Sallie Mae and Government Fascism

[tyler]

This is not directly bitcoin related.
But today I got denied an apartment because I owe Sallie Mae $3400.
Its not a whole lot of money, but its about $3400 more than im willing to pay.
Does anyone know any loopholes to get out of it?
It is mostly my fault for accepting federal money in the first place.

[kiba]

Pay off your loans? Isn't it taxpayer's money? (I know, tax is theft and all that, but we shouldn't be parasite on taxpayers)

[MoonShadow]

It is mostly my fault for accepting federal money in the first place.

If you dance with the Devil, you should expect to get burned.  But yes, I do know of an effective way to avoid paying what you legitimately owe to any branch of the US government.

Prison time.  Time is money, after all, and after about three years in jail, the Fed is likely to overlook the $3400.

[FreeMoney]

Loopholes to get out of owing $3400? or to get out of being homeless?

Don't rent from people who check that stuff. Lots of private people will let you live on their property in exchange for money.

[tyler]

It is mostly my fault for accepting federal money in the first place.

If you dance with the Devil, you should expect to get burned.  But yes, I do know of an effective way to avoid paying what you legitimately owe to any branch of the US government.

Prison time.  Time is money, after all, and after about three years in jail, the Fed is likely to overlook the $3400.

If 3 years equal to $3400, i would hate to see how much time big money is equal to.

[MoonShadow]

It is mostly my fault for accepting federal money in the first place.

If you dance with the Devil, you should expect to get burned.  But yes, I do know of an effective way to avoid paying what you legitimately owe to any branch of the US government.

Prison time.  Time is money, after all, and after about three years in jail, the Fed is likely to overlook the $3400.

If 3 years equal to $3400, i would hate to see how much time big money is equal to.

It's not linear.

[jimbobway]

You might be able to declare bankruptcy, but you won't be able to rent or buy ever again, I don't think.

[FreeMoney]

You might be able to declare bankruptcy, but you won't be able to rent or buy ever again, I don't think.

That's crazy talk. I don't have any credit problems, but my last 6 rentals have not done background or credit checks of any kind. I give them money, they give me keys. A few had contracts, a few didn't. I don't even have a job.

You will absolutely be able to find a place to rent, assuming you have money.

[bober182]

couchsurfing.org

[nanaimogold]

Your person is yours to command. No reason to limit yourself to only one.

[zipslack]

I'm not American, so forgive me if this sounds impossibly naive. But I'm more than a little shocked to see anyone suggesting that it is fascism for your creditors to expect you to pay back the money you borrowed from them.

[MoonShadow]

I'm not American, so forgive me if this sounds impossibly naive. But I'm more than a little shocked to see anyone suggesting that it is fascism for your creditors to expect you to pay back the money you borrowed from them.

Sallie Mae is a government owned agency, it's possible to "owe" them money without ever agreeing to borrow from them.  This may, or may not, be the case here.  In the US, calling the government fascist is what Americans do.  The accuracy of the statement depends on how one defines fascism, but it is somewhat true as a matter of degree.  Americans are not the kind of culture that takes to civil unrest to light cause, like the Greeks and French; but it's starting to get 'hot' around here and if it pops here in the US, we don't tend to stop until somebody is dead.

[wumpus]

Yeah, the USA. The land of the big, where the small don't matter. Big corporations and big government rule hand in hand, and the two party system combined with tons of big-money lobbyists makes sure that no new influences ever make it to the democratic process. And a hyper-entangled patent and copyright system makes sure the money stays in the hands of the rich, by drowning small companies that can't afford the legal deals. However, fascism is not the right word here.

And if you borrow money you should pay it back, even if you hate the person you borrowed it from 

[tyler]

And if you borrow money you should pay it back, even if you hate the person you borrowed it from 

Best argument so far

[asdf]

What's the interest on this? is it fixed?

I suggest holding off payment for as long a possible. Inflation will soon eat it away. Thanks Bernanke. ;-)

[tyler]

What's the interest on this? is it fixed?

I suggest holding off payment for as long a possible. Inflation will soon eat it away. Thanks Bernanke. ;-)

I forget the interest, the collection agency said it was "gaining interest everyday"

[Bimmerhead]

Sallie Mae is a government owned agency, it's possible to "owe" them money without ever agreeing to borrow from them. 

