Debt campaigners tear up student loans

[nitpicker]

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29505582

22 October 2014 Last updated at 05:44 ET Share this pageEmail Print Share this page

Debt campaigners tear up student loans
By Pippa Stephens

An activist group in the United States has been carrying out deeds that some might think the stuff of dreams - buying and cancelling other people's student debts. Rolling Jubilee has purchased and abolished $3.8m (£2.35m) of debt owed by 2,700 students, paying just over $100,000 (£62,000), or as it says, "pennies on the dollar". The campaign group, which wants to "liberate debtors", says it takes its name from the tradition in many religions of marking a "jubilee" celebration by freeing people from debt.

An offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street protest that began in New York, the campaigners, funded by donations, say that more than three quarters of US households are in debt. Debts can be bought and sold in the financial marketplace. But student debt, which has spiralled to an estimated $1.2 trillion (£619bn), is not usually as available to buy as other debts, such as unpaid medical bills.

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But these debt campaigners are buying debts and then writing them off.

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The student loan debts cleared by Rolling Jubilee were for students from Everest Colleges, a string of institutions owned by Corinthian Colleges, a for-profit education company.

A Facebook group is overflowing with reports of people having to pay back hundreds of dollars each month while working minimum-wage jobs.

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Last month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it was suing Corinthian over its lending tactics.
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[LiberalEsto]

1. These folks are angels of mercy

Bless every one of them!