The Debt Luck Club | Life of Debt Episode 2
What would you do to get rid of your debt? Would you sell your childhood toys, your blood, or ‘other’ fluids? That’s the question Tom has to answer. Overburdened with student loans, he has stopped making payments, and is now forced to dodge phone calls from snarky debt collectors. What can he do to escape this nightmare? When did taking on college debt become akin to living in a Kafka prison? But with any luck Professor Peter Jaworski may be able to lend a helping hand. Watch and learn from Tom’s mistakes!
Check out episodes one and three too!
Is Student Loan Debt Forgiveness a Good Idea? (video): Some look for easy solutions for the student loan crisis, this video will make you think twice
How Do We Break the Cycle of Higher Tuition and More Debt? (video): Another Learn Liberty video examines this timely and acute problem
Average College Student Debt Over Time (graph): The numbers are clear, and clearly show the problem
3 Reasons We Shouldn’t Bail Out Student Loan Borrowers (video): Nick Gillespie of Reason Magazine points out the basic problems with this pie in the sky idea
The Debt Luck Club | Life of Debt Ep. 2
Peter Jaworski: One trillion dollars. That’s the amount of student loan debt that’s out there in America. And a lot of that borrowed money… it’s not getting paid back.
Tom: “Hello?”
PJ: “The class of 2014 will graduate with an average student loan debt of thirty-five thousand dollars. Yeah — good luck with that.”
Susie: “Mr. Williamson?”
T: “Yes.”
S: “Hi! This is Susie, from Prestigious Financial. I’m calling to discuss your student-loan debt. … Hello? Hello? You’re not gonna get away that easy.”
Roommate: “Hello? … This is for you. And, uh, it kinda sounds important.”
S: “Hi, Tom.”
T: “How did you do that?”
PJ: “She switched the area code. Many debt collectors, they hire investigators whose job it is to find you.”
T: “What … what are you doing in my kitchen? Who are you?”
PJ: “I’m baking. Do you want a brownie?”
T: “What kind? No, no. That’s not what I meant to say.”
S: “Tom, Tommy, Tom Tom! We musta gotten disconnected.”
T: “Apparently there’s an intruder in my apartment, and he’s baking … brownies.”
PJ: “Yeah — chocolate!”
S: “We used to talk. You used to send us payments.”
T: “I know. I know.”
PJ: “Only about two out of five student-loan borrowers are making timely payments. The others? They probably took on too much debt — debt you can’t manage. That’s bad debt.”
S: “What are we gonna do about this?”
T: “Do we have to do something?”
S: “If you don’t pay, we can garnish your wages.”
T: “Maybe I’ll file for bankruptcy.”
PJ: “Oh, no, you can’t. Student loans are not generally dischargeable in bankruptcy.
S: “That doesn’t work.”
T: “I don’t have any more money right now. I’m only part-time.”
S: “Do you have any idea of the penalty for not paying? Anything you can sell?”
T: “Not really. Some board games at my parents’ house.”
S: “Like Clue?”
T: “Candyland.”
S: “Candyland. Now that’s a good game. You should hold onto that. But look: It’s just gonna get worse and worse. The rates will increase. There’s already the fee from your loan going into collection. What are we gonna do about this?”
T: “I’ll sell some blood … and sperm.”
S: “No one wants sperm from a guy who’s in default.”
T: “I’ll crowdsource my loans. I’ll panhandle. I’ll break dance on the subway.”
PJ: “Whoa, whoah, whoa, whoa, whoa. Not just anybody can learn to dance like that. It requires years of practice. … That took years of practice.”
S: “Every day you don’t send a check, it weighs on your soul. I’ll keep calling until I get my money.”
T: “I’ll rob my roommate.”
S: “How much money does he have?”
T: “His parents are loaded.”
S: “Well, it would be wrong of me to convince you to do something illegal. But…. Dot dot dot….”
[Tom laughs nervously.]
T: “Who’s Dot Dot Dot?”
S: “Oh, that’s an ellipsis, meaning…. Y’know what? Figure it out yourself.”
T: “Oh. Oh, oh, oh! Oh, hey! Hey! Oh, your phone. I, I, I, I was just gonna… I forgot.”
Roommate: “Yeaaah… This is probably not gonna work out. You… should probably… move… out.”
T: “I was just… Dot, dot, dot! … [Sighs.] Okay.”
R: “Dude! Are those brownies?”
PJ: “Total student-loan debt has quadrupled in the last ten years. And, get this: Student-loan delinquency rate? That’s gone up by almost 50 percent in the last five years. A little forethought in college — including choosing the right major…. Well, it could go a long way. If you had to guess, which major has higher unemployment? Theater majors? Or… economics majors? If you guessed theater majors, you’re wrong. The facts might surprise you. Don’t guess your way through college. Click here to learn how to best prepare for your future.”