Predatory loans
They are wolves in banker's clothing, hiding their predatory nature behind polo shirts, a name-tag and maybe a nice sweater.
One of their victims remained out of sight until last Friday, when Michigan officials announced the slow death of the Michigan Alternative Student Loans Program (MI-LOANS). No one is giving them any more money, so they're not giving any more money to anyone new.
The "sub-prime mortgage crisis" has trickled down to college kids who don't even own a porch.
It's never been more important to have secondary education, and it will only get more important. But it has never been harder for qualified people to pay for college.
There's a lot of talk about predatory lending on the presidential trail, a major piece of related legislation has passed the U.S. House and Sallie Mae has cut their amount of loans for students.
Hopefully some of the campaign rhetoric and Congress can eventually offer real help.
Sallie Mae, with about 10 million borrowers, is dealing with rapidly falling support by deciding not to offer loans at schools with low graduation rates - but that is a No Child Left Behind solution that severely limits the chances of the worst five percent to ever bring up their graduation rates.
Sallie Mae's other move more directly hits students with poor credit ratings - they won't get the cushiest loans (federally guaranteed) and will struggle to find non-predatory private loans or, worse, stay out of college. Oh, Maggie Mae, we need another beer.
Many of our parents and our professors were able to work their way through college themselves, or with minimal loans. Now a full-time job at minimum wage won't even get you $15,000 a year before taxes, so loans are absolutely necessary to most college students.
Changes in college lending practices will affect poorer students most, conflicting with the general consensus that education is the best avenue for competition in a global market. Those who would benefit most will be left where they are, seeking and not finding a way to move ahead.
It's not out of malice that Sallie Mae or MI-LOANS are beginning to withdraw. Something about education, be it skyrocketing tuition, shrinking state funds or what, is no longer seen as profitable or satisfying for investors.
That is who is supporting those loan organizations, if they don't think education is a good buy then perhaps pension fund directors or large donors will.
But no matter who invests in education, the best way to keep them investing is to show a good return.
Graduates must continue to out-earn non-grads, but that has not been enough.
We must show - by talking, writing, calling, donating and giving back - that a college education is far more valuable than it is risky.
We must show that every dollar invested in college will be paid back, with added value, not only interest.
