Thought provoking remark of the day - V. wins it!

In response to an article about the way parents are now taking on loans to send their children to school (not a big surprise to me, as parents are reaching out to me in desperation), a FSLDM supporter made this pithy remark:

"One of the Founding Fathers' greatest fears was the existence of an American aristocracy. Now we're sliding into a situation where only the rich can access education and health care without penalty. This country's devotion to rampant privatization of education and health care and the middleman industries that come along with it is literally destroying us, and we're falling behind the rest of the world. Who cares what our GDP looks like when most of us are suffering. What a stupid system."

Having a familiarity with various forms of populism, I am heartened and surprised by those sentiments  being expressed by so many supporters. Guess what, folks? There is a new form of populism in the air, and I am glad I'm a part of it.

Let's keep marching and growing. Mr. President, our numbers are nearing 240,000 - when will the White House begin to take notice?

Maybe it's time to start another party? Hmmm . . .

Thanks, Paul J. Ramirez for our new logo . . . plus! Bumper stickers are on their way.

Graphic Artist and the always loyal and communicative FSLDM supporter, Paul J. Ramirez, created a great logo for our group today. Even though everyone in D.C. continues to pretend that we don't exist and are invisible and the media yawns (presumably) when we write and ask them to do a story about our ever-growing grassroots movement, the enthusiasm for real change was palpable today!

Here's our new logo. And aren't we proud of it!

We will be selling clever bumper stickers in the next few weeks that say this: "My other car is a student loan!" I made the announcement about these stickers and at least 40 have already been sold.

Thanks again, Paul! You made my day and I know I'm not alone in saying that.

Why Corporate Sponsorship Makes Sense, and my letter to Michael Besancon

We're switching gears on this lovely Sunday in Washington, D.C. Today I'm on a mission to convince corporations to sponsor our cause. If we were to win some sponsorship, we could turn this movement into a legitimate force in D.C. and across the country. I envision people working for the FSLDM in various parts of the country and in a main office in D.C. Yes! You heard me right. I said working, and *gasp* earning a paycheck!

Here's my first attempt at reaching out to a potential corporate sponsor. I wrote to Michael Besancon, Senior Global Vice President of Purchasing, Distribution and Marketing, of Whole Foods. Lucky for him, right? (Wink, wink).

You may be wondering why I chose to write to Whole Foods. My first pick was Whole Foods, because I love their products and would like to shop there more than I can now. I know I'm not alone in that feeling, and many younger, educated professionals - like me - would like to support Whole Foods more than they can now. Moreover, when you realize that you're part of the indentured educated class, and not by your choosing, you quickly feel ashamed when entering a store like Whole Foods. You might think: "I really shouldn't be here. I can't afford to buy anything here, because of the education I just obtained from that fabulous school I attended." Perhaps you walk out empty-handed. Let's assume that there are millions of us who are now part of this new, indentured educated class. While we would love to shop at Whole Foods, we cannot. Perhaps those numbers would inspire them to be support our cause.

I may not get any response from Mr. Michael Besancon. But, heck, it's worth trying for all the individuals who are committed to this movement. (Many of you are aware that I also have a questionnaire set up on Facebook - it's an event called, "Please help us collect data for retailer support!"  I hope you fill  it out).

Letter:

Dear Mr. Besancon:

My name is Ms. C. Cryn Johannsen, and I am the promotional writer and marketer for Robert Applebaum's Forgive Student Loan Debt Movement.

Are you familiar with this movement and Mr. Applebaum's proposal? If not, please allow me to provide you with a brief history.
Like many American consumers, Mr. Applebaum was frustrated by the way the bailout on Wall Street was handled in January. Out of this frustration, Mr. Applebaum created a Facebook group called "Cancel Student Loan Debt to Stimulate the Economy." He assumed that only a few people would join. As of today, September 13th, we have 228,713 members!

I am writing to see if you would be interested in sponsoring our group's efforts. We fall within that highly desired demographic - we're in our 20s and 30s, educated, and hip. We like to consume your products and support Whole Foods Market. However, millions of us in this coveted demographic are unable to do so because we are saddled with student loan debt. Members of our group send half of their paychecks or more to their lenders each month. This economic burden does not allow them to buy consumer goods at Whole Foods.

