How to walk away from your student loans

Two Ways to Legally Walk Away From Your Student Loan Without Filing Bankruptcy

by Author Rev. Paul J. Bern

Sometimes being a minister doesn't always involve things having to do with churches or even the concept of religion. Sometimes ministry is something that's not what would be called 'spiritual' at all. Ministry is, to me at least, all about being a person focused exclusively on the needs of others, and sometimes those needs are of the more practical variety. That is what my inspiration is for writing this rather detailed posting today. It is my sincere hope that many hard-pressed individuals would be greatly assisted in their quest for financial independence. By that I mean independence from the damnable scourge of debt, a trap that multitudes the world over are caught up in. Being buried under a mountain of debt is not something that is confined to materialistic America. Debt is a global epidemic, and its root cause is the debt-based economic system we are all stuck living under, otherwise known as capitalism. Our current economic system is based on fractional reserve lending, which is where money is 'loaned' into existence as little more than digital bookkeeping entries. If this is starting to read kind of like a scam to you, that's because it is. No wonder so many people are becoming disenchanted with capitalism!

But to finish my thought from a minute or so ago, I am writing this posting to help people – and because I have been through this very thing myself. Being unable to repay a student loan is not the borrower's fault. Stagnant wages are to blame, wages that are at about the same level as the mid-to-late 1970's. That's why you're unable to repay your loan(s). There are two ways, and only two ways, that you can legally walk away from your student loan. One is for younger workers, and the other is for older ones, of which I was one. For younger workers, the only way you can legally walk away from a student loan is to get a job in another country, and then become a citizen of that nation by renouncing your American citizenship. Of course, you will need a passport and a work visa to whatever country one wishes to emigrate to. There will also be a waiting period in your country of choice before one can declare legal citizenship, and this varies from country to country. Where are good places to emigrate to? Plenty, with South America, western Europe, parts of coastal Mexico, southeast Asia, or Canada, if you don't mind cold weather, being among the perennial favorites. There is also a big demand for English teachers in mainland China, and you won't need a teaching degree either. I have never been to any of the above places except for Canada, so I can't vouch for any of these countries. Do your own research.

What about older workers still stuck with old student loans that can't be repaid? Their first choice is the same as above, if they are able to do so. Some will consider emigration to be too impractical, especially those with families and with a mortgage to repay. Unless, of course, you walk away from the mortgage and all your other loans when you emigrate. Some would consider this to be unethical, but with desperate times usually calling for desperate measures there is no law against doing this very thing, and it happens all the time. Besides, since our capitalistic economic system is so predatory anyway, I see nothing wrong with giving them a taste of their own medicine once and a while. Just don't make a habit of it.

But what about the second choice for older workers who can't repay their student loans because they can't find suitable work? The one-word answer is disability, but before you recoil at my response please allow me the chance to point some things out. Age discrimination is an unfortunate fact of the American job market and American life. In numerous other cultures globally speaking, their elders are held in the highest esteem and are viewed as sources of knowledge and experience. In short, older people get a lot more respect overseas than they do here. I had the misfortune of finding this out the hard way. Four months after my 50^th birthday, I had a stroke of moderate severity, and it took about 2 weeks to return to my job as a courier contractor. But I was soon unable to continue working due to a series of misfortunes that would take too long to explain. So I returned to my old field of endeavor, which was the technology business. I had worked as a computer and IT professional for 20 years prior to getting into the better-paying transportation business. But I had a lot of trouble finding long-term job assignments from the IT staffing agencies I was working with. Within just a couple of years, those jobs evaporated too.

After a while, my health started failing again, and I eventually would up on disability. Once the process was completed, which took me about 2 years, I called the company that was holding my old student loan and told them I had just been put on disability. I explained my reasons for not having made a payment if over 5 years, telling them my income had dropped by nearly 80% (which can and does happen), and pleading with them for better terms. That's when I learned that people who have become disabled don't have to repay the remainder of their student loans. Once one is considered unable to work, the balance on that person's student loan(s) are forgiven no matter how much they owe. Period, end of story. That's how I got out from under mine. My only mistake is that I could have filed for disability years before and hadn't realized I was eligible. So basically, if you are older than 50 years of age here in America, if you lose your job and have no job prospects, you don't have to have a stroke to get disability. Use some other medical condition – everybody has one – to get yours. You might as well. Your plight exists because your government allowed it to develop through their own mismanagement and malfeasance in office! Now that you're down and out through no fault of your own, make the government help you get on your feet. There is never any shame in asking for help, and there is certainly no shame in demanding it when you have to!

One more thing about disability, and that is the unfortunate happenstance of court convictions for various crimes, particularly for people of color and minorities. Court convictions, even for nonviolent offenses, can oftentimes be a barrier to employment. In a worst-case scenario, being a convicted felon can qualify some people for disability simply because they're felons. Sometimes this is for good reason, but not always. But if you're a middle-aged man or woman, and especially if you're older than that, disability may be your best way out. I guess that's all I have to say, and I sure hope this helps a few people retake control of their finances. Everyone enjoy their day!