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/

Read the rest of this entry →

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.

Read the rest of this entry →

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.

One of the good things about losing a string of posts is that it gives you some time to reflect on what you wrote . With respect to the Thomas Jefferson Law School lawsuit I feel I originally failed to get at the real crux of the matter.  For those of you unfamiliar an unemployed law grad with excellent grades is suing her alma mater for false advertising because they materially misrepresented their employment statistics to her when she was considering matriculating.

Triforce and Alpha Man had a long fight about it and I sat on the sidelines eventually reluctantly agreeing with Triforce that there was no case because there was no precedent, no specific guarantee was made, and because surely there were enough employed individuals from this school so as to make the premise easily rebuttable.  I didn’t even touch the Triforce slippery slope/don’t hate the player argument. Alpha Man muttered something about cracker lawyers under his breath but stuck to his guns about consumer fraud and the seriousness of a potential FTC violation.
Read the rest of this entry →

So I’ve been at my new job for just under a year and am at that crucial point where the mere fact that my job is not something I remember hating is no longer enough to sustain me through each day.  This development has coincided with a mental paradigm shift: I no longer compare myself to the broken, debt-ridden, one foot in the grave at 30 law school classmates of yesteryear. I now compare myself to the young professionals who are getting married, starting families and doing this peculiar activity called “living.” This is significant because whereas I am doing much better than my colleagues left to rot in the dead legal profession I am doing much worse than my colleagues who went the “business analyst” route (think liberal arts majors with soft computer skills).

I don’t think my experience is unique. When you get out of s really bad situation, below average seems fantastic. In relationships it’s called being on the rebound. Then one day you wake up next to a married assistant manager of your local deli and realize just because he doesn’t hit you or sell your stuff online doesn’t mean he’s Mr. Right. Well, I just realized my job is that assistant manager.
Read the rest of this entry →

Hi assholes! Here’s a poem for you

There once was a man named Wenis…

Forget it.  I don’t feel like rhyming despite the sarcastic remarks about why I should “stick to my 5th grade rhymes and stop trying to address serious issues.” And yes I deleted the comment and then quoted in the body of a post.  Sue me.  Particularly if you’re an unemployed lawyer.  It will give you something to do.

ANYway, since I will be the first to admit my last post on this subject was a little garbled, I am going to try again by simply pointing out one reason why suicide can be an action taken by a rational individual.  I cannot stress enough that 1) my writing this does not mean I personally am “suicidal” or 2) that suicide is or is ever the right decision.  Regardless of one’s faculties for logic the rammifications of such a violent act can never be fully predicted and the decision can never be overturned or mitigated.  Suicide makes no sense just like the death-penalty makes no sense from that perspective.

All right, on to the point.  A reason why suicide is statistically higher amongst our marginalized peers is that consciously or not, our life’s goal from a financial perspective is to achieve a zero networth, and to never be hounded about our loans ever again.  For better or for worse, suicide achieves that.

Read the rest of this entry →

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.

Read the rest of this entry →

Not much is up. Mike Triforce and I called a truce and he told me how to cheat law review, so I’ll probably end up doing it. Most of us 1Ls at TTTs are dead inside. I was trying to pick up this one girl, a nickel and change, and my game was good but she wasn’t feeling it. She was literally too depressed to drink and fuck. I ended up stealing her phone and when I went to her place to return it (I banged out her roommate awhile back) we ended up hooking up on the couch during A Bridget Jones marathon on TBS. I carried her to bed and in the morning I made her Nyquil waffles (again Triforce) and then banged her out again. I unplugged/turned off her clock, phone and computer and told her roommate she did not want to be disturbed and lied about sleeping with her despite the fact that it had been obvious. I’ll call her tomorrow.

Anyway so I get home and for some reason calculate my loans to date: $277,451. Wow. 300k is on the horizon. It would have been worth it if I had been tagging ass like I am now for the past 8 years. Everytime I have a night like last night I think about what a waste 7 years was at a state school not getting any. Oh well.
Read the rest of this entry →

I don’t care to feel things because usually when I do they are bad things. Disappointing things. Painful painful things. But every now and then something happens that causes the awful rays of hope to penetrate the familiar darkness that is the existence we have become so familiar with…and I hate it.

Usually it is an email. E-mails lack eyes. Eyes convey pity, dishonesty, annoyance, and a dull flint that discourages the false hope.

So you get the email. Suddenly you can taste your food again. You return messages you haven’t answered in weeks. You buy a beer for a stranger. You start to feel human. You begin to plan how you’re going to live your new life. Slooooow down there champ.

Sigh. Ok, I can’t convince you that it won’t happen. I can’t even convince you that the job that seems like the path to salvation probably only seems that way due to woefully lowered expectations. Buuuut maybe I can convince you that what you’re going through, regardless of outcome, is not unique.
Read the rest of this entry →

I try and give you folks a lark with some good-old fashioned bro humor. I had a great story about a bro who opened a puppy rental stand who paid this slam piece to jerk off guys she saw walking said puppies and suggest that for paying off high interest private loans. But you people need help. Serious help. So instead I am going to explain to you something you should have learned growing up watching sports.

Now here is how I know there are no sports fans on this site. One if there were ballets among you you’d have gotten scholarships. Two if you could converse about sports with people you’d be less miserable at work, more pleasant to be around, less likely to lose your job and more likely to find a new one if you do.  And before you get started yes I am going to make a sports analogy BUT I am going to explain it so even those who think Jordan was the greatest football player because he scored the most runs in history can understand.

You are playing a game, say basketball, (round ball, bounces, played indoors) and your opponent is debt. Whoever has the most points at the end of the game (aka the amount of time you want/reasonable amount of time to take to pay off your loans is) wins. Debt is winning by the amount you owe, aided by crooked refs we’ll call interest.
Read the rest of this entry →