Sunday, February 19, 2006

Skills, bitches (payment due)

Skills, bitches Remember when Alan Greenspan kept harping about how American workers were responsible for ensuring that their "skills" were up to date? (Or, if your job gets outsourced, screw you.) Well here's something to consider.
Q. I went to college after becoming an "empty nester." Last year I got laid off from my job, and my unemployment benefits stopped after six months. Now I am having trouble paying off my student loan. Can my Social Security check be garnished until the loan is paid off?

A. In December, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the government can garnish up to 15 percent of your Social Security income if you default on your student loan—unless you receive $750 or less a month. However, other debt collectors can't garnish your Social Security income as long as it is kept in a separate account and not commingled with any other money. You should also know that your IRS tax refund can be seized and you can be sued by the government for the balance left on your student loan.
For more fun with "skills," check out Singularity's "Education Is Ignorance and Other Corporate Truthiness."

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