13-03-2009, 07:21 AM
(This post was last modified: 13-03-2009, 08:38 AM by Peter Lemkin.)
Once there was a time when bankruptcy could wipe-out student loans [except one very common type], now with changes made under Clinton and Bush [someone correct if I'm wrong] but I think they are all but non-dischargable - along with many other kinds of debts. It is now almost impossible for the poor and middle-class to discharge all debts when broke. Easy as pie for the rich. That is why the changes were made. Unfairness are built into the system and have been getting only more so with every year. What is happening now is the ultimate conclusion of this 'trend'. The rich want their pound of flesh from the poor. No way out these days. There is an increasing trend of people leaving the USA in order to get out of indentured servitude. [No, not the reason I left]. Average credit card debt [another huge scam/crime] is now about $10.000 per household - much larger for middle class and upper-middle - and rising like the stock market is falling. Given the interest rates and penalies, many will pay double or triple or more what they now owe. The entire financial system in the USA - every part - is broken, broken, broken.
There was also a time in America when if you would forgo the most prestigious [and sometimes, somewhat better] universities and go to a state university there were NO fees. That all started to change under Reagan and now they cost quite a lot - about 1/4-1/3 of the Ivy League schools and well beyond the ability of many to pay. What a top-notch school in the USA costs is obscene. At Harvard, all in, one can be looking at $60,000/year [or more] x 4 for B.A. x 6 for M.A. x 8 for (some) PhD x 10 for M.D....... The interest rates on student loans are usurous and penalties can make the loan finally payable 4,5, 6, even 10 times original amount. As above, can even cost your disability money - or worse. Your assets can be seized. Debtor prisons are likely coming soon.
Look, one can even be too poor to get food-assistance in America....don't get me started. No home and no money....you'll be homeless. No money = not much of anything in America. They worship money and those that have it. Sadly, many believe that their Diety rewards good people/families with money and withholds money from bad people and families - so all is just and godly in this sick system. On the extreme there are churches who's main emphasis is 'God wants you to be rich' (if you join our church). You can find them on the internet. Only in America - but I hear they are spreading into the third world.
Here is the break-down for going to Harvard this year:
Tuition and Health Service Fee 2008-2009 (subject to annual increases) Full Tuition $32,556
Facilities Fee — required post-fourth year of study 2,154
Active File Fee — minimum charge for approved nonresident status 300
Health Insurance Fee (BCBS) (required) 1,426
University Health Services (required) 1,404
The estimated budget (below) does not include costs of travel or summer support, fees for required tests, application fees, or such initial expenses as home furnishings. Your individual expenses may vary from these figures.
2008-2009 Estimated 10-month Living Expense Budget (Single Student) Books and Supplies $ 900
Apartment Housing including utilities 11,500
Dormitory Housing 5,322-8,358
Meal Plan for dormitory residents 2,108
Food 4,690
Miscellaneous 5,080
Depending on the cost of rent, a single student can expect to require approximately $1,800-$2,000 per month for room, board, and miscellaneous expenses. :bebored:
There was also a time in America when if you would forgo the most prestigious [and sometimes, somewhat better] universities and go to a state university there were NO fees. That all started to change under Reagan and now they cost quite a lot - about 1/4-1/3 of the Ivy League schools and well beyond the ability of many to pay. What a top-notch school in the USA costs is obscene. At Harvard, all in, one can be looking at $60,000/year [or more] x 4 for B.A. x 6 for M.A. x 8 for (some) PhD x 10 for M.D....... The interest rates on student loans are usurous and penalties can make the loan finally payable 4,5, 6, even 10 times original amount. As above, can even cost your disability money - or worse. Your assets can be seized. Debtor prisons are likely coming soon.
Look, one can even be too poor to get food-assistance in America....don't get me started. No home and no money....you'll be homeless. No money = not much of anything in America. They worship money and those that have it. Sadly, many believe that their Diety rewards good people/families with money and withholds money from bad people and families - so all is just and godly in this sick system. On the extreme there are churches who's main emphasis is 'God wants you to be rich' (if you join our church). You can find them on the internet. Only in America - but I hear they are spreading into the third world.
Here is the break-down for going to Harvard this year:
Tuition and Health Service Fee 2008-2009 (subject to annual increases) Full Tuition $32,556
Facilities Fee — required post-fourth year of study 2,154
Active File Fee — minimum charge for approved nonresident status 300
Health Insurance Fee (BCBS) (required) 1,426
University Health Services (required) 1,404
The estimated budget (below) does not include costs of travel or summer support, fees for required tests, application fees, or such initial expenses as home furnishings. Your individual expenses may vary from these figures.
2008-2009 Estimated 10-month Living Expense Budget (Single Student) Books and Supplies $ 900
Apartment Housing including utilities 11,500
Dormitory Housing 5,322-8,358
Meal Plan for dormitory residents 2,108
Food 4,690
Miscellaneous 5,080
Depending on the cost of rent, a single student can expect to require approximately $1,800-$2,000 per month for room, board, and miscellaneous expenses. :bebored: