Outrage over Education Lenders Hurting Poor, Elderly and Disabled

Congress and law makers need to pass bills to for older Americans who were hurt on the job, retrained for work and find because they are over 40 they will not get hired. My husband had school loans of $24,000 and expected to be hired full time as a school teacher. He got hired but was not given a contract along with 30 other over 40 teachers.

Federal funds were paid for a tutoring program and the school was supposed to give a contract and didn't they also took half the fund and mis-used it. As a result though my husband worked for two years with at risk multi-cultural children and successfully.

Because he did not have a contract they would not write off some of his federal school loans as the law requires when working with such children. Claiming he had to have a contract to qualify. Then they let all the teachers go because the district got caught with mis-use of the funding and the program was eliminated. Most of the teachers let go had other sources of income and were able to work at other jobs. However my husbands disability does not allow him to work other than as a teacher.

Social Security allows him work to supplement our income as long as he does not go over a certain amount but according to Sallie Mae and U.S Dept of Education if he can work even a little bit they should be paid loans back even if he is on SSD and even though the income is barely sufficent to meet our expenses and basic needs.

They want blood and do not care if you don't have medical or can make your mortgage. One such call the person nastily said "he should have trained to do something else" Not getting that there was no other jobs his doctors and physcial therapists would release him to train for. She called me a liar. She was mad when I told we we still had 22 years of mortgage to pay. So they could not put a lien on our property and mad because I am a homemaker of 38 years. She said I was lazy. How little she knows.

My husband has not been able to find any full time work since he was let go on the tutoring job and will 59 come February 22nd. He substitute teaches about five days a Month just enough to meet our mortgage and supplement his Social Security Disability check. Sallie Mae refused to forgive the loans. I don't have medical at all or and neither of us have dental He has medicare but limited.

His doctors and physical therapsist all concurred the ONLY Job he could do was that of a school teacher that would accomodate his specfic disability needs he needs to be able sit, stand, walk around and lie down. Teaching allows this. 1 he has lunch break, 2. He has a prep hour. 3. He can ask for an aide to help or student teacher, 4. He can ask for a sub on really bad days.

Now the Education Department after first selling his loans to private collectors and getting paid through them has turned the loans over to The Department of Treasury and they are going to take out 15% of his social security check for as long as needed which means until he dies. Which with the stress of already not having enough to live on will undoubtly shorten his life more. He has heart problems and has had back surgery and back problems and varicose veins in both legs.

He will be 59 the 22nd of this month. Sallie Mae demanded $495 a month and we did not have it they expected us to rob Peter to pay Paul. We told them we could pay $150 and they refused it stating he had to pay $495 as the amount we could pay would not even pay off the interest. Hubby tried to consolidate his loans at 4% interest but we had filed bankruptcy on other things and so they wouldn't let us do that. When the loans were sold the new holders put 29% interest per day on the loans (USERY) increasing the loans from $24,000 to $56,000 right now.

Our income is below $14,000 per year. Our kids have been buying our food. We have no retirement savings or 401K of any sort/ After Gas and transportation costs, upkeep and license fees, Mortgage, utilities, phone, auto insurance, Property taxes, Telephone, Cooking fuel and heating fuel, Hygeine and cleaning products, We don't have much left for anything else. My daugther trades me babysitting for her buying me $250 a month worth of groceries we eat but not well. My son pays for our internet connection and buys my herbal and vitamin suppliments I need for my health. He paid for my last tooth care filling. I don't go to doctors and pray I don't have any major accidents or illnesses because we could not afford one.

My husband works 5-8 days a month as a substitue teacher from October to June. He does NOT get paid for any holiday breaks or teacher inservice days when he cannot work. He is required by State law to pay out of pocket for 150 credit hours every five years of classes or lose his teaching certification. He would like to just retire but can't as we don't have savings or income to live on if he does. He has no medical or sick leave or any other benefits.

We cannot afford to lose this 15% loss it will literally cost us our home. He gets no income beyond SSD July, August and September. He gets a letter of reasonable assurance he might be hired back come October to substitute teach in 5 different school districts and it is becoming hard on him to do this physically.

The school counselors at EWU and the loaners all KNEW he would not be hired after 40 as a teacher full time it was all about them making money at someone elses expense. They knew he could NOT do other types of work and so KNEW he would never be able to pay the loans off. Knew interest would accumulate. They worked with L&I and SS assuring them and my husband he would get a good full time job after graduation and they LIED!.

So now they will be taking $300 per month from his SSD check and we need that to live on. They won't let him off due to disability though congressional law says they are supposed to.
Supposedly Education Loans took someone all the way to the supreme court and they ruled that the education department can take 15% of elderly and disabled checks to pay off loans even if it means greater hardship for them, poverty or putting them literally in the street or shelters, the Supreme court made a ruling but did not uphold federal law passed by congress that this is not supposed to be done. As for congress right they act like they have their head in a hole and say we don't know how to help you. Thats our politians for you.