I've been collecting data from our members and asked them to tell me how much money they would spend at your store every week if they weren't saddled with student loan debt. When people took out this debt, they took it out to better themselves. We have all our lives been told that education is priceless. When many students take out loans they are only 18. The language and complexity of these loans is even difficult for experts on student lending to comprehend, let alone an 18-year-old. In many instances, the loans students take out are not transparent, and they don't realize this until they've graduated. What does this mean to you? The student lending industry has cornered a lucrative market and you're losing money as a result. That's why I urge you to consider sponsoring us, so that we can push Congress to change the way the student lending industry is regulated. 

More than anything, we are trying to create a lobbying group that will watch out for students and a consumer demographic of people who are struggling to buy products created by your company for our age group. If we were to be an actual presence in D.C., we could push for real change that would boost the economy immediately, and you would see more consumers in their 20s and 30s back in your stores.

You can read Mr. Applebaum's proposal here: http://www.forgivestudentloandebt.com/

Thank you for your time and consideration.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Respectfully,

Ms. C. Cryn Johannsen

Promotional Writer and Marketer, Robert Applebaum's Forgive Student Loan Debt Movement
Washington, D.C./Mid-Atlantic Charter Leader

Stay tuned . . .

Opportunity Knocks

Until what? Until what?

Until I was handed the mic to talk to Secretary Duncan. But before I give away all the tidbits related to that, this opportunity almost slipped past me.

As I mentioned, I shot my hand up as soon as Sec. Duncan began to take questions. Even though I was sitting in the front row, I was seated off to the side and the volunteers who were helping hand out mics kept missing me. After each question, I anxiously raised mine again and tried to get the attention of one of the mic holders. No such luck! Sec. Duncan took four questions, and then he said, "I can only take one more." By that time a lovely, curly-haired woman in a sharp, gray suit stood behind me with a mic. She whispered, "we'll get to you next."

Yes! Yes! I thought. Don't blow this, Cryn! You have a lot of people to represent. Be calm. Be calm . . . You're gonna do well.

I looked at all the notes I'd been writing furiously. I flipped through Rob's proposal again, a document that I had now gone over for the thousandth time this week. I was prepared to start with an introduction that included six statistics:

(1) This academic year (2009-2010), there will approximately 6.9 million students borrowing for school

(2) There were nearly $131 billion in outstanding private loans in 2008. In addition, there is $544 billion in outstanding federal loans for fiscal year 2009, up from $502 billion in 2008, and that's according to the Department of Education

(3) The average debts of students graduating with loans rose from $18,796 in 2006 to $20,098 in 2007, according to the Project on Student Debt (so you, dear reader, are aware, the Project on Student Debt is staffed by employees of TICAS.org. TICAS was founded by Robert Shireman who is now the  Deputy Undersecretary of Education). Since student lending is inflationary (i.e., whether the overall economy is inflationary or deflationary student borrowing continues to go up), the average debt now is estimated at $23,000! (According to some education policy experts this amount of debt is reasonable. They also argue that borrowing for college is sensible. I bet my readers and thousands and thousands of people who belong to the FSLDM would beg to differ with those number crunchers. But I digress . . .)

(4) 2/3 of students borrow money for their college education

(5) Loans this past year (2008-09 academic year) grew around 25% to $75.1 billion*

(6) Our membership is now well over 228,000 individuals!

The curly-haired, sharply dressed woman whispered, "You're up next . . ." But just as she said that, Mr. Duncan said, "no more questions after this one."

Across the hall, a young woman stood up and began to speak about the abysmal pay that K-12 teachers earn. She was well-spoken and made a point to say that she has a sister who's a teacher and living at home.

Yes! I thought. If I was able to speak, I would say something about how it's not only teachers who are living at home, but all sorts of professionals. It's related to a larger issue: student loan debt! 

I sighed and told the curly-haired volunteer, "Oh, I'm so disappointed."

She replied sympathetically, "he is on such a tight schedule. He can only take so many questions."

"I know. I know . . ." I shook my head in disappointment and closed up my notebooks. "Maybe next time," I muttered.

