For as long as I've been in DC, companies like Missouri's student loan company @MOHELA and their lobbyists at @ncher_us@EFCTweets@SLSAorg fought tooth & nail to keep people trapped in debt and shield industry from justice.
Why do they have power? Why do they exist at all?
Before Congress ran banks out of student lending, state governments created private companies like @MOHELA to buy up loans backed by the feds.
Congress ended the bank-based loan program in 2010.
Student loan companies like @MOHELA had no purpose. They were the walking dead.
But because states allowed companies like @MOHELA to stick around, these firms reinvented themselves-- now as contractors handling student loans owned by the feds.
You might think this is insane (it is).
Why would @usedgov give taxpayer money to let these zombies shuffle along?
Crony capitalism, of course!
Back when Congress was killing the guaranteed loan program in 2010, it also had a chance to kill off these state-backed companies once and for all.
Lobbyists had Congress tell @usedgov to hand out federal contracts instead:
Mounting evidence shows that Purdue's attention-loving president @purduemitch- former Republican governor & party hack- sold out students to pursue a right-wing fever dream.
Unfortunately for Mitch, @LifeAtPurdue broke a bunch of laws on the way. Now the walls are closing in.
The family @aarthiswami profiles has a shocking story:
“Feldman's son took out a $10,373 [income-share agreement] for the 2018-19...year, and a $29,491 ISA for the 2019-2020 year...That $39,864 loan ballooned to $99,660.50 as of January 2022.”