I didn't learn the right things...

After looking at the jobs on the school's career site this morning and on Craigslist makes me all the more ready to enlist in the military after I graduate law school.  The idea of working in the private sector no longer appeals to me at all.  I am baffled at the internship "opportunities" that are offered.  People basically want you to be their slave.  Some offer a small stipend of $12/hour so you can really slave for them. 

One example on my college's website of full time labor was a paralegal position for a firm that works with low income households.  Your reward for working for this firm is, of course, being a low income household yourself.  Perhaps they will help you apply for Food Stamps (I have already done this before, so already know the process.)  This job, in New York, NY states: Salary is $31,518 to $34,670 annually with extensive employee benefits.  I suppose that is more than I have ever made, and to be honest, I would be somewhat happy to have a job with that kind of wage, yet at the same time, it would be tough to pay back $200,000+ of college loans on that wage and live in NY.  What would I have left to save in order to buy property, start my own business, or enjoy live?  Is that the cost of a college education?

Another Summer internship I found was quite upsetting, to be honest.  Here's the jist from the ad:

The individual should have a demonstrated commitment to either public interest law, civil rights and/or labor and employment law on behalf of plaintiffs-employees, combating unlawful discrimination in employment, education and housing, First Amendment and Due Process claims/ rights on behalf of civil rights litigants, and/or issues of social/ economic justice.

Also, potential applicants should be interested in working at a law firm where ninety percent (90%) or more of its practice is devoted to litigation in the NY State and federal courts, and in administrative proceedings such us before the EEOC or US Dept. of Labor. A small percentage of work will probably involve assisting in compliance issues, counseling and/or assisting in representing small to medium sized employers located in the NYC metropolitan and Mid-Hudson Valley areas.

The intern would be responsible for the following tasks, which includes but is not limited to: doing intake of and discussion with potential clients; performing legal research (knowledge of WestLaw is highly preferred, but capability in Lexis would suffice although the applicant would have to independently have access to Lexis); drafting legal memoranda and opinions; assist me in bringing on motions, including but not limited to motions for summary judgment and discovery motions (e.g., motions to compel) and in opposing motions to dismiss, summary judgment and discovery motions; substantial document review; deposition transcript review and digesting; and assist me at depositions, trials, court conferences, and hearings.

A Spanish speaking individual is preferred, but knowledge of Spanish is not necessary. Lastly, although much of the work can be done from a remote location, it is preferred that applicants reside in the NYC metropolitan area, and preferably in either NYC or the Mid-Hudson Valley areas (i.e., Westchester; Rockland; Orange; Putnam; Dutchess; Sullivan and/or Ulster Counties).

Sadly, I don't know how to do most of that stuff.  One reason I do not apply for internships now is because I was expected to know all of this stuff at my last job.  Law school does NOT prepare a student to do these things, yet for some reason, the employers expect students to know how.  It's rather upsetting that I will be graduating this year and will have no idea what the hell these things are.  And since I was not in the top 5% of my class I could not get an internship with a large firm that actually has a training program which teaches its interns how to do these things. 

I will be glad when I am done with all this.  I wish I would have learned how to do all these things that I don't know how to do, but it will soon be over and I will be done with it all.  Good riddance.

Some US Cities offering to *help* pay off student loans!

A recent article from Yahoo (the king of all news) states:

In Niagara Falls, N.Y., a man shortly will attempt a daring feat—and he isn't Nik Wallenda: Seth Piccirillo, Niagara Falls' new director of community development, will attempt to lure young professionals to live in his city's beleaguered downtown, which for decades has been hemorrhaging residents--young ones especially.

He'll do it, he says, by offering to help them pay down their college loans. Here and there around the U.S.—from rural Kansas to Detroit—communities concerned over shrinking, aging populations are attempting novel experiments to attract the young and zippy. If they're not offering to pay off student loans, they're dangling other incentives aimed at budding professionals.

Niagara Falls' population 50 years ago teetered at 100,000. Then it began to fall and today it's half of what it was. If by the time of the next census it's under 50,000, leaders fear the city will risk the loss of some forms of federal assistance.

"We've lost a lot of talent, a lot of brain power," admits Piccirillo. "For 50 years we've been asking ourselves: how do we keep our young people?" The city, he says, never really had a plan. Now it does: It will attract them from elsewhere by offering to pay their student loans.

The city is putting an initial $200,000 behind the idea. The first applications should arrive in the next couple of months, says Piccirillo, but "The graduating class of 2013 will be our first real swing at it."

