingent repayment plan, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Reinstating a bankruptcy court's determination that Susan M. Krieger is entitled to the discharge and reversing a federal district court's decision to the contrary, the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the bankruptcy court had discretion to decide whether requiring Krieger to repay the student loan debt would be an undue hardship.

In a Wednesday opinion (PDF) authored by Judge Frank Easterbrook, the 7th Circuit also said that requiring Krieger to enroll in the income-contingent repayment plan as a show of good faith, was contrary to the purpose of bankruptcy law.

"The district judge did not doubt that Krieger has paid as much as she could during the 11 years since receiving the educational loans," the opinion states. "Instead the judge concluded that good faith entails commitment to future efforts to repay. Yet, if this is so, no educational loan ever could be discharged, because it is always possible to pay in the future should prospects improve."

In a concurring opinion, Judge Daniel Manion, said he agreed with the court that the bankruptcy judge had discretion to decide the case. However, Manion said he sympathized with the district judge's opinion that Krieger, at age 53, in good health and well-educated, could surely find work of some kind, despite being located in a rural area, where she lives with her elderly mother, and lacking resources to look for work elsewhere.

Like other well-educated individuals who are having a hard time finding good jobs, or work of any kind, in a tough economy, Krieger should be required to enroll in the William D. Ford Income-Based Repayment Plan, Manion wrote. Absent discretionary income, she would not be required to make any payments. And after 25 years of complying with the program, any remaining balance would be forgiven.

A quick google finds this.

Law degree, naturally. And divorced too.

Educational Credit conceded that part (1) of this circuit's standard has been met but argued that parts (2) and (3) have not been. Its argument was based on what it characterized as Krieger's failure to search harder for work (she has made "only" 200 or so applications during the past decade) and to accept work at jobs other than the ones for which her training best suits her (the educational debts were incurred to obtain training as a paralegal, and most of Krieger's searching has been for paralegal jobs). The bankruptcy judge concluded, however, that Krieger had made a thorough effort. Educational Credit does not contend that she has the resources to sustain herself during a wider geographical search. And the bankruptcy judge observed that Krieger's good faith is demonstrated not only by her decade-long search but also her decision to use a substantial chunk of a divorce settlement to pay off as much of the educational loan as she could. (The amount remaining is about $25,000.)

As it is presented, this case is truly an exception. But Ms. Krieger is fifty-three years old and is in good health. She resides with her seventy-five-year-old mother on a small rural farm. She has given up looking for a job, a search which she concludes is an effort in futility. Under normal circumstances that should not happen. She is healthy and well-educated. In 1999, Krieger received an Associate of Arts degree in Business Accounting from St. Charles Community College. In 2000, she enrolled at Webster University in Webster Groves, Missouri, where she earned a paralegal certificate and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies. She had a high GPA and she received significant recognition for her academic achievements. She clearly received the education that she borrowed for. Yet as a result of years of non-payment, her remaining $17,000 student-loan debt has grown to approximately $25,000 with interest.

She is 53 years old and has not held a job since 1986, when she left the work force to raise a family. She did not earn more than $12,000 a year in her working career (between 1978 and 1986). That's not the sort of background employers are looking for.

A paralegal degree is a law degree like an LPN degree is a medical degree.

Paralegals can't practice law.

[merithyn]

She lives on a farm, so she's a farmer? That's an occupation.

Not really, no. A hobby farmer doesn't get to count that as a job, really. It's more of a .. hobby.

[Phillip V]

Hiring Momentum Slows for College Grads

The hiring picture for college graduates looks about the same as last year, according to a new report released on Thursday by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

“The momentum that has built in college hiring in 2011 and 2012 has kind of come to an end here in 2013,” said Edwin Koc, who oversees research studies at NACE. “So we’re hitting a stagnant period right now.”

The director of strategic and foundation research called the results from about 200 employers “somewhat disappointing.” The shift, he said, is due to the softening of the economy at the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter this year.

“Businesses are being very hesitant to jump into the employment picture,” he said. “Ever since the recession they have been very careful when it comes to new hiring.”

In recent years, majors in business and science fields topped the list of employer demands, while those in liberal arts didn’t see the same interest from employers.

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2013/04/18/hiring-momentum-slows-for-college-grads/

[MadImmortalMan]

I interviewed a soldier who just got back from Afghanistan today. I'll probably hire him just to spite Martinus.

[Jacob]

I interviewed a soldier who just got back from Afghanistan today. I'll probably hire him just to spite Martinus.

I just interviewed an arts graduate, and I think I'll hire her just to spite Ide.

[Ed Anger]

I ain't hiring anybody.

[CountDeMoney]

You're both good peeps, MIM and Xiacob.

Ed, not so much.

[fhdz]

Surely one of you guys can hire me to spite someone on Languish?

[crazy canuck]

I interviewed a soldier who just got back from Afghanistan today. I'll probably hire him just to spite Martinus.

I just interviewed an arts graduate, and I think I'll hire her just to spite Ide.

[Ed Anger]

Surely one of you guys can hire me to spite someone on Languish?

If I was hiring, I'd hire Seedy first. Even though he says mean things about me.