The now-three year pay freeze has squeezed federal employees in many ways, and student loans are just one of the many burdens thousands of feds face. One federal employee, Jessica Stroop, is hoping to draw the White House’s attention to this issue with a We the People online petition.
The petition, which was launched April 2, calls for the government to reduce the balance of feds’ federal student loans by 2.2 percent for each year federal pay scales have been frozen, and for any future years of frozen pay. Stroop settled on 2.2 because it’s the average of the last two pay raises in 2009 and 2010.
It only has 10 signatures so far — well short of the 100,000 needed for it to garner a response from the White House. But Stroop hopes concerned federal employees will spread the word between now and the deadline of May 3.
17 Comments
You borrowed the money and it helped you get a job. Your responsibility as a mature tax paying citizen is to pay the loan you were privileged to bet from the US taxpayer.
hy should taxpayers pay for student loans accumulated by students who chose to take on debt for a college degree. Students outside government have to worry about their student debt even if they get permanently laid off government workers should have to do the same.
I’m a fed, and I wish there was a “do not support” button on that White House online petition page. This petition has about 30 signatures, which is about 29 more than it deserves. Live up to your obligations. Would you agree to pay, say, 2.2% MORE if you’d received the pay raise?
I’m also a Fed, and I’ve paid off my student loans with no help from anybody. This woman took on her student loans and agreed to pay them back. There were no guarantees after she graduated, no promises that she only had to pay it back if times were good. It was a loan. You got your degree. Now work to pay it back.
I promised I’d never say it, but I just have to: “kids these days!” Put on your big girl panties and get on with it — and be thankful you have a good job, missy!
forgiving student loans for anyone, especially federal employees is just wrong! Most universities in this country are taxpayer supported to varying extents. Forgiving these loans makes the taxpayers pay twice. That is wrong.
In fact, the entire student loan program should be completely and totally abolished. Killing this gravy train for universites might actually lower tuition costs. There is no reason why tuition has outpaced the rate of inflation by significant margins for decades.
nope disagree. I am the mother of a son who is trying to pay back that loan and I think the student loans should be able to be discharged in bankruptcy. If they were, I would tell him tomorrow to file for it. I am a gov’t employee as well and oh, I vote the “other guy” – yanno, the one who he and his WIFE actually CARED about this country.
I can’t help, but agree. Many forget that there are those of us that haven’t had a single pay increase in three years that get stuck at GS 5 & 7 who owe the US an obligation for work we did for the government in college. I have less debt than the average graduate but even I pay as much in student debt as I do for rent. If the government doesn’t give me an incentive to stay I see no reason to be loyale to them. I have already given the government four years, but I still am not making the hourly wage I did when I was a lab tech working for the college!
I agree student loans should be reduced for no pay increases. Actually most civil service positions have student loan forgiveness programs (teachers, police officers, state workers, etc. but the gov’t. it is offered as an incentive) Thing is most people don’t know about them. And to the person who mentioned if we would agree to pay more if we received a pay increase. We actually have no say in the matter. My payment is income based they take a percentage of what i make so as my pay increases so does my payment. Yet, my payment does not decrease because cost of living has gone up.
Come on over to the Student Debt Graveyard, where a situation that will never ever be resolved is discussed 🙂
Federal employees who welch on federally backed student loans should be treated like tax delinquents and summarily fired. After all, there is fundamentally no difference since the taxpayer is stuck with making the loan payment.
Nobody who took federal money for college did so with the express right to annual pay raises or frozen health insurance costs. That’s the sad, but plain and simple truth.
This site is showing on the front page that double Feds put in for retirement this month than expected. Like not_me pointed out, what’s the incentive to stay? So retireees cycle out and the educated people leave for the private sector to pay their loans and the gov is left with what? Grumpy you make it sound like the loans are going to be forgiven completely, this is a reduction. Crap, a 2% reduction on my loans is less than I would make on a 1% pay raise. I’ll sign it.
I’m a state employee, and we haven’t gotten raises in several years, either. I’m just thankful to have a job, to be honest (we’ve had no layoffs, but other state entities have). I’ve worked in state government for over 9 years and there are some years where we just don’t get raises. It’s not an ideal situation, but I’m still paying my loans back like the next guy. I’m pretty sure we get paid peanuts even compared to federal employees. Now, if the state offered to reduce my loan debt? I would not turn them down. But I don’t want to pay for these federal employees’ loan reductions if no one’s helping out those of us in other public service jobs.
As nice as the public service loan forgiveness programs are, they don’t work well for those of us who have been in public service for a long time. It’s not feasible to use those programs, because they are too restrictive when you only have a few years left to go (they are not retroactive for your past service).
Hope it works. If you elected not to pay at all you should theoretically be out of debt in 50 years
If you borrow money for your education you should be solely responsible for paying back the loan not me and everyone else the tax payer.
If we can lower the student loans why can’t we also expect to lower our mortgage payments, credit cards, etc. Many of us were not in a situation where we could get a higher education and expect someone else to pay for that privilege. We worked and went to college at night for the courses we could afford to pay for. That is why the country is broke – the working people are taxed and taxed to pay for those who will not work and/or honor their debts and there seems to be more of those on the taking side than on the working side.
I began my government career as a GS-3, in a new city and starting from scratch. My parents with 4 of my younger siblings still at home, could ill-afford to financially “assist” me, and yet I managed to pay off ALL of my student loans. Yes, at times I was in arrears, but I stuck to it and accomplished my RESPONSIBILITY!
Bottom line…you borrowed it, you pay it. I have my own student loan and thankfully pay it because I was fortunate enough to receive it and get my degree. As a fed with no pay raise, I am honestly surprised it took them so long to get to us when the entire country was hurting.
Quit expecting for the Government to take care of you. Take care of your obligations, quit looking for a handout and quit whining that someone won’t wipe your butt for you.