He says he got the idea by reading news headlines. "College debt is at the forefront of so many stories you see now," he says. "The New York Times just reported that student debt has topped $1 trillion; 94 percent of students now have some amount of debt." At the same time, he says, Niagara needs those very same graduates. "We need to grow our population base. Having young professionals is the key to a modern economy." The solution seemed obvious: Offer debt relief to attract graduates.
Under Niagara Falls' plan, graduates who have earned a 2- or 4-year degree in the past two years can apply for up to $3,500 a year (for two years) towards repayment of their student loans. The same deal would be offered to graduate students. Graduates of Niagara University and Niagara County Community College will be targeted at first, though the city hopes eventually to recruit graduates from other parts of the country.
To qualify, applicants will have to rent an apartment or buy a home within a designated downtown area. "We're not talking city-wide. We're taking acres," explains Piccirillo. "There's no doubt in my mind that getting even 100 to 150 people could revitalize the neighborhood."

In rural Kansas, a similar experiment is underway.
Fifty counties in the state have established Rural Opportunity Zones (ROZs) authorized to offer one or both of the following financial incentives to new full-time residents: Kansas income tax waivers for up to five years and/or student loan repayments up to $15,000.

To be eligible for loan repayments, applicants must hold an associate's, bachelor's or post-graduate degree; must have an outstanding student loan balance; and must establish residency in a ROZ county.

Chris Harris, manager of the Kansas program, says the idea is "to provide incentives for rural counties that have lost population over past decades." Applicants can come from any state. To date, he's received 338 applications, of which 111 have been from people out of state. About 75 percent qualify for one or both of the incentives. Applications now are being received at the rate of one a day.

"Our hope was that we'd get young professionals to move," he says. "Physicians, nurses, lawyers, accountants. And that's what we have seen--health professionals, teachers, veterinarians, accountants and a surprising number of lawyers. Our hope in the beginning was to attract individuals who would have a disproportionate economic impact on a region."

By way of example, he points to Dr. Aaron Zook, who, after doing his medical residency in Denver, relocated to rural Pratt, Kan., in part because of Kansas' debt-reduction offer. Zook told KSN TV in an interview that he had student loans totaling about $200,000. "Any help I can get is going to be real nice," he said.
So well is the Kansas program working that Harris' office has received expressions of interest from Nebraska, which, he says, is interested in establishing a similar relocation incentive.

Piccirillo in Niagara Falls says he's under no illusions that his debt repayment plan will fix his city's population problem. "Some have said that this, in and of itself, won't fix the city. And that's accurate."

Houses need to be spruced up. Old buildings need to be demolished. Concerns about crime and public safety will have to be addressed. But he points to other cities that have earned a new lease on life by reviving just a few square blocks.

One in particular inspires him: the Columbia City neighborhood of southeast Seattle, which, he says, was depressed, crime-ridden and post-industrial before renovation. "They set up a young and artistic neighborhood in a small area that included yoga studios, music venues, coffee houses. If you do a search online for Seattle, you'll see you'd want to spend time in Columbia City. That's the model in our minds."

He looks forward to the day when downtown Niagara Falls would be ranked with Columbia City among the top 10 neighborhoods in the U.S.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/student-loans-cities-offering-pay-debt-gain-young-204138733--abc-news-money.html

Personally, I don't know how well this is going to work.  Moving to these areas is not cheap.  It may cost a single person close to $3500 to move (although it can be done cheaper).  However, with the cost of finding a new apartment, u-haul rental, the cost of getting used to a new city (finding inexpensive stores to shop at, getting a feel for the best deals), and finding a job with no connection in an area that is probably low on jobs, it may not be worth it. 

I am sure there is much more that can be said about this.  In an age where $3500 pays for an undergraduate course at many schools (before the interest on the loans becomes ticking), such a small amount will not do many people much good.  And, according to the comments on Yahoo, there's plenty of people ready to sign up and move. 

Heck, some people will have $3,500 added to their loan balance in interest payments just in the amount of time it takes to move! 

Bankruptcy for Student Loan Debt?

It has been said that bankruptcy should be allowed for student loan debt.   When I first heard this, I was not sure what to think.   However, as time passed by and I started to think of the situation regarding student loan money being granted to individuals and how this debt plagues some very hardworking people, I started to understand the case for allowing students to declare bankruptcy in order to remove their student loans.

