Julie Pophal: Obama gets it on student aid
Dear Editor: In a comparison of Barack Obama's and Hillary Clinton's stand on financial aid plans, I noted that Clinton's plan includes the following: "Capping monthly payments on financial aid loans made after graduation at a percentage of a graduate's income." (Wisconsin State Journal, May 6).
The issue is not capping payments; the issue is capping the amount of interest one has to pay. I am a 50-year-old single parent who received my college degree in business in 2003. I will be paying off my $25,000 loan until I die! It's ridiculous.
I changed jobs and took my retirement in cash to pay off some of my loan. I paid down $10,000 to give me a balance of $15,000. I then "consolidated" my loan to get a graduated rate and now that $10,000 is not credited to me as payment in advance. I now pay $92.05 per month on a $15,000 loan. Most of that monthly amount goes toward interest, so my principal balance barely decreases. This is a racket! Why should paying off a student loan cost the student so much? (My loan is through the government-sponsored Federal Student Aid program.)
The middle-class Americans get it! That is why we are voting for Obama! Clinton is all talk and knows the buttons to push to get elected. But Obama realizes that the issues are deeper than the catch phrase of the day. When elected, he will be the real deal for the middle class!
Julie Pophal
Fitchburg
