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Tag: Debt

Subprime Student Slaves: The Lowlife Trap of Higher Education

And the strong to seem to get more
While the weak ones slave
Empty pockets don’t ever make the grade
Mama may have, and Papa may have
But God bless the child that’s got his own
That’s got his own.”

We can thank the late, great Billie Holiday for those lyrics. And we can thank our higher education system for giving “the child that don’t his own”a chance to get some.

Some debt, that is.

Students, many of them adults looking to gain new skills, are being systematically ripped off and enslaved by schools and lenders, blinding them with hope about what a higher education can do for them while bilking them for billions in the process.

It’s a dirty game, and a big one at that. You probably know, because you probably owe.

But wait.

First, let me offer some insights on the market before I get to my indictments…

Why the Doom and Gloom?

So far, so good…as far as earnings season, that is. Three quarters of companies reporting, so far, have beaten Street expectations. And 81% have offered up better than expected revenue forecasts for the future.

So… why all the doom and gloom?

To continue reading, please click here…

The Student Loan Bubble is the Next Subprime

Don’t look now but there’s another giant bubble out there. It’s so big it rivals subprime.

I’m talking about the student loan bubble.

Recently, the outstanding volume of student loans passed $1 trillion. What’s more bothersome is that the average individual amount owed by new college graduates has passed $25,000.

With college costs zooming upwards faster than inflation, this is rapidly becoming another subprime mortgage-like sinkhole.

Just like subprime, the problem is that people of modest means are being suckered by high-pressure salesmen into taking on too much debt.

The difference is that since student loans are government guaranteed and can’t be released in bankruptcy, the burdens will be paid by the unfortunate ex-students and the U.S. taxpayer.

The standard justification for soaring higher education costs is a simple one.

The United States needs to maintain an educational lead in order for its wage levels to remain above those of its competitors.

I’m talking largely about emerging markets, which have been helped enormously by modern communications, making global sourcing much easier than it was.

There are two problems with this view.

To continue reading, please click here…

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