by banned » Tue Dec 13, 2005 12:00 am
Buzzflash published my LTE and I thought I would share it with RI--just another example of how much the media sucks. I don't think this one was disinformation, just some sloppy so-called 'legal reporter' at AP who didn't do their homework, and then the rest of the media monkeys just reprinted it without checking for themselves.<br><br>---<br>Subject: Articles about the SCOTUS Decision re student loans and Social Security<br><br>These articles are a disgrace, they misstate the impact of this decision.<br><br>People on Social Security Disability [SSDI] can still get their loans 100% discharged.<br><br>They need to have their doctor submit the application and then for three years they are in 'conditional discharge.' Provided they remain totally disabled, at the end of the 3 years the student loans are GONE. And during that 3 years their SSDI cannot be garnisheed by the DOE [Dept. of Education].<br><br>The plaintiff in this case does happen to be disabled, but that had nothing to do with the case. The very narrow issue was whether the government could take the 15% on loans that had been due longer than 10 years, as they had been.<br><br>Basically it changes NOTHING.<br><br>These articles have frightened a lot of people and misled them into believing they have no option but to lose 15% of their benefits.<br><br>The US media is totally irresponsible. I have seen the same WRONG article in 50 different places.<br><br>I have read the opinion from FINDLAW. I also have gone through the loan discharge process myself (I have been totally disabled for over 5 years). Aside from my having come in right after they changed the rules and their procedures were a little rocky for the first few months of the new system, it went smoothly.<br><br>Presumably now that he has lost the case, the plaintiff, Mr. Lockhart, will apply for the unconditional discharge which he could have done already, unless he is NOT totally disabled under Social Security rules. In which case, yes, he's stuck paying his student loans back via the offset. Sad, but true--most people can't blow off their student loans till they hit retirement age then claim they don't have enough money to pay them back. If that's not acceptable to the populace the proper procedure is to get Congress to change the law to reflect that.<br><br>You have posted the misleading article, please also post these links for the text of the opinion and for the discharge process for SSDI recipients.<br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=04-881">caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/sc...vol=04-881</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DCS/loan.cancellation.discharge.html">www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/...harge.html</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br>A BuzzFlash Reader<br><br>aka your own <br><br>banned<br><br> <p></p><i></i>
