Recently Benito singled me out as not having written anything in a while. Of course I am actually interviewing people for a post good enough to sit on the blog for a solid 3 months which it seems is par for the course now that everyone is “occupying” or similarly indisposed. Oh wait, that’s just Benito. I’d love to hear everyone else’s excuse. But rather than rush my article or take Benito’s jab lying down I thought I’d comment on a recent ATL post about the Cardozo kid who was “homeless” for 9 weeks.

I am not going to rehash the obvious which is that this stupid kid wasn’t homeless in any real sense of the word. What I am going to say is that what he did is not only easy, but when taken in conjunction with M.I.T.’s new program could also be a part of the new future we are looking at.

Here me out.

Say Benito is right and M.I.T.’s solution actually takes hold. Education becomes cheaper, MUCH MUCH cheaper…around the price of room and board. A rational actor could choose in that situation to be…I’m sorry I can’t disrespect millions of Americans by continuing to use the word “homeless” let’s go with transient.

You’ ve got a food plan, facilities that are open close to all night, gyms with showers, common areas in dorms where you can crash, etc. Really only one thing suffers: your social life. And that just means you study more.

I did the math recently and figured that if I had started working at my food truck when I was in school and hadn’t borrowed money to live like I was a member of the middle class I would be almost debt-free today.

It takes a lot to get one of us to write these days.  Alpha Man promised me a simple explanation of the crux of the Occupy Movement’s issues and he has yet to deliver.  Me, I am content for the time being just to be part of something.  Looking for an answer beats looking for a job. Probably because unlike a job, I know the truth exists.

However I had to tell you guys about this: M.I.T. is providing free, online education that now comes with a certified credential that exhibits mastery of the material. I am including the link below

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesmarshallcrotty/2011/12/21/m-i-t-game-changer-free-online-education-for-all/

These aren’t taped lectures people! This is a real, interactive experience that captures a great deal of the amazing value of an M.I.T. education.  And it is available to any and everyone for free and it’s learn at your own pace. You could do this at 19 or 59, the latter number being significant given that the fastest growing demographic for taking on student debt is now middle-aged people.

This is the future.  This is how the revolution ends.  This is meritocracy at its purest form, this is what will change everything…and if our generation being regulated to debt slavery forever is the cost of the vicious cycle becoming a permanent thing of the past, I just might be ok with that. I’m not saying we’re going to be sitting at a Thanksgiving table 50 years from now telling stories about taking to the streets like the Civil Rights generation, but that’s ok too.

Hopefully we’ll still have each other.

Hi folks! We here at Debtor’s Prison are pleased to introduce Rebecca Smith who has been kind enough to write a guest column.  We are impressed with Rebecca’s work and hope she will write for us again.

REBECCA SMITH

The latest chapter of a painful story that began years ago was the debt fight that continued in the capital of the nation and the ensuing credit downgrade by the Standard & Poor’s.  In the last decade, the banks, consumers and the homeowners became bloated with too much leverage or borrowed a huge amount of money and this resulted in a drastic shrinkage of credit throughout the entire economy, a particular phenomenon that is financially known as ‘deleveraging’. Apart from the big picture, the consumers too were worried about the ways in which they can seek debt relief so as to stay out of the debt cycle.

The present situation of the US is nothing new and the government has been grappling with such issues and has also been throwing billions to dollars to provide a quick cure from such problems. Even after continuous meetings and steps taken to assess and improve the current state of the US economy, there has been no positive result that is noticeable. Though the labor market reports were slightly positive in the month of July and August, 2011, yet there has been no such noticeable increase in the growth of jobs within the market that could alleviate the spurring unemployment level. Gut-wrenching market plunges, accompanied by multiple negative aspects of the economy show that the economy is losing steam. Despite all such nerve-wracking events within the US economy, very few expect the policymakers to reveal some new stimulus plans to rejuvenate the lost shine of the nation.

Fed Runs Out of Bullets – Is the Arsenal Empty?

While the Federal Reserve seems to be running short of bullets, the government is also low on ammunition. With the fractious debt fight demonstrated in Washington, the idea of “deleveraging” has even spread within the government. Both the local governments and the state governments are implementing draconian cutbacks to get back on track. The Congress, in the month of September, 2011 voted for a cutback of $2.5 trillion trim from the federal budget deficit and if this step is taken, this would perhaps be the most remarkable move towards austerity during a time when the economy is hardly growing.

The result of this is being shown in the unemployment rate that is stubbornly hovering around the 9% rate. As the debt ceiling debates followed by the raising of the debt ceiling sidelined the increased government spending, there’s very little cushion for the economy to fall back on, if there are chances of backsliding into yet another financial fiasco.

Credit Busts – Is There a Quick Cure or is This Going to Continue?

The most prominent result of “deleveraging” is the economic quagmire and this is also the reason for the extremely sluggish economic growth. According to a study done in the year 2010, it has been seen that it takes a nation minimum 6-8 years to emerge from the deleveraging process. Deleveraging has self-reinforcing effects! If the consumers have a high debt load and they stop purchasing things, the businesses will automatically stop hiring people and this will have a further impact on consumer spending. When the economy will face a dire financial situation, the US government will typically provide the economy with a shot in the form of spending projects or tax cuts. But the main issue here is that the government is running out of all the stimulus bullets!

