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.

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Hello, my name is Benito Mario.  I am a 31 year-old balding two-time graduate level ivy-league grad who is unemployed, living with his mother and has never held a full-time job for more than 18 months.  My two older brothers each earned their GEDs after age 35 and are millionaires.  They refuse to employ or speak to me because they feel our parents favored me due to my academic success.  They won’t come by the house if I’m there unless it’s Thanksgiving or Christmas.  My mother tolerates my presence in part out of stubborness towards them.  That’s my reality everyday when I wake up in the morning. Oh, and I have $200k in debt that I have no way of ever paying.

Now, here’s what I could have said

Hello my name is Benito Mario.  I’m a doctor (of the arts).  I stay on campus, I try to give something back to the kids you know? Do you like my hat? I’m a free spirit, I could NEVER do the 9-5 thing.  I mean, corporate America? Hello?? I’m the first in my family to go on to do post-graduate work, and if you’re going to do something you might as well do it all the way right?  I mean you can’t go ivy-league for undergrad and then settle for less afterwards right? My older brothers give me a lot of shit about the debt but come on, they are plumbers who never even graduated from high school.  They resent me because I was the favorite. In fact, I’m the only one who ever checks in on mom.

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President Obama and Retired General Powell each are undertaking laudable efforts to promote education in this country.  Sometimes investing in one’s education means taking on debt. I am undertaking a questionable effort to raise awareness about oppressive student debt that basically amounts to a prison sentence. Sometimes avoiding this debt means delaying or foregoing education. Are these two conflicting goals? I don’t think so. Plus, if they were, would Alpha Man write for a blog that questioned two black leaders of such prominence? Probably not.

Read on to see where I am coming from.

When Obama or Powell say “education” they mean a high school diploma plus MAYBE a two year college degree in some kind of trade (think ITT Tech before they started scalping students).  When I say “education” I mean a highly-specialized graduate degree where pre-2006 you could expect a six figure salary for the foreseeable future after completing the necessary post degree work (research, clerking, residency, exams, etc.) That’s a wide gap. Let’s examine the prospectives.

I do not pruport to be an expert on either of the aforementioned gentlemen. However I do know that Obama worked between college and law school and I believe Powell attended West Point (which is free if you get in). While both Obama and his wife Michelle had student loans they are simply more talented than you and I and being twenty instead of two years removed from school, had much more reasonable debt loads. On the same token as a white suburban kid they had tons of adversity whereas I occasionally overslept the alarm clock and would have to have a cold breakfast…or demand my hot breakfast and feel somewhat guilty as my dad drove me to school. The guilt was minimal.

Also Obama and Powell are concerned with education at a macro-level. Their policies, advocacy and foundations affect millions of students. This blog is concerned with education at a micro-level. The posts are highly anecdotal and meant to warn potential students who far and away have already exceeded the metrics that Obama and Powell are talking about.

There are countless other differences. Obama and Powell are targeting children. This blog targets adults. They command armies. I have a half-dozen surly bloggers. They have lived all over the world. I live in my mother’s basement…

Um, but back to the point. I believe that there is a great deal of overlap in our positions. I support a higher graduation rate. High School is free. Am I in favor of a longer school year? Sure, that’s more free school. Likewise Obama has eliminated alot of the middlemen allowing the Federal Government to loan directly to students.

Now that is not to say we’d agree on everything. Whereas Obama or Powell might tell some kid to follow his dreams Id tell him he’d be better off avoiding his nightmares or more specifically my nightmare. My endless horrid nightmare.

Point is parents, aunts, uncles, older siblings etc. Do not just dismiss what you read here as useless satire. There’s good stuff here and it’s not by any means anti-education.

It’s obvious that Above The Law is required reading here at Debtor’s Prison.  In fact, I think it’s unfortunate that the blog is dominated primarily by lawyers BECAUSE if say, American Legal work can be outsourced, what can’t? Without further ado here is the link:

First my two cents. The title is fitting because indeed those in the know DID know this would happen…and it’s a classic example of the “scam blogger” effect where even if you utter a highly watered down version of the truth most people not in the know think you’re at best crazy and at worst a cynical, whining, fingerpointing lay about. Is this pathetic? Yes. Would I take this job? Maybe and here is why: shame.  It might be worth poverty wages, stomach parasites, and leaving everything I’ve ever known to look myself in the mirror and know that I am surrounded by individuals who are staring at me for a very different reason.

Read on to hear what the gang thinks

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For the second article in a row I am posting a link to a story that might be the beginning of the end of our suffering

http://abovethelaw.com/2010/06/could-law-school-loans-become-more-easily-dischargeable-in-bankruptcy/#comments

Could it be true?  I am like a Goat in Narnia that’s just seen Santa’s sleigh.  Perhaps the endless winter is coming to an end.  Now before we get all giddy, let’s explore the two reasons why this isn’t likely to happen and analyze the BEST option for beating the odds and finally getting out of this hell hole. 

The first reason this isn’t likely to happen is of course lawyers.  Remember, it was their bankruptcy declaring asses on the second day after graduation that got us in this damn mess in the first place.  The second reason is the fact that an educational loan has no collateral.  There’s no car or home to repossess in the event you can’t pay…or is there?

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Hi kids.  I am sure each of you are familiar with the two individuals in the title, known collectively as “World’s Finest.”  Last week I was sitting in my mother’s basement connecting different wires in an attempt to…let’s say maximize the number of channels that make up basic cable, I stumbled upon some old cartoons featuring none other than the DC Comic flagships.  Four hours later I had a new analogy to describe the unique dilemma of the student debtor.  We thought our fancy degrees would make us Superman, but they made us Batman instead.

The whole reason we maximized our education was in order to command super salaries and be immune to things like downsizing, layoffs, unemployment and in certain cases even be free from the need to send out resumes, interview, network…after all I went to [ ] and graduated with a [].  I should be entertaining recruiters not begging for an audience.  This degree wasn’t supposed to simply open doors, they were supposed to empower us to kick those doors in permanently and with the greatest of ease.   If we’re talking about prospective employment I should be the one promising to call, looking bored, etc.  Similar to Superman, the only thing motivating me to do a good job, or indeed a job at all, is out of the philanthropic goodness of my own heart.  Sure, there’s kryptonite in the form of student loans but hey nobody is perfect. 

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Benito wanted me to pen another article on debt and relationships based on a date I had last night and the ensuing conversation I had with him. Obviously if I am talking to Benito at the end of the night it did not go well. Instead, I have decided to scoop him and write the follow-up to his Ivy Veil Post.  I should have written it in the first place because after all I am the one who peaked behind and paid the price of going back. I have more to offer than relationship advice, remember my motto: “I am NOT Lisa Scottoline.”

The catalyst for this post was a piece found at ATL (link before the break). The piece and the ensuing comments illustrated the peculiar plight of the ivy-unemployed, a secret previously as well kept as the private failings of our public figures before the late 60’s.

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