The college would NOT help him with work and in fact illegally put his age on his college transcripts. He applied and applied for jobs in several states to no avail. Finally he was flat told but several people in the know that Schools would NEVER hire a disabled over 40 year old man full time and they have loop holes to prevent age discrimination lawsuits.

A 1954 law in congress does not allow subs to get unemployment either so that we live on SSD now it will be $750 a month and our mortgage is $600 a month for 4 months out of the year. We were living on our income tax refund summers but they plan to take that as well. We can't make it and have 22 years of mortgage left. We can't afford this and it is unjust and unfair. My husband is not trying to shirk his loans he would dearly LOVE to have the income and job to pay them off. But not the huge interest put on them the last year and half.

We wrote congresswoman McMorris and she never responded nor did Senator Cantwell or Murray. The federal law says they cannot take money from SSD checks but a supreme court ruling says they CAN??? So the supreme court is totally ignoring congressional law and not upholding it making illegal rulings. My husband wanted to pay his loans and fully expected full time employment instead he got the boot and the demand with usuary for the loan too and cannot do other work.

Ironically there was an article in the AARP Bulletin for January and February 2008 page 6 that was an inset telling of an outrage in which the U.S Department of Education overpaid to student loan firms like Salliemae $278 million dollars due to a loophole allowing the company to bill the government 9.5% interest rate. But guess what they don't have to pay it back. These same lenders who are demanding low income disabled people have to repay them plus huge interest. They made a deal that Nelnet would stop collecting at the high rate if the Dept of Ed agreed not to seek reimursement. Plus there was another $330 Million overpaid to other lenders besides Nelnet and Sallie Mae. So these lenders demanding money don't have to repay money they stole but demand poor people who are living under poverty level re-pay every dime they owe right into thier grave. Seems they have been paid. By you the tax payer.

So if you have a student loan and don't have the income to repay it no matter how low income you are be warned Supreme court made an illegal ruling, against congressional laws otherwise that these lenders can now take your social security check money what you need for a roof over your head and food on the table and medical needs. They don't care if it renders you homeless as long as they get repaid though they don't have to repay what they owe. Seems the bible says something about that in the parable Mattew: 18L 23-35 is what the Education lenders are doing. Plus they sell the debt to other collection agencies. Then collect again from Social Security or IRS. So much for greedy lenders and US ED Department.

While other laws state if your disabled you are supposed to have the loans written off and I know of people who have had them written off, for some reason others are not makes no sense. People are getting nasty. Yes there are people out there who don't pay their student loans who can well afford to and don't but many others just can't because they cannot get the job and other circumstances prevent it. Not because they are trying to dodge the debt. Give my husband a full time paying job, take off the unfair usury interest and we would gladly pay it. Teachers moan how poor they are paid. Bull a good teacher with Tenure gets $45-65,000 a year or mor e and extra perks like Bus driving, coaching etc and other things. Subs get zip not even pay cost of living raises since 1996 over 10 years ago in Washington State.

Will Hillary care about this or Obama or McCain, Will your congressman or woman or US Senator care? Laws need changing and need to be retroactive. Everyone want paid money that you don't have, while taxes, utilities and transportation and food costs go up. Social Security, DSHS, Unemployment doesn't and hasn't for years. We need someone to really make the changes. The MIDDLE CLASS are NOT poor they need to stop spending so much and save and stop maxing out credit cards and buy now pay later syndrome.

It is the working poor who need the help and the elderly who need the boost the most. While the middle class claim they are poor and there is no middle class there is a huge middle class that makes between $40,000 and $400,000 per year. Try living all your life on less than $20,000 and supporting a family then you will know real poverty is. But you know what. We below the poverty level will survive we make do, we do without we know how to cope and to juggle. We find ways to make extra income yard sales, ebay, or other things We trade, barter, bargin and go to freecycle. We don't buy new cars or even second hand cars maybe third hand. We do our own mechanicing and maintaince on cars, appliances and other things. We go without dental care until our teeth hurt so bad we have to go and get it pulled. We shop in thrift stores, yard sales and dollar stores. We don't wear new clothes. We don't have cable t.v or satelittle we have antennas and next year we won't watch t.v anymore. The last new outfit I got was bought by my son and dil for their wedding 7 years ago. We make homemade gifts or buy 4th and 5th hand things for gifts.

Will we make it? Probably, I don't know how yet I just have to trust in God to show me the way and he will. Writing on Gather for points toward things we can use. And other sites that bring in money here and there. Selling scrapmetals and other things of that nature. Maybe even walking and pick up discarded aluminum cans to sell. Probably by re evaluting our already parred down budget and seeing what else we can do without and by selling some things and with help of family we will make it.

So when you vote, Think really really really hard will this candidate come through or will it be just more icing and frosting over rotten moldy cake.

What are you politians going to do to help people like us or are you turning your back yet again and taking bribes from big wig lobbyist for special interest, insurance and big buisness and more? Are you going to try and put a bandaid on a mortally wounded land and say its all good and things will get better walk away while the nation bleeds to death? How are you really going to fix things and do your really truly care? I have my doubts.