Who Cares If Sallie Mae Employees Lose Their Jobs?

ouch... kind of a harsh ending to the article... I do agree with you though, sallie mae is a waste money... some government jobs are just useless in general. With technological innovation, their jobs can be done with a tiny percentage of what is currently spent... all that money saved can go right back into student education, not only for college, but at the lower levels of education as well...

Or right to the military like where everything else goes... lol

government jobs are important. college students should pay more so government workers get more than they are worth because usless people that get higher than average income from the government vote deomcrat. the voters have spoken they want the socialist democratic party in power.

The last comment was COLD. most government workers could not hack it at walmart.

Bill, I hope you remember your comment today the next time you call for the Police or Fire Departments, take unadulterated drugs, drink clean water, or breathe less polluted air.

Zac, Sallie Mae is a private corporation, traded on the NYSE. You've written your article exactly backwards. Eliminating the "middle-men" in student loans, including SLMA & othe banks & financial institutions, will mean more government jobs, not less as the government will do the work now done by these outside institutions. You know this and yet you write your article to bring out the Yahoos in force. Having a bad day or just want to watch the fur fly?

Sallie Mae, the Corporate Welfare Queen, spent $900,000 of our money just last quarter lobbying Congress for more of our money.

Hey, whatever it takes to keep The Student Loan Gravy Train on track. Executive bonuses, corporate jets, and financial aid officers' kickbacks cost money.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9EGLB400.htm

As a Sallie Mae employee, I hope you never find yourself in a similar situation. Consider yourself blessed if you never do. But I do hope that regardless of your future fortunes you develop some sympathy for your fellow man. Regardless of that person's employer.

We're just regular American citizens doing very good work for a typical corporate entity that finds its line of work in the crosshairs of some fundamental social and political differences.

Not unlike many of our businesses that over the last 18 months have been affected negatively by the economic climate or additionally exacerbated by the current administration's goals. Be it from Wall Street, to health care or the auto industry, there are many, many people that could just as easily have fallen under the same type of broad brush stroke that you use to paint me and my fellow workers with.

I sincerely wish that you have a change of heart and develop some empathy for others, regardless of their job, line of work, or employer.

This is just another "nationalizing" of a business owned by private individuals, just like Hugo Chavez. How can you defend this is beyond me. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. When there is only ONE source of student loans it raises the possiblity in the future of controlling who and where they will give loans to students in the future. Middlemen such as Sallie Mae act as a buffer to that. Study history and you will see. My deepest sympathy to the SLM employees if this socialization health care passes. You don't fund health care on students backs.

Bravo - finally the truth. The jobs don't matter! Especially Sallie Mae jobs. The FFELP system has been scandal and fraud ridden for years - a bit arrogant for a system that places useless middlemen in what is already a government program. The reforms take origination away from the middlemen - origination being where most of the scandal and fraud occurs. Servicing is contracted with many of the same middlemen. About 10-20% of the pions at SLM, Nelnet, and others will be effected.

The student loan industry is ripe with greed, arrogance, and corruption. The Sallie Mae CEO has taken nearly a half billion dollars personally as a middleman. He now owns three mansioned estates (annapolis, MD / Harwood, MD / Naples, FL), one with a private 18 hole golf course - although an old photo and the golf course is still under construction, you can see where taxpayer subsidy dollars go via Google Maps at coordinates 38°51'38.52"N, 76°40'4.47"W

Sallie Mae owns two private jets - they used to own three. The jets are tail numbered N50FD and N188AK.

You can see these jets at the following links:
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Israel-IAI-1125A-Astra/0523432/L/
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Israel-IAI-1124-Westwind/0841982/M/

That is where the taxpayer subsidies are going, private golf courses and private jets.

WOW! I don't know where to start. First and foremost I think it should be mentioned that if this Student Loan Reform is passed that it will be at a greater cost to students than to individuals losing jobs; in that students will no longer have a choice in their lending, but rather be forced to accept government run lending. Not to mention the US government is not equipped to handle the influx of students requesting loans. Imagine 19 million students (or more based on enrollment for the 2010-2011 school year) standing in line waiting for their money to be disbursed by the government before they can start school.

An article at CNN.com today has an interesting fact; "The proposal would increase maximum Pell grant awards to $5,900 by 2020, up from $5,300 now. Yet, the new maximum is $1,000 less than the $6,900 originally proposed by the House last fall." Is eliminating 10's of thousands of jobs worth $600 over 10 years (please don't forget inflation, increased tuition rates, etc.)? Really? This is supposed to make all of jump for joy and support such a ridiculous ideal? This benefits the average student how? It doesn't!

The fact of the matter is that a college education is expensive and would not be possible if it were not for entities like Sallie Mae. The real reform should be completed at the college level with tuition increase caps and at state levels where more money is funded to education to help offset the increasing costs of running a higher learning institution.

"Here's a question I would pose to anyone who opposes student loan reform on the grounds that it will cost people their jobs: Why should college students pay more money than necessary in order to create pointless jobs that can easily be consolidated by allowing the government to administer all federal student loans?"- Why, Zac Bissonnette, do you think it's this simple? Here's my question to you: Why should a student give up his or her right to choice based the current proposed plan that would ultimately afford a $600 increase in Pell Grant funding over a 10 year period? Does that seem like a fair trade to you? I understand that middlemen charge a fee (usually no more than 3% of the loan) to guarantee the loan, but they also offer the lowest interest rates around. Do you think the government will have lower interest rates? Do you think the 3% fee is going to be that much of a cost savings to the average college student who amasses some $25,000 in student loans over the course of their academic career? Those are just a few of the things that should also be considered when supporting or not supporting the current student loan reform proposal.

