Asymmetrical Information

The actual story isn't quite as weird as Jane's summary sounded. These aren't SS retirement checks, but SSI disability checks for someone fairly young, and the issue is whether the gov't can continue garnishing everything over $9,000/year past the 10-year statute of limitations on student loans.

The interesting point not covered in the article is how this guy became disabled with student loans still unpaid. Is an accident that happened a few years out of college? Is it something he only "discovered" when the pressure to get a job and start paying back the loans became too great? Is it a pre-existing condition that somehow wasn't disabling enough to keep him from going to college, but he claims it's just disabling enough that he can't work at the job he trained for, or any other job?

There's a weirder story on the second page of this article. A convicted murderer wants to present a rather dubious alibi at his sentencing hearing, in hopes of inducing enough uncertainty in the jury that they won't go for the death penalty. Why wasn't this presented at his trial?

This bit caught my eye:

"Billions of dollars are at stake in a case that asks the justices to reconcile the key federal goals of keeping educational aid programs solvent and maintaining the incomes of the elderly and disabled."

This may just be a poorly worded sentence, but the courts aren't supposed to "reconcile key federal goals." That's the legislative function. The judicial function is to figure out what Congress has done in the way of reconciling those goals (i.e., to interpret the law, not to set or prioritize policy).

If you complane about your high cost of educashon you shuld have gone to a state scool and have cheep expens that is what I did and I am educate and I got a good job and make a lot of money and dont have expense to pay becase I got a good union job at the local plant where my uncal is a union leeder.

"Evidence" is often presented at sentencing hearings so the judge can determine the harshness of the sentence.

This is often stuff that there isn't enough evidence to support at the "beyond a reasonable doubt" level required in the trial proper.

Sounds like he's presenting an avtive defense but doesn't have the evidence to back it up so this is his best choice to get it considered - not good enough to keep him out of jail but maybe good enough to keep him off death row.

There are many fine state schools one can attend quite cheaply if one can establish residency. For example, all the Big Ten schools with the exception of Northwestern as well as the Pac-10 schools. Additionally, I've found my own state school to be a fantastic place to drink while pursuing undergraduate and professional degrees. Now I can't wait to leave the state. Thanks taxpayers!

Isn't there an insurance charge associated with student loans in case of death or disability? I guess the question of 'how disabled' needs to be settled . . .

Sausagegut:

Yeah, you try getting residency in Oregon. It's virtually impossible. I did it mostly by having cirumstances that allowed me to lie just enough to keep residency eventhough my family lived elsewhere.

A friend of mine had parents who lived in Argentina, he'd gone to high school in the suburbs of Portland with me by living with his sister. When U of O found this out, BOOM they decided he had to pay out of state tuition.

For an interesting story about an 'innovative' student loan program, try googling 'yale' and 'tuition postponement option'

Timothy:

The residency police can be quite strict and often are unreasonable. Though somewhat arbitrary, rationing is necessary when you're giving a 20-30k per academic year education away for 4-6k per academic year.

Some state schools in the less populous western states provide decent educations at reasonable out of state prices. Nebraska, New Mexico etc. And there's always Arizona and Arizona State for all those So-Cal party animals who couldn't get into USC or UCLA. The human aesthetics at those schools are quite pleasant.

Sausage:

There's also the Western Scholarship exchange thing or whatever it's called that'll allow students from Western states to go to school in other western states for 1.5x in-state tuition instead of the out of state cost.

Arizona and ASU were pretty popular for Oregonians who got tired of rain, as well.

I think there are some extremely unfabulous govt jobs that pay off some or all of your student loans. Jobs like teaching in ND or being a Park Ranger in Alaska, ofcourse elligibility all depends on what your major was. Im so happy that I worked 15 jobs to pay for my vocational training rather then going into debt. And I never missed a day of my volunteer work. I have this friend though, he borrowed every dime he could get to go to college, did nothing but party, and he swears he will sooner chew his leg off then repay a dime of it. He thinks he was conned.

Yes my sister is a teacher in an underprivileged area. If she stays there for three years they will pay back all of her student loans.

Now this is a pet peeve of mine, the SSD option. No one ever questions it but I always wonder what the real story is. It's hard to get SSD/SSI, especially when you're under 40. Last I heard, mental cases were the easiest to prevail on--and the easiest to fake of course.

With his education my guess is that he came up with a good case of bipolar or schizophrenia because they hold your education against you. I mean you have to prove you can't perform a job in any field any place in the country (you must be willing to relocate).

But I know several people on disability whose only problem is that they're frightened of looking for a job. And I know truly disabled people who are working. Then there are the ones who have gotten so fat that they have all sorts of physical ailments so yeah they're disabled--now. Oh sorry I guess I'm "blaming the victim." But lemme tell you, out here in flyover country, getting SSD is the holy grail for slackers because with that you get subsidized housing and Medicare too.

Carol: I knew a guy who was getting SSI because of epilepsy - even though he had never had a seizure at work, but rather had been fired from dozens of jobs for showing up late (if at all) on the second or third day.

He also had quite a criminal record for theft and for beating up women. (He claimed the punches he threw were epileptic fits, but somehow it never happened around any man between 16 and 60...) The last I heard of him, he was wanted for grand theft auto - his mother's car, and she swore out the complaint.

If the government has to leave the first $9000 alone, then what is at stake here is about $124 a month - and it looks like they've only been deducting about $111 per month (started May 2002, and in Jan 2005 the government had collected $3,555).

He did get that $80,000, and at $111 per month it would take the government 60 years just to recoup the principal.

Seems to me he's getting off pretty easy.

If he really was a senior citizen and had been paying off his loans and still owed money on them, that would be a different story altogether. ALthough, come to think of it, when I start paying off the loans for my MBA - I will be a senior citizen before the last payment is made . . .

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