People go to college, generally, to gain the skills to enter the workforce.  Some individuals go to college for seven years or more.   This is the case with law students.  However, due to the current economy, many law students are finding that there are no jobs for them.  Yet, what is there for them is six digit student loan debt.  Furthermore, many students were sucked into the higher education system as a result of being told all their lives that college was not an option, but a necessity.  That in order to be even remotely successful in life, you need a college education.

Sadly, many students are finishing college, expecting to land a good job that allows them to be a productive member of society and reap the rewards for their labor.  However, many students will never have home ownership (or will have to defer it) or will not be able to secure credit for their own business.   Many will be stuck with a very limited income after college, barely able to pay back these massive loans.

Many people go to college in order to do something better with their lives.   The opportunity cost of college is high.  One must defer the earning of income in order to attend college.  This income could be used to pay for a down payment on a house, to start a new business, or to be invested towards retirement.  The person who does not choose college will not have to worry about student loan debt. The person who goes to college feels that he or she is making a responsible choice.  A choice that will benefit them and their family in the years to come.  However, upon graduating, many students are inundated with student loan debt (some also have credit card and other debt, which I will ignore here). This debt is often crippling.  The student can try to enter the workforce with their college degree, but often they will realize that the jobs are just not there.   Therefore, the graduate schools make their siren calls, offering the life of glitz and glamor.  Come continue your education, and reap even greater rewards than your peers.   Young men and women fall for this.   Our parents, teachers, and the rest of society tells us that this is the right choice.  More school is always good.   The more education you have the better off you will be.  However, the reality is, if you can not find work, you will only be in more debt.

Six figure debt is said to be life crippling.  Many people have years of depression ahead of them when they realize that the rest of their youth will be spent trying to pay off this debt instead of doing the things, such as starting a family, buying a home, starting a business, etc. etc. that their less educated friends are able to do.   They were told to go to college, that it was the responsible thing to do, and in the end their reward is a life of desolation.  And they are told, unlike their less educated counterparts, that they can not discharge that debt.  They are told that, even though they worked for years on getting a degree, that the debt is there to haunt them for the rest of their life.

Some individuals are unable to pay such debt, and are saddled with extra payments.  Payments that spiral out of control due to compound interest.  Other individuals flee from the United States, feeling that the only way to escape the debt is to leave their homeland behind.  They become known as the student loan debt pariahs.

One reason that this debt has got out of control is that student loan amounts have grown like crazy.   A person should not be allowed to take out over $200,000 in loans for higher education.   In fact, an individual should not be allowed to take out over $100,000 in loans.  Why?  Because when the loan rates are increased, the tuition increases in step with it.  In fact, college tuition has risen faster than the cost of medical care, yet which of the two gets the most media attention?  Most of the college students I have spoken to have no idea how fast college tuition increases!

The higher education system is one of the biggest businesses in the United States.  It is truly a business in every sense of the world. Ride the New York subway system and see the trains plastered with ads from schools you have never even heard of.  Watch television and see advertisements from multitudes of schools.   Drive around the country and see billboards advertising colleges.  Anyone can join now, thanks to the ease of student loan debt.  If student loan debt was capped, the schools would be forced to reduce their tuition.   Society now thinks that education is a right for all, and people would be angry at the idea that their kids could not go to college, so schools would be forced to reduce their tuition in order to allow everyone to go to college.  To have to pay $40-50,000 for a year of education is ludicrous.  As I said in a previous post, one could go from New York or Los Angeles to Cancun or another tropical locale for the same price as a week of class at some schools.  It truly is out of control.

Well meaning parents tell their children that they have to go to college.  They give up much time that they could be earning money in order to learn to be a better member of society.  They are told what they are doing is great.  Their families celebrate their choice.  They endure 4-7 years of higher education, and then, as a result, are not able to partake in the joys of humanity.  There is something wrong with this picture.   I say let there be some kind of bankruptcy protection for student loans. Maybe after five years.  If a person is unable to find work, why should they be a slave to debt for the remainder of their life?  Why should a well meaning individual not be able to partake in the ability to own a home or start a business?

I say this, because I imagine I will never own a home or property.  At one time I thought I would, but now I realize that the course I have chosen will be to my detriment.   I don't know if I would file for bankruptcy if given the choice, I have come to terms with the reality of the situation and use this blog to warn others and to express myself.   While there is a stigma with filing for bankruptcy, there are some cases in which bankruptcy for student loans is necessary.  Why should the college graduate who worked hard for almost a decade be told that he can not file for bankruptcy, when the higher education system is to blame for the insane and out of control prices of college and graduate school?