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The United States Supreme Court ruled today that lenders are now allowed to seize Social Security benefits from disabled persons with student loans never fully paid off. (Source: San Francisco Chronicle, but it's being reported everywhere)
Yes, that's right. People who become disabled sometime between starting school and paying off their loan in full can now look forward to the few hundred dollars they live on each month being dipped into by whichever loan-purchasing megabank now holds their loans. (It's common for student loan debts to be sold by the original issuing bank as little as a year after they're approved and disbursed, and not uncommon for the loan debts to be resold at least once later on.) How much will these companies be taking? Does it really matter when you're already living below the poverty line, as most people receiving Social Security benefits due to disability (as opposed to retirement) are?
( It's almost scarier than the fact that formerly-protected-against-seizure-or-garnishment-for-payment-of-debts Social Security income has now been stripped of that protection, that the ruling is completely without legal basis. )
( This is horrible. This is a travesty and an unconscionable betrayal of America's neediest citizens. But don't despair -- THERE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO. )
( I've even made it easier for you to help. )( Please don't skip this post. It's part of the definition of disability that there are some things I simply can't do by myself. )
Yes, that's right. People who become disabled sometime between starting school and paying off their loan in full can now look forward to the few hundred dollars they live on each month being dipped into by whichever loan-purchasing megabank now holds their loans. (It's common for student loan debts to be sold by the original issuing bank as little as a year after they're approved and disbursed, and not uncommon for the loan debts to be resold at least once later on.) How much will these companies be taking? Does it really matter when you're already living below the poverty line, as most people receiving Social Security benefits due to disability (as opposed to retirement) are?
( It's almost scarier than the fact that formerly-protected-against-seizure-or-garnishment-for-payment-of-debts Social Security income has now been stripped of that protection, that the ruling is completely without legal basis. )
( This is horrible. This is a travesty and an unconscionable betrayal of America's neediest citizens. But don't despair -- THERE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO. )
( I've even made it easier for you to help. )( Please don't skip this post. It's part of the definition of disability that there are some things I simply can't do by myself. )