The Federal Reserve has posed to be the final backstop for the economy. Though the central bank has tried to do everything possible within its means to spur economic growth, reducing the short term interest rates to nearly 0, purchasing billion worth Treasury Bonds and by putting the delinquent mortgages on the balance sheet, yet something more still needs to be done.

With the US economists and the analysts worrying about the future of the US economy, on a personal level, the consumers should also remain aware of their personal debt ceiling so that they don’t add on to the credit card debt level as this worsens the bigger picture in the long run. Get help from a professional

www.debtconsolidationcare.com

Rebecca is a financial blogger & associated with the online debt community debtconsolidationcare.com. If you want to know more about her & the community, you can get latest updates here on Twitter.com debtcc.

I spent the best Thanksgiving I’ve had in ages with the Occupiers.  People were very generous with food and I even had a few friends stop by.  Best of all there was no judgment and that suffocating feeling of failure that permeates your being as you feel all eyes around the table judging you each time you dip your eyes to the delicious meal before which suddenly you have no appetite for, even though you fasted for days in preparation.

I know posts have been light, virtually non-existent, but I think its important to be a part of what is actually happening in the streets all across the country.  As far as the blog goes, I am keeping the domain and PROMISE to check in more often to approve comments.  I am also opening this space to guest writers. Also remember, there are hundreds of posts here, and each one is part of the story of why we’re all out here. I’ve reviewed some old entries and 95% are just as relevant now as whenever they were written over the last two years.

So read the Ghost of Entries Past if you want to understand, or if you want assurance that you’re not alone.

…And I have been trying to resist the urge to write about it.  Part of it is because everyone with ten minutes worth of charge on their I-Phone here is blogging about it, and part of it is because of embarrassingly low page hits…I suppose together that would constitute most of it.  But there is another reason too.  I want to “experience” something.

I spent most of my life through school with distance, time, paper and a host of other obstacles between me and experiencing the reality where I spent my life.  Then I experienced something-losing my job and being unable to pay my student loans which in all honesty was hard enough even with a six-figure salary.  After that experience I spent the rest of my life up until now trying to write about that experience, particularly on this blog.  Whereas before I was reaching out to an intriguing reality that would always be behind a veil of secrets, now I am holding on to a painful reality kept fresh by picking scabs…all the while I miss the world around me.

Well no more.  Or at least not for awhile.  You can’t live in the moment and capture it for posterity at the same time.  Besides, posterity is always colored by ultimate outcome.  Right now I have no idea what that will be.  Or when I will start writing again more regularly.

So I am sure you all have seen Robert Applebaum’s petition to President Obama. I for one am in favor of it and like Charlie Brown kicking a football think it could happen.

However, instead of my thoughts and reasons which simply would echo Robert’s in a less eloquent unresearched fashion let’s here from Alpha Man who is in favor it but thinks it will never happen and Mike Triforce who is against it but feels it could get pushed through.

By way of background Robert is essentially proposing legislation that forgives student loans AS AN ECONOMIC stimulus. Obviously, like all of us Robert believes that we have suffered an injustice and that’s the main motivation for the bill, however the OFFICIAL argument is that this will promote spending, stimulate demand for things, create jobs or whatever. Think of it like Republicans and tax cuts. Republicans like tax cuts for the rich because they are rich and the rest of the country be damned. However they argue that tax cuts are good for the economy because they allow small business owners to hire more people than they would otherwise and make the country more attractive to international corporations who can set up shop anywhere.

So, let’s get to arguments. Mike Triforce first.

The point is to change our culture. Because after countless articles in real newspapers nobody cares who isn’t directly affected. Here is the thing most people don’t care about other people’s problems. I mean if we’re honest with ourselves we don’t REALLY even care about stuff we pretend to like veterans, children and animals. So we have quite a job on our hands.

First I mean did people ever care? I mean REALLY care? Yes. Once upon a time. Back in the day, during the Depression, when a family in the neighborhood got evicted the neighbors would break the locks on the old house and carry their furniture and other belongings back in. A lot of times the family got to stay in their homes.

Unfortunately as a (former) lawyer I know that possession is 9 tenths of the law. I also know my non-existent friends can’t help me take back my life because it’s not a physical house it’s an “education.”

Ok, so what would an equivalent story be? How about this – imagine if a determined group of individuals, some student debtors and others not literally occupied the schools and disrupted classes until the schools paid off the debt?

Yes, pay it off. They can’t forgive it because the lending institutions hold it and if we went there we would be arrested or shot.

Yeah. We are a long way away. Perhaps we are not even closer.

In my last post I wrote that a lot was going on that might make it seem like on surface progress of some kind was being made.  Unfortunately this optimism doesn’t hold up to any kind of rigorous analysis.  It’s like if you’re trying to get somewhere and you don’t know where it is all the while you’re running out of gas.  So you stop.  After all, what’s the point of continuing driving when you have no gas and don’t know where you’re going?  So you send your passenger out to explore while you guard the car and after awhile they come back and say there is a gas station two miles up the road.  Great.  But you’ve still got pay for that gas, and you still don’t know where you are going.  That’s kind of like what is going on here.