How does that happen?  (I'm a Canadian, so I have very little understanding of your loan guarantors.  Maybe the problem down there is you make them sound so benign: "Fannie Mae", "Freddie Mac", "Sallie Mae".  It sounds like a contingent of cousins from across town).

[nanaimogold]

Sallie Mae is a government owned agency, it's possible to "owe" them money without ever agreeing to borrow from them. 

How does that happen?  (I'm a Canadian, so I have very little understanding of your loan guarantors.  Maybe the problem down there is you make them sound so benign: "Fannie Mae", "Freddie Mac", "Sallie Mae".  It sounds like a contingent of cousins from across town).

It's like CMHC but far more corrupt (imagine that!). One reason the WTC offices were blown up was to hide the evidence of a massive swindle.

As for the word, "facist", the controlled media has been lying to the US people for so long that not one in a hundred could tell you the definition of the word.

To them it's just become a synonym for bad.

[wumpus]

As for the word, "facist", the controlled media has been lying to the US people for so long that not one in a hundred could tell you the definition of the word.

Well I think the origin of "fascist" is that people confuse the current state of affairs and some possible, bleak future. If things keep going the way they are now, it might happen if its citizens become really unhappy and start to riot. In which in an extreme case their government might declare martial law and march the army into the streets. Then it's rightfully "fascist".

But until such a thing happens, it's the wrong word. "oligarchy" is the right one. But it doesn't anger people that much

[RHorning]

Sallie Mae is a government owned agency, it's possible to "owe" them money without ever agreeing to borrow from them. 

How does that happen?  (I'm a Canadian, so I have very little understanding of your loan guarantors.  Maybe the problem down there is you make them sound so benign: "Fannie Mae", "Freddie Mac", "Sallie Mae".  It sounds like a contingent of cousins from across town).

I think the "Mae" family of banking institutions was set up to sound benign when in fact they aren't.  These are monster institutions where often you aren't really sure you are even dealing with them half of the time as you have local bankers who are usually acting on your behalf when exchanging money with these organizations.... where even the banker isn't quite sure that you are going to be working with one of these companies until it is a done deal.  As an American, even I don't totally understand the process in spite of the fact that I've gone through three different mortgages myself and have my name signed onto some documents that in reading the fine print turn out to be loans through one of these agencies.  Even that wasn't clear and it was only a couple of years later that I found out that the primary guarantor was Sallie Mae, I think.  It wasn't even very clear in the loan settlement papers either nor explicitly stated.

There are the usual ways to "owe money" through either stolen or perhaps even mistaken identity.  I had a problem where some government agency told me that I owed back child support on a kid that I knew nothing about to a woman that I had never heard of before.  It was even tougher as it was my wife who got the initial phone call from that agency.... about three months after we were first married.  Yeah, trying to explain why you own child support to a newlywed spouse isn't easy.  It turns out that I shared a somewhat uncommon name with somebody else and this agency simply presumed I was in fact the same person.  I've also had other bills and even court judgments come my way where I had to "prove" my identity was somebody different.  One creditor I simply said "take me to court.... I dare you!" and then they stopped talking to me (and I checked my credit report to make sure they didn't put a lien on me either).

My brother-in-law, who happens to be a CPA coincidentally and should know better about these things, had somebody somehow dig up a copy of a credit card application (from something that was thrown into a trash can apparently at a store he applied for credit at) and used the information on the application to open another dozen credit card accounts and even an automobile loan totally nearly $50k USD in debt over the course of about six weeks.  He finally found out that there was a problem when he started to get collection notices for some of those cards, where they got his address from the credit report rather than what was used as the mailing address for the cards.  Needless to say, it took him nearly two years to prove he wasn't the person who took out the loans and it still has impacted his credit score in spite of that mess and dealing with police on the matter.

I'm not too happy with the American banking system, and it can mess with you hard if somebody wants to ruin your life.  Usually with persistence, time, and unfortunately spending a fair bit of your own money you can get out of these outrageous kinks in the system, but the presumption is guilt until innocence is proven conclusively.  Considering that some of this can enter the realm of criminal matter too, it makes the whole system even more ironic given the standard of innocence required by some of these bureaucrats you have to deal with.  Simply because some bureaucrat or loan officer punches in the wrong SSN while filing paperwork can cause years of headaches.