H 23°, L 4° | Tomorrow: 
H 21°, L 6°As I am writing this, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has dipped below the 10,000 mark for the first time in four years. This sharp decline in our nation’s market is followed by last week’s now famously disastrous tumble of 777 points, the largest single-day drop in the history of our country. While not an economic expert, I can understand it when told by the experts that the numeric value of the stock market is not the be-all, end-all indicator of our economic vitality; but clearly, a problem exists. My question is, why isn’t it being noticed by the student community?
We’ve been told that the main reason for our current credit crisis stems from the failure of borrowers to pay back the exorbitant mortgages they were given by lenders taking advantage of the housing bubble. It seems, however, that as university students, most not yet independently exposed to the national economy, we seem to be stuck in a bubble all of our own.
I’ve already labeled myself as a self-admitted layperson in regard to the intricacies of our economy. This crisis in which we find ourselves, however, has focused my attention as to the potential effects these problems will have on our current wellbeing and on our future. As college students we need to know the economic downturn we are experiencing is not just something presidential candidates can use to display their “maverick-ness;” it affects us strongly.
Perhaps the most immediate effect we will notice will be the continued increase in tuition and fees resulting from state-level budget cuts. A recent article in the Herald referenced Jennifer Delaney, an assistant professor for the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at UW, explaining that “when a state’s revenues are low, higher education is an attractive option for heavy cuts because these institutions have the ability to collect outside revenue via tuition.”
Along with increased tuition, there will be an even more intense search for student loans. While the majority of student loans come from federal programs with fixed rates, those students with private variable interest loans will certainly feel the effects of a spiraling economy. In addition, those students planning on continuing to a post-graduate education will have a more difficult time finding loans and a more difficult time paying those loans back. These students are in serious danger of adding to the all-time record we have set in this country for student debt, calculated at $551 million by the Student Debt Alert project. And that is just for those lucky enough to get a loan. Kevin Brumf, executive director for
The problems we face in regard to the current economic recession continue to affect us and those around us. It’s safe to assume our parents are all nearing the age of retirement, or so they thought only one year ago. However, the values of the nation’s 401(k)s have lost up to 30 percent of their value in many cases, pushing back retirement years for many and infinitely for some.
However, that said, students currently in college are perhaps the most protected from the current problems our economy is facing. It’s what comes after college that is most threatening. Unemployment is soaring, and layoffs abound in virtually all sectors of the economy; this is hardly a situation conducive to hiring a recent college graduate. Those of us who will be looking for full-time employment months from now may have to alter our plans. Some of us will have to take unpaid positions and attempt to establish ourselves before receiving a coveted full-time paid position. Undoubtedly some of us will be forced to do the unthinkable, the one thing we knew we would never have to do and what we promised we never would: move back in with our parents. Clearly, for some of us, the repercussions of the economic recession may be just too drastic to bear.
Ben White ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in political science.
IP hash: b43eab93
Don’t worry, John McCain is going to use his “small government” conservatism to buy over-inflated mortgages and give house flippers and the Joneses a free pass on their poor decisions.
Yay, no one’s accountable!
IP hash: af481645
Dude, when credit is liquidated and we’re all equal, you bitches are gonna wish you were kind to Scanner Dan!
I nominate Scanner Dan for President of the United States… his running mate will of course be Art Paul Schlosser.
SCANNER DAN ‘08
IP hash: c100a0b6
Like the home mortgage lending debacle, the guaranteed student loan program is groaning under the weight of decades of abuse.
When I was in college, I knew students that didn’t really need the money but took the student loans anyway. One fellow bought a motorcycle and took a skiing vacation. A gal thought it was ‘smart’ to reinvest the money in stocks and mutual funds. And yes, they were self-avowed Liberals. They were ‘entitled’ to this loan money and they were going to take it! Did this piss me off? You bet! Did I tell them what they were doing was wrong? Damn right, I did! In accepting the loan money they didn’t need, they denied others with real needs from attending college.
Another form of abuse practiced by many who accepted guaranteed student loans was (and is) paying the absolute minimum back. After getting out of college and securing good paying jobs, they treated themselves to new cars and other luxuries while paying only the minimum required back on their student loan obligations. A notable couple much in the news of late that did this is Michelle and Barrack Obama!
You really have to admire the chutzpah of these liberal lightweights. The Obamas availed themselves of the government guaranteed student loan programs, racking up large loan bills while in college. Then they made the minimum payments allowed while they were each knocking down salaries of +$100,000. They didn’t pay off the loans in full until after Barry was elected a Freshman US Senator, Michelle was getting paid +$300,000…. and they were +40 years old. They would still be making minimum payments today but it simply would have been embarassing to his presidential campaign if they were still welching on these debts during the election.
These parasite cheapskates are part of the reason our nation is facing a financial crises. They are the poster children of the entitlement generation. Both of them could afford to pay these loans off early, enabling other truly needy students their opportunity to attend college. But the Obamas personal greed and ‘rights but no responsibilities’ liberal philosophy makes cheating the system and the truly needy a national Democrat past time. They and all of the other financially able parasites milking the guaranteed student loan programs endanger the financial stability of the program and the foundations of our very government. They speak of ‘helping the little guy’ but they cheat the system and help themselves at every turn. The Obamas are the antithesis of President John Kennedy’s call to humble national service when he said “Ask not what your Country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your Country!”
I also used guaranteed student loans, to keep myself in college when I had no other recourse financially. I paid the loans off in the 3 years following graduation, denying myself any luxuries like a new vehicle, because I KNEW other deserving kids needed the money as badly as I had.
That’s what personal integrity and self respect is all about. It’s about doing the right thing, even if it means deferring personal gratification. It’s about doing the right thing, even if no one else would know if you chose otherwise. Clearly, this is asking too much of the Obamas and the modern entitled liberal. A modern liberal has personal entitlement to government benefits and strong self esteem at demanding them without need.
Do you REALLY want these ethically weak, morally impaired, no integrity parasites in the White House? Do you REALLY think they are prepared to ‘fix’ a financial problem their own actions contribute to?
NoBama, NoWay! Keep the change…..
Alumni
PS: Look for the Guaranteed Student Loan Programs to be one of the next financial melt downs….after the election.
IP hash: 13788092
Sixteen percent of Americans owe more on their home than it’s worth, mostly in America’s bookends of dumbness, Florida and California.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122341352084512611.html?mod=todaysuspage_one