What we have here, or essentially what we are witnessing, is the solidification of the student debt “scam” as just one of those those unjust facts of life.  Think of it as Republicans only protecting the interests of the rich or wanting to cut any sort of health care safety net.  Republicans have been the same in that respect for 40 years AND WE KNOW THIS.  They still get elected and raise money the same way.  Every now and then when something becomes OUTRAGEOUS there’s a small re-adjustment but nothing FUNDAMENTALLY changes.

There are several reasons for this.  Read on for the discussion

Essentially nothing is going to change because 1) we as a group have no leverage and 2) society can simply absorb us because we are not having children…the country and the world generally can literally wait for us to die.

In a classic rather shameful move, I will not make the Civil Rights analogy (sorry Alpha Man).  The reason the bus boycott worked is that there were enough black riders that the boycott affected the bottom line of the bus companies.  I mean…what are we going to do? Retroactively boycott education? Too late.  Stop paying our loans? So…most of them are federally guaranteed anyway.  The rest have interest rates that factor in default.

We also are not a class that will reproduce in any meaningful way.  Particularly the ladies out there who are affected by this.  I mean I am in my early thirties living in my mother’s basement.  I can safely say I am probably never going to have a kid.

Here’s what I have to look forward to: Eventually giving up on my job search for “real” employment and start doing little odds and ends to make pocket money while living almost entirely off my mom.  Eventually my mother will die, and I will pay the mortgage out of her insurance money.  That money will run out when I’m maybe a year’s worth of payments out from owning the house.  I will then do everything in my power to make those last few mortgage payments.  I will lose the home when I am unable to make these payments OR when I fail to pay the various property taxes, etc.  I will then be in my late fifties, homeless and with no family left.  I will then travel with whatever belongings I have to a small town that routinely has beds available in their homeless facility.  I am thinking of upstate New York in a community of Hassidic Jews maybe.  I am not Jewish.  I will then live off of charity until I die.

But what does society lose?  Unemployment is up around 10% so its not like the country is missing my productivity. I will still be a consumer until my late fifties.  I’m not even a burden on the social safety net system because I never paid into Social Security for any meaningful length of time.  I also do not reproduce and pass on the lifetime of quiet frustration into the psyche of a child.  Even if I somehow did manage to reproduce OBVIOUSLY I would have neither the ability nor the inclination to put them on a similar path like the one I followed.

So, a whole lot has happened.  So much in fact that it’s hard to decide exactly what to write about.  First there is this

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/business/law-school-economics-job-market-weakens-tuition-rises.html?_r=1

And if you’re here on this site you are aware of everything in the story linked to above.  What makes it newsworthy is that it’s in the New York Times.  I suppose I should be happy that one of the most widely read newspapers in the world has taken note of my specific plight.  But instead all I did was crack a beer.  Then I cracked another, and another and then I got REAL mad.  Is this how people who see parents murder their children all the time felt when the media found Casey Anthony? And now thanks to the NYT article…well, my life’s still over.  I’ve got this blog, I do my part to help the next generation.  All I am left with his emptiness.

But there’s more.  How about this

http://abovethelaw.com/2011/07/suing-law-schools-potpourri-tidings-from-law-schools-named-after-a-thomas/thomas-cooley-lawsuit-cl/

That’s right.  Kids like me are rising up and suing their law schools.  Read on to hear what I think about that.

Sure.  If you went to a third rate law school nobody has heard of with few if any successful alumni and you can find a job doing something else or whatever the hell else you did before you went to law school than sure, more power to you.  It’s not like you can’t find a lawyer these days to take virtually any case on contingency.

Me, I went to an Ivy League school.  Sure, they hiked up tuition.  Sure, they lied about employment statistics (though not nearly as brashly) but they have A LOT of powerful alumni who in theory could stand to lose a lot if the name of their dear old alma mater was besmirched.  You see, my law school COULD use its own to defend a lawsuit I would bring against it with some freshly minted Cooley graduate.  Plus I did technically (however very briefly) have a job upon graduation so according to all of this I should be dancing in the street.  Because apparently I didn’t go to law school for a career in law I went to have to have a six-figure job for a couple of months.

So I really don’t know what to write about.  I mean none of this effects me.  None of this effects the people who have been derailed for YEARS.  I don’t this is progress either.  These are just the things that happen as a scam matures.  Everyone knows the pitfalls of playing the lottery or selling knives door-to-door.  Everyone knows that Taco Bell doesn’t have real meat in their tacos.  Everyone knows that Disney World is just paying a ton of money to spend your only free week of the year waiting in lines in 100+ degree heat.  BUT PEOPLE STILL DO IT.  And they probably always will.

Ugh.  Nothing changes.

There are some great stories here.  I am also adding this to the blog roll.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/down-not-voices-long-term-unemployed-125453267.html