But then something - in my mind - miraculous happened. Sec. Duncan agreed to take one more question. The volunteer tapped my shoulder and said, "You'll need to stand up to speak to him."

The cameramen, who are just a few feet away from me, swirled the camera around to tape me. I took the mic, tried to contain my nervousness and excitement. (Is anyone noticing that I'm shaking? I worried).

But now was the time for me to speak on behalf of hundreds of thousands of people (perhaps millions). I stood up, a light shined brightly upon me, and I began to speak:

"Secretary Duncan . . . first off, I want to say that I was one of the many who voted for change. . . . I could throw statistics at you, but we both know those statistics. Let me introduce myself," I said. The large crowd seemed frozen and painfully silent.

"My name is Cryn Johannsen, and I am the promotional writer for Robert Applebaum's Forgive Student Loan Debt Movement. We're asking for a bail . . . not a bailout, we're asking for help with this student lending crisis. There are too many student burdened with debt. Our group has well over 228,000 supporters. Robert and I receive terrible stories from people who are in really bad financial situations as a result of their loan debt. You're familiar with these stories, too. I've also reached out to the Reverend Jesse Jackson. I know that this issue concerns him, too. Mr. Applebaum's proposal makes a lot of sense, and is in line with Main Street ideas. It is my hope that you will be willing to sit down with us to discuss this proposal
further . . ."

There are two things that I found encouraging about Duncan's response and the way he responded when I stated who I was there to represent:

(a) When I mentioned the FSLDM's name, he seemed to be familiar with it. (Guess what that means? Many of you must be writing letters to him like I am!).

(b) His response was genuine and sympathetic. He recognized that it's a problem. However, I am not entirely convinced that the solutions he mentioned, i.e.,  the new IBR program , the change in Pell Grants, and the possibility of having one's loans forgiven (after - *gasp* - 10 years) if they go into a line of work that is of service to the nation.

What matters is that I was at a large gathering in D.C. and went on behalf of all of you. I was able to speak directly to Sec. Duncan. Afterward, many people came up to me and thanked me for what I said. One older woman from the "B" School told me, "I wish your group had been around when I got my MBA!"

The positive reaction from fellow University of Chicago alumni was just as uplifting as my chance to speak to Sec. Arne Duncan. After all, Chicago has a reputation for being conservative. (I won't bore you with the long list of the neocons from Chicago who informed Bush's decision to invade Iraq and so forth). Plus, many of the people with whom I spoke were older, and yet they understood the significance of our movement. One person told me, after I mentioned that many educated individuals are fleeing the country for better paying jobs, "that's called a brain drain."

So what do I now ask of all of you?

Please write to Secretary Arne Duncan. (His address is: U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20202)

Let him know that you heard I spoke to him, and you are writing to urge him to listen to Robert's proposal. Tell him that he has the power now to change things for hundreds of thousands, probably millions, of educated, middle-class people who are currently stuck in a financial debt hell. Share your personal stories about the things you dream to have - a home, a car, a child - but cannot as a result of the crushing debt you accrued as a result of going to college. You never cease to move me with your personal stories of struggle. (Most days I cry after reading about your travails, and that emotion moves me to work even harder, to write even more letters, and to debate for a good cause).


* Note to a unprofessional critic of mine: loan volume, average borrowing, cumulative debt may be different calculations. However they should all reconcile in some fashion when taking into account enrollment changes, prices, years, and what kinds of loans are included and which not. The Education Department seems to include more types of loans than, for instance, the College Board.


But these particularities don't matter. I've made my arguments clear and I am far from being "untruthful." Furthermore, I would never have a so-called friend attack someone and call them a "cult leader" and an "egotist." Fact remains: I'm on the right side of this mission. None of this "stuff," however, matters. After all, I am ill-informed and just contribute to "blog chatter." 

Request to follow us on Twitter

Hi, friends and fellow FSLDM supporters,

I want to encourage all of you to follow Robert and me on Twitter:

Cryn - @cjohanns
Robert - @bobbyapples

This way, you can follow the links and stories we post on things related to our favorite subject - the student lending crisis!