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Karly Schwab: Student Loan Debt: State Reforms Needed
The student debt crisis is a national emergency. In Colorado alone, more than 743,000 people have student debt. Comprehensive student debt reform is needed by all, but the particularly vindictive private student loan sector needs immediate attention and regulation.
About $ 9.1 billion of total Colorado student loan debt comes from private student loans alone. Minor aid has been given to federal student loan borrowers, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, but private lenders are much less regulated and private student loan borrowers lack the basic protections they need.
Private student loan lenders are predatory and willfully exploit vulnerable students. Due to the lack of oversight and regulation, they lack transparency, consistency, fairness and fairness. Private student loans particularly impact our most vulnerable and marginalized communities.
Although black, Latin American, and low-income students use private loans less, they often face much higher repayment problems and are more likely to experience economic hardship. This makes it possible to continue to widen an already large intergenerational wage gap, especially in marginalized communities. The number of private student loan borrowers is increasing, and with it must come the required and increased consumer protections.
The student debt crisis is clear, urgent and must be addressed immediately. Extending protections for student loan borrowers to private student loan borrowers and adopting financial debt relief will benefit Colorado’s long-term economic health.
During Colorado’s legislative session in 2021, we have the opportunity to pass some of the most comprehensive student loan protections in the country, regardless of the type of student loan owed. By supporting a bill aimed at relieving student loan borrowers, we will boost the economy and increase the financial security of young Coloradians to secure their economic future.
Karly schwab
Longmont
Brent Bickel: Fascism: there is something worse
In his recent article, one writer compared many Republicans to fascists. Fascism is bad and dangerous, but it is not the worst, deadliest and most heinous political system. This system is communism.
The Communists murdered over 100 million people in the last century, and even today the Chinese Communist Party operates concentration camps. Of course, we absolutely must reject fascism and communism.
Let us never forget either that it was Vladimir Lenin who said: “The goal of socialism is communism.
Brent Bickel
Louisville
Don R. Sherwood: Fascism: Republicans are not fascists
Let me urge a recent writer to read his own writings. He cited definitions of fascism as those who blame others for all problems. It seems that is exactly what he has done, on several occasions, in this screed.
Being such a wonderful person, he is able to discern without question that Republicans and only Republicans are the fascists in our society. Isn’t that the convenient point of view of most Liberals?
Don R. Sherwood
Rock
Darcy Sherman: Online Learning: No wonder kids struggle
In response to the alarming trend of failure ratings, I’m curious why this is a surprise. Students have been home for the most part since mid-March.
The middle and high school students had a third-rate, watered-down online curriculum that effectively sidestepped enthusiasm for learning and during the few weeks they were allowed to go to school, teachers provided content to the Zoom format. It does not work.
Children are vetted and the fact that school districts even consider giving grades under these circumstances is positively draconian. Nothing is normal, mental health has been shattered, students are frustrated, bored and disappointed with life in general.
Adding indelible marks to their transcripts, when the rules of the game are far from level or level, must be stopped. Resuming classes often means losing great options or more online work that costs $ 300 per class.
If there has ever been a time to be compassionate, this is it. Give teens a break and urge administrators to do the same.
Darcy sherman
Superior
Nicky Marone: Boulder Police: An Example of Professionalism
I am writing to congratulate two Boulder cops I saw react to what appeared to be a mental health situation. There was a man with strange behavior and, as I was trying to decide what to do, two police cars drove by. Two officers got out of their vehicles and approached the man in a non-threatening manner and, while staying at a distance, attempted to contact him.
I couldn’t hear their interactions, but the situation remained calm. Shortly after, an ambulance arrived and two paramedics came out to speak with the man as well. Eventually, it appeared that they managed to convince him to accompany them and he climbed willingly and on his own on the stretcher they provided.
The fact that he happens to be an African American male makes the point even more important, especially given the horrific situation with the police in Aurora and Elijah McClain. So thank you, whoever you are, for showing such compassionate and humane treatment. You are a credit for your profession.
And on a related note, I would like to correct the misinformation in a guest comment posted on December 16. The author said the reason for the creation of a green belt in 1967 was a reaction to urban sprawl, which he suggested because “it leads to an increase in minority and low-income residents.
In fact, it is because the protected area is a riparian wetland. In Boulder in particular, it refers to an area where mountains meet plains. There are a limited number of these areas in the world and each contains its own unique ecosystem that is worth protecting.
So before the writer accuses the citizens of Boulder of being downright racist, which he does, literally, later in the article, he should do his research properly.
Nicky marone
Rock
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