Good Read: The Student Loan Scam

The Student Loan Scam: The Most Oppressive Debt in U.S. History - and How We Can Fight Back
by Alan Michael Collinge, Founder of StudentLoanJustice.Org,
167 pages
Beacon Press (February 1, 2009)
English
0807042293
978-0807042298
$22.95
Here's the blurb:

An in-depth exploration and exposé of the predatory nature of the student loan industry Alan Collinge never imagined he would become a student loan justice activist. He planned to land a solid job after college, repay his student loan debt, and then simply forget the loans ever existed. Like millions of Americans, however, in spite of working hard, Collinge fell behind on payments and entered a labyrinthine student loan nightmare. High school graduates can no longer put themselves through college for a few thousand dollars in loan debt. Today, the average undergraduate borrower leaves school with more than $20,000 in student loans, and for graduate students the average is a whopping $42,000. For the past twenty years, college tuition has increased at more than double the rate of inflation, with the cost largely shifting to student debt. The Student Loan Scam is an exposé of the predatory nature of the $85-billion student loan industry. In this in-depth exploration, Collinge argues that student loans have become the most profitable, uncompetitive, and oppressive type of debt in American history. This has occurred in large part due to federal legislation passed since the mid-1990s that removed standard consumer protections from student loans-and allowed for massive penalties and draconian wealth-extraction mechanisms to collect this inflated debt. Collinge covers the history of student loans, the rise of Sallie Mae, and how universities have profited at the expense of students. The book includes candid and compelling stories from people across the country about how both nonprofit and for-profit student loan companies, aided by poor legislation, have shattered their lives-and livelihoods. With nearly 5 million defaulted loans, this crisis is growing to epic proportions. The Student Loan Scam takes an unflinching look at this unprecedented and pressing problem, while exposing the powerful organizations and individuals who caused it to happen. Ultimately, Collinge argues for the return of standard consumer protections for student loans, among other pragmatic solutions, in this clarion call for social action.

Here it is on amazon

Here's the book's facebook page

Here's a great article on student loan debt from us news

and another from NY times

and another from L A Times

and another in the Wall Street Journal

Also check out


No Sucker Left Behind: Avoiding the Great College Rip-off
by Marc Scheer

352 pages
Common Courage Press (May 15, 2008)
English
ISBN-10: 1567513786
ISBN-13: 978-1567513783
7.6 x 5 x 1 inches