Student Loans in Default: Billing on Interests

This petition is about student loans that go into default. As a divorced mother of three who has lost her job, home and car during the economic crisis over the past few years, sadly my student loans went into default. Not having a home makes it difficult to be stable, as you have no center to work from. Making matters worse, loss of job is loss of income, loss of income means loss of car, and other basics.

The current gov't attitude towards loans in default is to garnish your income based on a percentage of the interest accrued on your loans. This means, if you have 56,000 dollars in student loans and your interest rate has become a 16,000 dollar amount, that your payment to take your loans out of default will be over 400 dollars.

Finally, after four years of absolute chaos, I have managed to secure a permanent address, and a foot in the door as an adjunct professor at a local college (with help from my partner for basic needs acquisition making it possible to dress appropriately, get to work, and daily living). Now, the income for an adjunct is $1565 per semester, a semester being 15 weeks. New adjuncts usually get one class. I got one class to teach. This is my first employment since being transitional or dislocated. After the loans went into default, collection calls began. In order to get my loans out of default, on the percentage of interest is a monthly payment that exceeds my monthly income. There is no "plan" offered to me otherwise. After speaking to the credit collection company twice, at length on my situation, they claim there is no other option to begin repayment.

With a Masters degree & a half of second Masters degree, one would think me to be highly employable. However, in the current climate, no one wants or probably can afford, to pay me what I would need to in order to begin loan repayment on all my student loans. My county is on a highering freeze, and places are highering less educated people a whole lot cheaper. Even if they cannot do the same job that a qualified person with the proper education can.

Student loans even if having gone into default, should not be able to make repayment plans that exceed your income through a collection company or not. Income-based repayment plans should be available even if loans have gone into default. How else will anyone ever be able to live and work & repay? The current practice means that I would have to work teaching, for absolutely no bring home monies after each paycheck. In fact, the only repayment option available makes it so that I would have no income after, and the fact is I still wouldn't make enough to pay the proposed amount. Making matters worse, the credit collection place calls the college that highered me, even though they have my direct number to harass me to call them repeatedly (not only making me look derelict, but illuding that I have not spoke to them specifically on this matter when I have). Furthermore, if the secretary and the college has repeated calls for an adjunct who has only taught one class, who has no office, and no promise for a second semester teaching yet, how does that look to them as an employer?!) I have specifically told them of my circumstance, and been told by atleast four different people, that for me there is no other options available, and when I asked them not to call the college because they are going to make the college not want to higher me back, they would not just use my home number.

Please help me to stop these companies from being able to harass, and garnish wages at a rate exceeding income when student loans go into default in an economic climate such as this! No agency, collection company, organization, or guarantor should be able or capable of garnishing 100% of an income! Slavery is not a viable response to this economic crisis & employment crisis! Please help me to stop this from happening!