Solutions to Student Loan Debt: Bridging the Partisan Divide with Alan Collinge



Welcome back to a very special episode of The Financial Guys! Today, Mike Lomas and Glenn Wiggle discuss the current state of the student loan system with Alan Collinge. Alan Collinge, a prominent advocate for reform in the student loan system, has a background in engineering and a career in the defense industry. Collinge’s perspective on the crisis in the student loan system is rooted in his personal experience as a long-term defaulted student loan borrower, where he was a victim of predatory lending practices that escalated his loans to over $100,000 with penalties and fees. He believes that the system is riddled with corruption, with consumer protections systematically removed from student loans by Congress, colleges, and the Department of Education. Collinge advocates for the restoration of bankruptcy rights for student loans, the suspension of the lending program, and the investigation and prosecution of those running the Office of Federal Student Aid. Join Glenn Wiggle and Mike Lomas as they delve into these issues with Alan Collinge on this episode of The Financial Guys Podcast.
 

(00:01:23) Exploitative Student Loan System: Stripping Consumer Protections

(00:06:05) The Neglect of Quality Education in College

(00:13:30) Restoring Bankruptcy Rights for Student Loans

(00:17:28) Rising Costs and Lack of Accountability

(00:21:50) The Neglect of Teaching Life Skills

(00:24:05) The Impact of Extreme Solutions on Student Loan Debt

(00:28:19) Colleges’ Financial Practices and Educational Priorities

(00:38:50) Government Accountability and Predatory Lending Reform