Why cant you claim student loans in bankruptcy?

People need to learn that whenever they get the government to help out, they will eventually lose. At first the government puts in laws that appear to help. This is known as "the camel putting its nose in the tent". The helpful laws always eventually morph into oppressive laws. Today it is not uncommon for people to commit suicide to get out of student debt. Ron Paul wants to get rid of the Dept of Education so people do not get in this mess.

The federal student loan program was designed to allow people to get loans for college who would otherwise never be able to borrow the needed amounts. The problem is that no lender in their right mind would make a loan of tens of thousand $'s to a person with no job, no credit rating and no assets. But.... these are the very people who need financing for college. The government backs the loans and protects the lenders who supply the cash. The price for getting such a loan is that you have to pay it back, no matter what. The government simply does not have enough money to forgive all the existing loans. If it did so the very first consequence would be to punish those who worked hard to pay their loans back and reward those who foolishly borrowed money they could never pay back.

The real problem with student loans is that they were a government subsidy to higher education and like all subsidies inflated the cost. Without the student loan program, college tuition would probably be a fraction of what it is today. Another example of the government screwing things up by trying to regulate a free market.

Because most student loans come from Government backed lenders (Fannie Mae, etc.), thus making the Government lose money on such loans if allowed in bankruptcy.

How to solve the cost of higher education? Get rid of Government backed loans. Less people would be able to afford the high prices of college -> colleges need student's tuition ->colleges would lower student tuition in order to compete for students.

And "bail out" for banks and companies is a misnomer. I do not believe that the government should be able to pick winners and losers (undermines the free market) however it wasn't a bail out. It was a loan, these banks and companies had to pay back the money they borrow, just like students need to pay back the money they borrowed.

At least get the facts right Fannie Mae has nothing to do with student loans. Sally Mae does.

2nd if you take out a loan you are responsible to pay it back.

It goes back to my neighborhood days if you can't do the time don't do the crime.

I would like to see a study of those loans in forfeiture how many were in liberal arts degree's, vs how many in technical degree's. Liberal arts degrees are pretty useless in our highly technological society those that pursue them and then could not find a job shouldn't be surprised.

So you want them to not pay back the bank loans and for the banks to fail and have to get bailed out again?

Because the government is above the law.

The government owns you, nuff said.

too many would claim it

blame it on the universitys-staff is way overpaid

It's the law

Something Liberals don't respect

Govt. Corruption.