Ripping Off the Kids!

Things were far from perfect in my college days -- Jews and minorities were restricted (faculty and students) from admission to the Ivies and Seven Sisters; wealthy alumni/ae kids were welcomed aboard. But some of us could make it with full scholarships. CUNY had free tuition for those with good high school backgrounds (if not minorities and blue collar kids).

But I never heard of any student having to declare bankruptcy due to accumulated debts. We were not stuck with loans that both burdened our families and shaped our career futures so that we could pay them off. Textbooks were not a major profit item for Murdock types. Tuition was not being raised by our public institutions so as to exclude working part-timers and to burden others and their families barely getting by as is.

Everywhere one looks now the kids are being ripped off with future debts being stored up by various public agencies such as the NY Dormitory Authority which buys with long term bonds that are threatening the state's future economy and even basic maintenance of our superstructures (bridges, roads, schools, hospitals, etc.) while cutting basic services (Medicaid, housing and food subsidies -- even school lunches!) necessary to sustain life, let alone make it comfortable. Congress could not apparently care less with its drastic cut proposals along with tax reductions for those who do not need them.

One of the latest scams that really gets to me is that of our credit card operations (often the cause of student bankruptcies). Wherever one turns these offer pie in the sky (e.g. 0% interest which as soon as one commits can jump to whatever.). Occasional news reports give the grim details -- the family that suddenly finds its credit card balance jumped by 2 to 3 times the initial interest for no good reason except that the companies figure they have people hooked with balances that they cannot pay off quickly.

Easy to blame the victim with these. But what really disgusts me is that some of our academic institutions play along with the game. Two of mine have elected to sponsor two of the rip off offenders and have actually violated our privacy by handing out names and addresses from their alumni records. Columbia did this with MBNA (had a trustee member) and Yale just did so with Chase. We had an MBNA card which we got rid of when they boosted our rates -- we had built up a balance with medical bills. And Chase has just done the same. We are fortunate in being able to draw on other resources to get rid of these crooks. But too many of my students can not. They are the ones being ripped off.

A just Congress would step in and limit the rates that such credit thieves could charge and prevent them from upping interest for no other reason -- no late payment, no over the limit charges -- except the fact that their computers indicate that they may have a victim hooked with a large balance.

There must be some honest ones out there somewhere. I will spread the word if anyone can offer steers. We will switch to our CUNY credit union which is a nuisance, but at least is an operation about which we have some say.
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"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort
to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy)
--
Ed Kent 718-951-5324 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
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