FEATURE (SELFLESS) CONTINUED
And military spouses are not held back from finding
employment. They start their own businesses. They
use that entrepreneurial spirit to raise money for organizations that support the military and their families. Like the Academy Spouses Club, at the Air Force
Academy, that contributes to the Fisher House, the
American Red Cross, and locally to Care and Share
Food Bank.
The yellow ID card club is one I am proud to be part
of. And though the world may only take notice on certain occasions, when you go to bed on May 9, after
Military Spouse Appreciation Day, know that there are
plenty of others who see you the other 365 days of
the year.
FAMILY FUN (LOANS) CONTINUED
by the federal government. (Cancellations of debt due
to severe and permanent disabilities have not been
easy to get in the past, though that process has improved somewhat since we first reported on it.)
While both families and the government can face
downsides for the loans going bad, colleges and universities benefit either way.
Documents reviewed by ProPublica show that Lisa
is now roughly $45,000 in debt. That’s even with her
daughter — currently a junior — having attended a
community college for a year, giving her a year’s reprieve from taking on more parent loans. This fall, Lisa’s younger child will start college as well.
“There was a part of me that was definitely terrified,
because it’s something that in my lifetime I couldn’t
pay back. Let’s be realistic. With what I get, there was
no way,” Lisa said, on signing for the loans. But she
also felt relief: “Like, ‘Wow, they’re going to give me
this money so I can do something for my child.’...
You’re like a lottery winner.”
Her daughter worries about the loans, having planned
on paying for them anyway because she knew Lisa
couldn’t.
“Honestly my mom never should have been accepted
for a Plus loan,” her daughter told ProPublica. (She
also asked that her name not be used.) “It’s ridiculous
that they gave thousands of dollars a year to somebody who will never work again.”
To collect on defaulted loans, the government can garnish wages and Social Security checks. But the government is unlikely to get much back from Lisa, who
gets roughly $700 per month from Social Security. Lisa
may even ultimately qualify to get the loans discharged
In the fall of 2011, a slight tightening of credit checks
for Parent Plus caused consternation at a handful
of colleges that were particularly reliant on revenue
through the parent loan program. Several historically
black colleges saw drops in enrollment, causing staff
furloughs at some schools. EDMC, a for-profit college
chain, felt the change enough to have to note it in regulatory filings, alerting investors to possible impacts on
earnings. )