"The notion that Congress should stick it to college students to preserve jobs for Sallie Mae employees is an appalling and transparent one, and hopefully enough members of Congress will see through it that student loan reform passes." Does the fact that funds are being earmarked from this reform to help pay for health care reform seem fair to tax payers? Should a Sallie Mae employee (or anyone else working in the student loand industry) lose their job to fund health care for all of America? The simple answer to that question is NO!


I would echo the sentiments of James C when I say that I hope you have a change of heart and learn to have empathy as it seems that you have none.

I owe a private corporation $20,000 for financing what was left of my four year tuition bill after my grants and scholarships. My loan is federally backed if I default which allowed access to money more easily because the risk of the private lender is lessened. The federally backed loan also allowed me to borrow at a lower interest rate. There is nothing wrong with that system.

The new system will be where the government loans me money and I owe the government. Who knows what the government will set the interest rate at. Who knows what changes they will make during the life of the loan repayment. The government can mandate that I will have to work for the government to pay off my loan. Or maybe they will add a new payroll deduction for the student loan that mandates total repayment within ten years.

If you don't have the money for college you won't be able to go unless you borrow money from the government. The government will also have complete control over the admissions process because a school will not be able to admit anyone that didn't get money from the federal program. Good luck getting into college young white man.

I don't want the US government holding anything else over my head or my children. Will they put me in jail if I can't make a student loan payment just like if I don't buy health insurance?

You also know damn well that the government will not use the additional money collected from interest to fund further student loans.

If you are beholden to the government for your welfare you are no longer free. A government that holds its people to its will is not a republic, it is a dictatorship. A government whose only goal is to gain and hold power will always sacrifice its population to maintain that control.

Obama has proven himself to be a dictator. He even took power in a democratic revolution by conning the population just like the dictators of the 20th century. How long before those of a dissenting opinion are forced into gas chambers? I might be there if I refuse to buy health insurance.

James C et el.

If you actually WERE "American citizens doing very good work" and a "typical corporate entity" you wouldnt be in this situation.

"For fiscal 2009, Sallie Mae reported core earnings of $597 million "

Thats a hell of a lot of profit money and student loan monies that WEREN'T made to students.

Obamas plan takes that money away from a for profit entity and reroutes it to more loans...

Sallie Mae job losses? Noooo, I dont think so. They employ hundreds of people in India and Thailand. It would be very easy to cut that fat. Maybe they will cut the American jobs instead and you will get a little taste of what students have had to deal with in Sallie Mae loans.

If I were them I would not look for a job and live off the government because they still get benefits and then see how the people who thinks this healthcare is a good idea like paying for every single person who loses a job. One Big Ass Mistake America will then need to "change" his ways. The young people have nothing to work for, their government will give them everything. I know this to be true because one of my children tried out our local public school and found out we pay more for a pretzel at school because we have money. He said that wasn't fair. Dad should quit his job so he could go to my sons games cause we don't have to pay if we don't have money. He is 10. God help America

Sallie Mae is a SNAKE, BACK TO THE PIT OF HELL YOU GO! They have ruined lives and stressed people out with there preditory ways. I'm so glad the government will take that free bonus check away from the CEO'S and put that money to use. Students are the future and if they can afford college or are worried about after they graduate where will the country be? So WHAT!!! They lose jobs, they will create more jobs with the change. ASTA LA VISTA SALLIE MAE( waiting for Obama to drop kick them in the ASS):))))))))

I remember when the government ran these companies -- not private enterprise. This is a return to the "good old days" when student interest on loans was actually cheap.
Now if they could just do something about private companies hounding people into the ground over debt -- not that would be something.

Ok so i understand y everyone is going a wall on this topic, and I'm not sure where to jump in and argue with everyone but let me just say one thing.

Its a good idea to save money but it's not worth letting go thousands of people to achieve that, in HOPES that it will work. Everyone is looking at just the the one aspect of the people getting fired. But the vast majority of them are the ones paying the bills, paying the tuition for there kids to attend school, paying for the cars, house, etc... My point is that when they fire those people, they lose everything and, sooner of later, they won't have the money to pay for anything. So even though it say's that it is saving a ton of money, is it really helping everyone or is it just throwing gas in the fire.

If you actually read my babbling please comment me back for your opinion..... I'm actually doing a report on this subject...

Barnett is incorrect. Cutting out all the middle men on net will reduce the number of jobs working on federal student loans and will NOT increase the number of federal employees. He very well knows that it is contractors, not federal employees, who design, code and maintain the systems, operate the call centers, send the bills, etc. For point of comparison, Sallie Mae's portfolio, until recently was about the same size as Direct Loan's but had six times as many employees. At some things, we must concede, the private sector is LESS efficient than the public sector. We had lenders competing to provide flashy nonsubstantive features to colleges on the front end of the lending process. The cost of marketing was significant, and many of the excess jobs at Sallie Mae and other lending entities were marketing reps.