There is a lot of talk going on right now about how to fix the economy and to stimulate spending and get the economy back on track. One proposal that has recently made the news at The Huffington Post is to forgive student loan debt.

The rich get richer, and when they get poorer…well, they get bailed out. That’s how it seems lately. As Congress prepares to spend a trillion bucks (in addition to the $700 billion bailout from last fall), it makes one wonder when the working middle class will get some love. The pending American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (H.R.1) will no doubt help our economy in some form, but it’s not nearly enough and it’s not aimed at all demographics. If we can save the suits, why can’t we save the common man, right?

Robert Applebaum, an attorney from New York, thinks so and has an idea on how to help many in his shoes — and trust me, there are many — while stimulating the economy at the same time. The 35 year old started up an online campaign this month to bail out those “hard-working, educated middle class” suffocating in college loan debt on Facebook. He formed the group “Cancel Student Loan Debt to Stimulate the Economy” because he believes forgiving student loan debt for those making under $150,000 annually would help boost the economy from “the bottom up.”

I personally have a lot of Student Loan debt, and I can testify and agree entirly with a statement that Robert makes in this article:

“I struggle to pay my rent and bills and have never defaulted on my student loans,” he said Feb. 4. But I also don’t spend money on consumer goods anymore — not only because I can’t afford them, but because I’m afraid the situation will only get worse…”

He continued, “One-time tax rebates and meager tax cuts do nothing to stimulate the economy. A recession is as much a psychological phenomenon as anything else. Knowing I’d have an extra $500 per month in my pocket will get me spending again. Multiply that across the country and the economy will start to move again.”

I know I am in this same situation, I no longer spend money on anything that isn’t necessary. The holidays were extremly dificult this past year. There are many things I would like to purchase, but simply cannot afford it. If I didn’t have to paythe amount out each month that I do to Student Loans, i could potentially be able to buy my first house. How many other people across the country are in the same predicament? The idea is a good one

“If nothing else, it warrants a good, hard look and some analysis as to whether it could work… We have an entire class of highly educated poor people. The idea is no crazier than handing over billions if not trillions of additional dollars to the very institutions responsible for the crisis.”

Please read the ariticle and support the cause, and please sign the petition! I did..

5930:

Feb 7, 2009, Edward King, Michigan
The one thing stopping me from buying a house, and adding money into our economy are my student loan bills. How could I possible afford to make a house payment when I have to pay 1/4 of my monthly take home pay to loans?