"There is no such thing as a free lunch."- Milton Friedman
Hi There!
Certainly an interesting post, I have read this sort of response being advocated for homeowners that are underwater. The distinction would be that they were borrowing against an asset and not more or less your integrity to repay them for your higher education. Not knowing your personal circumstances I can't definitely say this is a reasonable thing to do. I'd like to address a few things with you; Corruption, Integrity and Outcome.
I would not be surprised if everyone active in these forums believes the monetary system/banking system/financial sector are corrupt; I know I do. Despite the fact that they are corrupt I still use the banking sector to purchase a car. Credit that was created into thin air by my signature and at interest for a period of time. I use a credit card to purchase gas. I realize the money is being created the moment I run the card. Sure the Financial System is rigged, but they do still provide services that I need and enjoy. I'd go so far as to say higher education is rigged too! Yet you were more than happy to attend and utilize their services in spite of the corruption right?
Integrity-The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness(I love the internet remember having to use a dictionary?). Nothing about this whole scenario seems honest. Monetary System is manipulated, Financial Interests and in this instance Higher Education Institutions "game" the system to maximize costs on you the consumer. Again not knowing your circumstances, you agree to borrow to attend the institution. Assuming you did the whole cap n gown thing here you are repaying what you said you would owe for services rendered. I can imagine its fairly burdensome. Not knowing the severity of your circumstance I can't say it's keeping you from eating or putting a roof over your head. I can say its not honest behavior. At the end of the day it will always be a dishonest act that you performed in the name of civil disobedience.
I can also say it's still technically your name on the loan. It's still your credit that is going to become increasingly more worthless. In today's world of Mortgages for 30 years, Car Loans for 6 years, I believe you're still doing yourself a disservice. It's not just here and now but 20 to 30 years from now that this sort of decision can adversely affect you. If the loans are underwritten with Federal Money then you are not just 'sticking it to the man.' In our society the most productive members of society pay the bulk of Uncle Sam's Pillaging. So students who dismiss their federally subsidized student loans are ensuring that someone else is will pay for them, more or less the most productive members of society.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that there is no free lunch, or education, or dodge charger hellcat with 700 hp and looks amazing in white and runs 10's with only racing slicks....
L
PS
May I ask the name of the doggie!
.