Most people who go to college take out student loans to pay for it. The Supreme Court has decided that people will have to pay back their debts with their Social Security benefits.
You get nothing from it!
Millions of people borrow money to go to college or graduate school, but not all of them pay this money back. Not being able to pay can be caused by things like a slow job market, not finishing school, or health problems. There are, of course, a few people who just don't pay back their loans. On December 7, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court made a decision that affects people who are behind on their loans.
In Lockhart v. United States, the Supreme Court was asked to decide if the federal government could take away social security benefits to pay off student loans. In the case, a disabled man named James Lockhart sued to stop the government from taking away his $874 check every month. Lockhart lives in public housing in Seattle. He has heart disease, diabetes, and other health problems. He said that because he had to give up part of his check, he could no longer buy food and medicine. Lockhart was wrong, according to the Justices.
Federal law said that attempts to collect on unpaid student loans could only be made for up to 10 years. In other words, the federal government couldn't go after people who didn't pay their taxes after ten years. But Congress got rid of this limit in the last few years, which led to a conflict in the law. The Social Security Act says that benefits can't be taken away as part of actions for debt. In this case, the Supreme Court said that these protections only apply to private people and not to the federal government. In short, the money you get from social security is no longer safe.
At the moment, the total amount owed on student loans is about $30 billion. About seven billion of these loans are late or have already been paid off. With 25% of loans in the red, it's easy to see why the government wants to get the money back.
I don't see anything wrong with this decision. You should pay back any money you borrow to go to school. If you don't, you could keep others from getting the same chance.
