As for student loans, there are major problems. I am a US citizen, with 2 degrees from the US, studying medicine in a European nation. I can’t get any relief for my private loans, but for my Govt loans, I can. This is interesting to me, as my private loans are significant- 700 USD per month. Yet, my degree transfers to the US. My school is accredited by all accrediting bodies associated with the US, and the whole thing just pisses me off. I just have to do well on my USMLE, and do some rotations in the US to make myself marketable for a residency. Easier said than done, I know.

The whole thing pisses me off.

I would never be here, were it not for the craptastic economy in the US. I had a fantastic job as a sedation nurse in the US. I loved the work. My husband, however, is a pilot and lost his job in the US, found a job in Europe, and we moved. No input from me (sometimes that is how it goes…). And, I found myself in medical school, as the country I am in does not understand my advanced nursing qualifications. I miss nursing. I miss my job. I miss my responsibilities. It’s hard memorizing all the ins and outs associated with the anatomy of the human body. But, I do it in the hopes that I can return to my home, the US, and make a difference there. Yikes. What a mess.

Regardless, the reporting is not the *cause* of increased claims. No one from the government is going door to door encouraging people to consider disability. I do think the stress of economic instability is adequate to drive vulnerable people bonkers, though.

Look at these Bureau of Labor statistics: 14 million non-disabled persons unemployed, 63 million non-disabled persons out of labor force.
805,000 disabled persons unemployed, 21 million disabled persons out of labor force.
Total labor force is 152 million. Total number of people either unemployed or not in labor force is just under 100 million. A 39.7% unemployed/not working rate sounds a lot worse than the 9% unemployment rate that is quoted. Then there’s the issue with how people are “not seeking work” within the prior 4 weeks don’t count as “unemployed” for purposes of the government statistics.

If the government is relying on lower unemployment as evidence that it is doing a good job, shouldn’t there be a clarification of the terms if “unemployed” persons are switched to “disability” in order to keep government benefits?

People need to have a clear picture of our economy if the economy is important to them when they vote this year.

Combine that with forced medications of Edwin Fuller Torrey, M.D.
and we will have thousands of people waiting in a vegetative state until they die.

Disability does not guarantee the discharge of any student loans though. The bankruptcy judge has to decide a higher level of disability than that which may award disability benefits in order to discharge student loan debt.

Personally I’d make private student loans discharged at the end of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the kind that requires payments. That way we’d cut down on the people who just can manage to ear enough to pay the loans making the jump to a lifetime of support from SSDI and medicaid in addition to discharging this debt. Right now Chapter 13 can modify the monthly payment, but it does so without touching the principle balance of the loan. Once you leave Chapter 13 you may owe more student loan debt now.

Over the last few years the rights of borrowers to pay their Federal student loans in manageable ways has increased with income related payment options and more. The problem is the private loans where there is neither the option to change repayment terms or modify the loan. With private loans the only options for people who can’t make payments are going from Chapter 13 filing to Chapter 13 filing until death or getting a declaration of substantial disability.