The Push to Lower Tuition Loan Interest Rates

September 1, 2009 by theo.johnson
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Education, Family, Society & Culture

I heard about reducetherate.org on a radio interview with Jesse Jackson. Since the deregulation of college tuition, the price of going to school has greatly increased, so a lower interest rate on school loans would help those who have to finance their education through loans. I know I could use a lower payment on my loan. But realistically, the President has a lot more on his plate to deal with right now.

If you are interested in signing the petition, you can visit the website at reducetherate.org.

This is a campaign by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. It calls on Congress to:

Reduce the interest rate on all student loans to 1%. If banks can borrow money at 1% or less, then so should our students.
Extend the grace period before loan repayment begins from 6 months to 18 months for students who graduate. In these tough economic times, it takes a college graduate an average of 6 months to 1 year to find a job. The rules should reflect this reality.
Stop penalizing schools for student loan defaults. Schools should not be penalized for students who don’t pay back their loans.
Increase Pell Grants to cover the average yearly cost of a public 4 year institution. The real cost of college and the impact of the current financial crisis both need to be reflected in the dollar value of Pell Grants.