An Idea for Easing the Burden of Federal Student Loan Debt

[Lyric]

What about an income tax program that takes tax revenue for people making under a certain amount a year, and applies it toward the money they owe the government for federal student loans? If they're looking to relieve the financial burden on working people as opposed to rich people, this would seem like an easy way to separate the two. Rich people don't *get* federal student loans, after all. They either get private ones, or they pay for their educations outright as they go.

It would be a tax break that literally *could not* be taken advantage of by anyone who didn't deserve it, since federal income guidelines apply to people getting federal student loans. So take a hefty percentage of Joe Schmoe's income tax payment and apply it to the balance that he owes for federal student loans. That decreases Joe Schmoe's debt without allowing Richie Rich to find a loophole and horn in on the action. It also provides some help in paying down one of those most onerous, burdensome, impossible-to-get-out-from-under debts that exist.

What do you think? Feasible with some development for details and such? I'm interested in ideas/improvements/suggestions, etc., before I send this off to Obama and my legislators as a possibility.

[midnight]

1. I have always thought that if we can take half of the military

budget and put into grants for those seeking higher education, this country would be a safer place to live.

[Lyric]

2. I am inclined to agree with you. I think the Pell should be double what it is

right now, at least. But if the idea is to provide some relief from student loan debt that has already been incurred, I think my idea has some merit. It won't help people like me and my partner, because we make too little to pay income taxes right now, but that won't always be the case. Perhaps for those who are too poor to pay taxes, a percentage of their student loan debt could be subtracted each year along with their EITC payment, at least until they're finally making enough to owe federal income taxes.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

3. They'll even suck your Social Security!

Student loan is being sucked from my friend's SS. He turned 62 last year.
They're taking $200 out of his $1300/month SS.

That degree never helped him get a job, BTW. :wtf: