Generation Debt

"What I was going to say," said the Dodo in an offended tone, "was, that the best thing to get us dry would be a Caucus-race."

"What is a Caucus-race?" said Alice; not that she wanted much to know, but the Dodo had paused as if it thought that somebody ought to speak, and no one else seemed inclined to say anything.

"Why," said the Dodo, "the best way to explain it is to do it."

-Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

Today it starts, the true kickoff to the 2008 presidential campaign: the Iowa Caucus. (For news and information regarding the Iowa Caucus, check out the Des Moines Register caucus section, Iowa Caucus 2008, and IowaCaucus.com. And for an overview on caucuses in general, check out this Wikipedia entry.)

To gauge the impact of the Iowa Caucus, check out this breakdown of past results from the Des Moines Register, which shows that a win tonight and a strong second place finish bodes well for those who end up in front. Now is the time to ask the candidates who come through your part of the country what they plan to do in terms of student loans. Do they care about those of us who are struggling to pay our loans under the yoke of usurious interest rates, or do they only care about future students? Are they for the citizen borrowers, or the corporate lenders? What are their stances on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, and will that reauthorization provide students and borrowers with much-needed relief?

Remember this quote from Sam Seaborn on the West Wing:

I worked in a State Assembly race in Manhattan in a district where Democrats outnumbered Republicans 16 to 1. But everywhere we went, there'd be one lone poster of a right-wing nutbar who wanted to to eliminate the income tax. And he was holding up signs and canvassing everywhere and bugging the local reporters until we had to comment on it. So I introduced myself to his campaign manager, and I said, "What are you doing? Your candidate doesn't have a chance and neither do your issues." He said, "This is what I believe. And no candidate gets to run in my district without speaking to my issue."

Make the candidates speak to your issue any way you can this year.

Student Loan Debt Clock: $ 470 billion.

Posted by Diana at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Here's a report from the State PIRG's Higher Education Project on the rising rates of student loan debt, from last March.

Posted by Diana at 4:45 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I'm looking for information on how the Democratic presidential candidates respond to the issues germane to us, and I'm having difficulty finding any information at all. Neither Kerry nor Edwards deal w/ graduate debt in their position pieces (though Howard Dean did), and I'm surprised there's nothing there. Or at least, nothing that I'm finding ... but I'm hopeful that there's just something I'm missing.

I have called the national offices for Kerry and Edwards (I apologize for not bothering with Sharpton or Kucinich) and been unable to get a straight answer. "They'll get back to me."

Please contact your local candidates' offices and share what you find.

Also, if you have found any online or offline resources on the candidates' positions, please comment!

Posted by at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Wondering which candidates get money from which special interests (including banks/student loan lenders)? Take at look at Open Secrets. You'll find, for instance, that so far in 2004, Sallie Mae's PAC has given more to Democrats (68%) than Republicans (32%). But note that in 2002, they gave slightly more to Republicans (55%) than Democrats (45%), and in 2000 they gave substantially more to Republicans (62%) than Democrats (38%). Interesting...

Posted by Diana at 9:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Voting this year is more crucial than ever this year, and grassroots efforts fortunately are more vital than they have been in decades.

If you aren't already registered, here's a link to help you to register
at Working for Change.

If you BELIEVE you're registered, you should check. Last presidential election, many would be voters -- not only in Florida but in other states as well -- were turned away because they hadn't voted in previous elections and their registrations had expired. To check, call your town's Registrar of Voters at City/Town Hall.

Likewise, the best way to influence a candidate is from the inside. Whether you're Democrat or Republican, volunteering in a national, state or local race can give you access to candidates and you can influence their agenda. So as you do, don't hesitate to mention your debt and the relief you need ... and, oh yeah, GenDebt.org.

We will not only need the next President behind student loan aid reform. We need Senators and members of Congress behind it. And they talk to the elected representatives in their home states. In other words, you can choose where you want to have your impact felt, and it can still make a difference to this cause.

Posted by at 1:31 PM | Permalink

There are so many different kinds of student loans out there it may be a little hard to navigate the seas of debt. Luckily there are people out there willing to assist us all.

1. The Department of Education runs Federal Student Aid Information Center where you can talk to a representative who can explain the differences of each kind of loan and what your options are. Simply call 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243), press 1 for an English menu and 3 to speak with a live person. They can look up your individual accounts and lead you down the best possible path.
   
2. FINAID.COM is supposed to be a resource for new students searching for financial aid, but there is excellent information on their loans page to determine whether you are holding Stafford, Perkins, PLUS loans, etc and what the differences are between them.
   
3. Finally, the US Department of Education is working on putting up a Comprehensive Resource Guide to Financial Aid. This isn't quite finished yet, but should be available soon.

Posted by Liz at 7:01 PM | Permalink

Below is a sample letter to the media. Feel free to cut and paste this text into a letter, fax or email:

Continue reading "Sample Media Letter" »

Posted by Diana at 4:26 PM | Permalink

Below are a sample of some of the media outlets you can contact to get the story out there. Additional local and national media outlets can be found at Working Assets/Cap Wiz.

Continue reading "Major Media Contacts" »

Posted by Liz at 4:19 PM | Permalink

Below is a sample letter to your Senators. Feel free to cut and paste this text into a letter, fax or email:

Continue reading "Sample Letter to Senate" »

Posted by Diana at 4:16 PM | Permalink

Below is a sample letter to your House Representative. Feel free to cut and paste this text into a letter, fax or email:

Continue reading "Sample Letter to House Rep." »

Posted by Diana at 4:15 PM | Permalink

Members of Congress were elected to help their constituents, so please donít be shy about contacting them regarding issues that will affect you. An opinion on current legislation receives more attention than general observation.

Here are a few things to keep in mind in your communication with legislators:

Continue reading "Tips For Letter Writing" »

Posted by Liz at 4:13 PM | Permalink