Fuck Her and Other News:
Let me start off in saying, that no-shit, Sallie Mae is one of the most ruthless, cut-throat organizations in this country. When the revolution starts, I hope they are some of the first ones against the wall.
Sallie Mae’s long reach
Anyone who has treaded the waters of the student loan pool is familiar with Sallie Mae, the lending giant. What they might not know is how powerful the lender has become and how it has used its influence to chip away at consumer protections. Before its grip on student borrowing becomes any more pervasive, Congress should consider placing Sallie Mae in check.
“Sallie Mae is on the march toward monopoly here,” Barmak Nassirian of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers told the Chronicle of Higher Education, “It’s important to understand that we are witnessing the inevitable outcome of legislative changes made years ago.”
Congress created the Student Loan Marketing Association (Sallie Mae, for short) in 1972 out of fear that banks would not have the resources to meet the demand for college loans. The government-chartered corporation was to use U.S. Treasury funds to buy government-backed loans from banks, which would provide the banks with the money to make more loans.
Backed by the government, Sallie Mae was able to lower the default risk on loans. The corporation prospered, with assets multiplying during the early 1980s and ’90s. Its top officers were earning seven-figure salaries and began drawing criticism that they were prospering at the expense of students and taxpayers. The Clinton administration pushed for direct student lending, and in 1996 Congress voted to privatize Sallie Mae – now a booming enterprise thanks to its boost from government.
As a private, for-profit company, Sallie Mae – now SLM Corp. – has adopted an aggressive and politically savvy approach to gaining market advantage. Its stock has risen 1,900 percent since 1995, and Fortune magazine has dubbed it a Wall Street “superstar.” The company holds more than $100 billion in student debt, and $1.4 million in campaign contributions to congressional candidates in the 2004 election cycle has secured legislation that ensures its favored-lender status.
The success has come at great expense to college students and their families. Congress passed laws to limit debt consolidation to one loan at a time, with the original lender, and it allowed stiff penalties and fees on delinquent debt. Students who fall behind are now subject to wage garnishees, income tax and Social Security seizure and loss of professional certifications.
In addition, Sallie Mae has aggressively targeted its competitors for takeover. Its newest targets are the state-based loan agencies. In Illinois, critics of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s proposal to sell the state’s student-loan agency to Sallie Mae charge that the for-profit company would not provide the same benefits and services to student borrowers. That’s precisely what happened when Sallie Mae bought Ohio’s Student Loan Funding Resources, where interest rate deductions were limited to borrowers who made at least 33 on-time payments.
It’s past time for Congress to take another look at what it has created. The earning potential of college graduates is seriously compromised by policies that allow lenders to prosper at the expense of student borrowers.
Daniels says they can wait to change clocks
INDIANAPOLIS – Backlash over losing an hour of sales because of Indiana’s move to daylight-saving time prompted Gov. Mitch Daniels on Thursday to announce that the state will not force bars, restaurants and taverns to change their clocks until after closing. Last week the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission put a notice on its Web site reminding bars that at 2 a.m. Sunday they were to advance their clocks one hour – to the regular closing time of 3 a.m. – and immediately cease alcoholic beverage sales.
That would mean one hour of lost sales. Officials previously argued that the bars would regain the hour in the fall. But days of negative publicity – especially in Indianapolis where bar owners were facing stout losses thanks to an exceptionally busy Final Four weekend – prompted the about-face. ESPN Radio talk-show host Dan Patrick even mentioned it on air Thursday.
Daniels said alcohol establishments can change their clocks an hour after the official start of daylight-saving time instead.
Sallie Mae’s long reach
Anyone who has treaded the waters of the student loan pool is familiar with Sallie Mae, the lending giant. What they might not know is how powerful the lender has become and how it has used its influence to chip away at consumer protections. Before its grip on student borrowing becomes any more pervasive, Congress should consider placing Sallie Mae in check.
“Sallie Mae is on the march toward monopoly here,” Barmak Nassirian of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers told the Chronicle of Higher Education, “It’s important to understand that we are witnessing the inevitable outcome of legislative changes made years ago.”
Congress created the Student Loan Marketing Association (Sallie Mae, for short) in 1972 out of fear that banks would not have the resources to meet the demand for college loans. The government-chartered corporation was to use U.S. Treasury funds to buy government-backed loans from banks, which would provide the banks with the money to make more loans.
Backed by the government, Sallie Mae was able to lower the default risk on loans. The corporation prospered, with assets multiplying during the early 1980s and ’90s. Its top officers were earning seven-figure salaries and began drawing criticism that they were prospering at the expense of students and taxpayers. The Clinton administration pushed for direct student lending, and in 1996 Congress voted to privatize Sallie Mae – now a booming enterprise thanks to its boost from government.
As a private, for-profit company, Sallie Mae – now SLM Corp. – has adopted an aggressive and politically savvy approach to gaining market advantage. Its stock has risen 1,900 percent since 1995, and Fortune magazine has dubbed it a Wall Street “superstar.” The company holds more than $100 billion in student debt, and $1.4 million in campaign contributions to congressional candidates in the 2004 election cycle has secured legislation that ensures its favored-lender status.
The success has come at great expense to college students and their families. Congress passed laws to limit debt consolidation to one loan at a time, with the original lender, and it allowed stiff penalties and fees on delinquent debt. Students who fall behind are now subject to wage garnishees, income tax and Social Security seizure and loss of professional certifications.
In addition, Sallie Mae has aggressively targeted its competitors for takeover. Its newest targets are the state-based loan agencies. In Illinois, critics of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s proposal to sell the state’s student-loan agency to Sallie Mae charge that the for-profit company would not provide the same benefits and services to student borrowers. That’s precisely what happened when Sallie Mae bought Ohio’s Student Loan Funding Resources, where interest rate deductions were limited to borrowers who made at least 33 on-time payments.
It’s past time for Congress to take another look at what it has created. The earning potential of college graduates is seriously compromised by policies that allow lenders to prosper at the expense of student borrowers.
Daniels says they can wait to change clocks
INDIANAPOLIS – Backlash over losing an hour of sales because of Indiana’s move to daylight-saving time prompted Gov. Mitch Daniels on Thursday to announce that the state will not force bars, restaurants and taverns to change their clocks until after closing. Last week the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission put a notice on its Web site reminding bars that at 2 a.m. Sunday they were to advance their clocks one hour – to the regular closing time of 3 a.m. – and immediately cease alcoholic beverage sales.
That would mean one hour of lost sales. Officials previously argued that the bars would regain the hour in the fall. But days of negative publicity – especially in Indianapolis where bar owners were facing stout losses thanks to an exceptionally busy Final Four weekend – prompted the about-face. ESPN Radio talk-show host Dan Patrick even mentioned it on air Thursday.
Daniels said alcohol establishments can change their clocks an hour after the official start of daylight-saving time instead.
posted by John Q. Public esq. at 2:04 AM
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