A Miracle In Kalamazoo
The American Debtors Prison is a truly dark and dreadful place to live, made even worse by the fact that nearly every established institution in America, in one way or another, helps to tighten the grasp on debtors. Sometimes on purpose, and sometimes quite unintentionally.
One unfortunate consequence of all this is uniquely personal to me: It forces me to focus on "negative" things most of the time when discussing debtors imprisonment, though I don't want to, because the American Debtors Prison is so powerful and pervasive that nobody, anywhere, is winning meaningful battles against it. It just keeps getting worse and worse, year after year, and there is really no organized movement in place to even draw attention to it, let alone to stop it. (If you'd like to help create such a movement, visit my website).
So it is with greater pleasure than you could possibly imagine that I can report here that a group of donors has established a truly amazing program that will detour an entire generation of young people in Kalamazoo, Michigan away from one of the main superhighways to debtors prison: student loans.
Over the past three or four years, this group of anonymous donors has silently created a program that will offer college scholarships to students who graduate in the Kalamazoo school system and enroll at a Michigan college or university. The percentage of college costs paid are proportional to the number of years from Kingergarden through 12th grade that a student spent in the Kalamazoo school system. Students who receive their entire K-12 education in Kalamazoo will enjoy scholarships paying 100% of tuition and fees.
Think for a moment about what this really means. Yesterday, there were children living in Kalamazoo who were destined to one day endure the legal domestic terrorism of Sallie Mae, General Revenue Corporation, Educational Recovery Systems, and so many other student loan "servicers". But today, because of the actions of some people who cared, many of those same children now have a destiny that does NOT include being terrorized by Sallie Mae, General Revenue Corporation, Educational Recovery Systems, and so many other student loan "servicers". That is an amazing victory in the battle against modern debtors imprisonment! Even better, it will help prevent debtors imprisonment from student loans, rather than seeking to free student loan debtors from misery after it is too late.
It sounds so simple--making it possible for young people to earn a higher education and train themselves for a productive career without rendering all that education and training pointless by indebting them tens of thousands of dollars to ruthless student loan collectors before they even apply for their first responsible job.
Almost makes you wonder why the U.S. Department of Education never thought of this....
I find it especially noteworthy that despite the sheer magnitude of generosity, foresight, and good citizenship involved here, the group of donors who established "The Kalamazoo Promise" program wishes to remain anonymous. In other words, they are individuals, not self-interested corporations seeking to do "good work" that primarily benefits themselves through positive public relations.
Almost makes you wonder why Sallie Mae never thought of this....
I was born and raised near Kalamazoo. The last time I visited it, in the early 1990's, it was a mostly impoverished and somber place. Now there is hope that this one program alone will boost the local economy by simply educating the population, which will attract more families and businesses who seek to raise their children in a community that demonstrably values education.
Almost makes you wonder why so many egg-headed economists whose "expert" opinions are constantly sought by the press never thought of this....
In response to the program's announcement, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm said, "What a tremendous act of generosity on the part of the donors who made this possible and what a tremendous opportunity for all these children in Kalamazoo public schools who can now go to college and chase their dreams." I couldn't agree more.
Almost makes you wonder why Governor Granholm never thought of this....
But someone did think of this. And not only do the people of Kalamazoo, Michigan owe these anonymous donors an enormous debt of gratitude (the only kind of debt worth owing, in my opinion), but so does every American citizen--including you and me. Because The Kalamazoo Promise makes it clear, finally, that everything in America does not have to be utterly "negative". All it takes is generosity rather than greed, foresight rather than shortsightedness and blind faith, and good citizenship rather than apathy and politics, to make the world a better place.
All the best,
Paul
One unfortunate consequence of all this is uniquely personal to me: It forces me to focus on "negative" things most of the time when discussing debtors imprisonment, though I don't want to, because the American Debtors Prison is so powerful and pervasive that nobody, anywhere, is winning meaningful battles against it. It just keeps getting worse and worse, year after year, and there is really no organized movement in place to even draw attention to it, let alone to stop it. (If you'd like to help create such a movement, visit my website).
So it is with greater pleasure than you could possibly imagine that I can report here that a group of donors has established a truly amazing program that will detour an entire generation of young people in Kalamazoo, Michigan away from one of the main superhighways to debtors prison: student loans.
Over the past three or four years, this group of anonymous donors has silently created a program that will offer college scholarships to students who graduate in the Kalamazoo school system and enroll at a Michigan college or university. The percentage of college costs paid are proportional to the number of years from Kingergarden through 12th grade that a student spent in the Kalamazoo school system. Students who receive their entire K-12 education in Kalamazoo will enjoy scholarships paying 100% of tuition and fees.
Think for a moment about what this really means. Yesterday, there were children living in Kalamazoo who were destined to one day endure the legal domestic terrorism of Sallie Mae, General Revenue Corporation, Educational Recovery Systems, and so many other student loan "servicers". But today, because of the actions of some people who cared, many of those same children now have a destiny that does NOT include being terrorized by Sallie Mae, General Revenue Corporation, Educational Recovery Systems, and so many other student loan "servicers". That is an amazing victory in the battle against modern debtors imprisonment! Even better, it will help prevent debtors imprisonment from student loans, rather than seeking to free student loan debtors from misery after it is too late.
It sounds so simple--making it possible for young people to earn a higher education and train themselves for a productive career without rendering all that education and training pointless by indebting them tens of thousands of dollars to ruthless student loan collectors before they even apply for their first responsible job.
Almost makes you wonder why the U.S. Department of Education never thought of this....
I find it especially noteworthy that despite the sheer magnitude of generosity, foresight, and good citizenship involved here, the group of donors who established "The Kalamazoo Promise" program wishes to remain anonymous. In other words, they are individuals, not self-interested corporations seeking to do "good work" that primarily benefits themselves through positive public relations.
Almost makes you wonder why Sallie Mae never thought of this....
I was born and raised near Kalamazoo. The last time I visited it, in the early 1990's, it was a mostly impoverished and somber place. Now there is hope that this one program alone will boost the local economy by simply educating the population, which will attract more families and businesses who seek to raise their children in a community that demonstrably values education.
Almost makes you wonder why so many egg-headed economists whose "expert" opinions are constantly sought by the press never thought of this....
In response to the program's announcement, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm said, "What a tremendous act of generosity on the part of the donors who made this possible and what a tremendous opportunity for all these children in Kalamazoo public schools who can now go to college and chase their dreams." I couldn't agree more.
Almost makes you wonder why Governor Granholm never thought of this....
But someone did think of this. And not only do the people of Kalamazoo, Michigan owe these anonymous donors an enormous debt of gratitude (the only kind of debt worth owing, in my opinion), but so does every American citizen--including you and me. Because The Kalamazoo Promise makes it clear, finally, that everything in America does not have to be utterly "negative". All it takes is generosity rather than greed, foresight rather than shortsightedness and blind faith, and good citizenship rather than apathy and politics, to make the world a better place.
All the best,
Paul
posted by Paul at 9:55 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home