Could There Be Debt-Free College Under President Hillary Clinton?

According to MarketWatch, Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager alluded to the idea of students going debt-free if Hillary becomes U.S. President.

Making college more affordable is part of Clinton’s plan to boost quality of life for ordinary Americans, Robby Mook, “Hillary for America” campaign manager, told CNBC.

He was responding to a question about which age demographic will be the toughest for Clinton to lure.

“What voters are looking for in this election is someone who is going to be a champion for everyday people,” Mook said Wednesday. “For young people, that’s debt-free college, that is finding that job after you graduate.”

Though the Clinton campaign has yet to officially endorse a plan that would let students graduate from school without loans, the fact that the words “debt-free college” came out of Mook’s mouth is seen as a victory for progressives. Over the past few months, a collective of liberals has been working to push the idea into mainstream Democratic circles, according to Bloomberg.

Mook’s comments come just weeks after a group of congressional Democrats introduced a resolution calling for a way for students to attend public colleges and universities debt-free.

That proposal could be made possible through a combination of increasing federal aid to states and students as well as reducing the cost of college, according to a white paper co-authored by left-leaning think tank Demos and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. That group has spearheaded the debt-free college campaign, writes MarketWatch.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/debt-free-college-under-president-hillary-clinton-2015-05-08

Greek Prime Minister To Meet Angela Merkel To Work On Debt

The European Central Bank (ECB) head Mario Draghi has said the ECB is ready to restore support for Greece’s banks if talks between the Greek government and its creditors get back on track.

Mr. Draghi told EU parliamentarians that the parties should “restore the policy dialogue” so talks could yield “a credible prospect” for a deal on more emergency aid.

“Greece and its creditors in the 19-country eurozone have sparred over the conditions Greece needs to fulfil to get more help to avoid defaulting on its debts,” states breakingnews.com.

Once a deal is in sight, the ECB could restore the ability for Greek banks to tap ECB credit using Greek government bonds as collateral, according to Draghi.

Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras will meet with with German chancellor Angela Merkel to try to break the deadlock.

Mr. Draghi rejected a comment from one politician that the ECB was “blackmailing” Greece into yielding to creditor conditions.

He noted that the ECB held €104bn of credit exposure to Greece. “What kind of blackmail is this?” he asked, before calling the statement “a bit rich.”

Is There A College Tuition Crisis?

According to Ring of Fire, one of the biggest problems facing college students and recent graduates in the U.S. is the staggering amount of student loan debt that they have to carry to be able to attend school.

The threat of these debts are keeping millions of high school graduates out of college, but a new proposal from President Obama is aimed at changing this cycle.

America’s Lawyer, Mike Papantonio, and progressive radio and TV host David Pakman talk about this.

Ring of Fire

http://college.usatoday.com/2014/10/09/viewpoint-6-real-fixes-for-the-student-loan-debt-crisis/

http://www.flatheadnewsgroup.com/hungryhorsenews/obama-talks-about-middle-class-economics/article_a7d6be9a-ae57-11e4-9c9f-5396a21fb95b.html

British Cabinet Minister George Osborne Warns Of Greek Debt Crisis Fallout

What is the “chancellor of the exchequer” in England?

Wikipedia: “The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the (wordy) title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters, equivalent to the role of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the Treasury in other nations.”

Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne has warned that the risks of a “very bad outcome” from the Greek debt crisis have risen.

Speaking in Istanbul, Obsborne said that there was a growing danger that the deadlock over Greece’s bailout program would spiral out of control.

Osborne raised the pressure on Athens, and its creditors, by declaring:

“It’s clear that the risks to the world economy, the risk to the British economy of this standoff between the eurozone and Greece, is growing each day.

Osborne:

“The risks of a miscalculation or a misstep leading to a very bad outcome are growing as well.”

Osborne said the UK had been arguing for both sides in the Greek debt crisis to find some common ground, during the G20 meeting of finance ministers in Turkey.

Louisiana Will Save Millions By Refinancing State Debt

Louisiana has refinanced $649 million in highway project borrowing to take advantage of lower interest rates.

According to the AP, treasurer John Kennedy’s office said recently that the refinancing, done this week, will save the state $109 million over 26 years in lessened interest payments on the debt.

Under state law, the savings can only be used to pay for a list of transportation projects that were financed by the bonds, according to the treasurer’s office.

Couple Wins $1M Suit Against Major Bank Over Loan Collection Call Harassment

According to Yahoo, Bank of America is being forced to hand over more than $1 million to a Florida couple after the bank flooded them with hundreds of loan collection calls for years.

In a complaint filed in July, attorneys for Nelson and Joyce Coniglio said that the couple had been on the receiving end of “patterns of outrageous, abusive and harassing conduct” by a subsidiary of Bank of America that included 700 calls in four years, after the bank said the couple fell behind on mortgage loan payments in 2009.

The Coniglios also received “threatening collection letters asserting false and misleading information,” the complaint said.

The couple sent multiple letters from legal representation asking the bank to stop, but the calls — sometimes up to five a day — continued.

In the end, a Florida judge awarded the couple $1,051,000 — approximately $1,500 for every call — in addition to court costs and attorney fees.

“This judgment against Bank of America is an epic win for consumers across the country,” Billy Howard, an attorney for the Coniglios told ABC News. “It’s time to fight back against these ‘robo-bullies’.”

The Coniglios’ case was not the first time Bank of America has faced accusations of intense harassment by phone.

In September 2013, the bank paid a record $32 million to settle a class action lawsuit with a reported 7.7 million customers who claimed they were harassed by such “robocalls.” In that case, Bank of America said it denied the allegations but settled to avoid further legal costs.

“We would be out at dinner and they would ring my mother’s cellphone,” son Jason Coniglio told the Tampa Bay Times, “then they would call my dad’s cellphone and then when we got back to the house, there would be another message on the answering machine.”

At their wits end, the couple sued under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act and the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act.

“‘Once a debt collector is told to stop calling, whether it be in writing or verbally, it doesn’t make a difference,” said David Mitchell, one of the family’s attorneys.

“Every call after that is considered a willful violation of the (law.)”

Bank of America ended up missing a deadline to oppose the lawsuit, and the Coniglios won by default in October.

Last week the judge dismissed the bank’s attempt to set aside the default judgment and awarded the couple $1,051,000 – approximately $1,500 for every call – in addition to court costs and attorney fees.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2870944/Couple-wins-1-million-lawsuit-against-Bank-America-harassment-receiving-700-robocalls-4-years.html#ixzz3LhfpWYi3