Community Actions to Combat Student Loan Crisis

With the ongoing threat of Trump’s tariffs and Republicans opposing student loan forgiveness, and now the College Cost Reduction Act, which will not make a college education cheaper, I’ve decided to finally write my idea for reducing student loan debt. This is an idea that I had dating back to 2012 and can be applied to any profession from a bankruptcy lawyer to a grade school teacher. Now, if I can only get members of Congress to call me.

Listen to this blog post.

• Student Loan Forgiveness Opposed by These Republican States

A Fresh Idea on Student Loan Forgiveness

One day, when I was teaching a class in Miami, a student asked, “What do you think of student loans? How do we get rid of them?” I came up with this idea on the spot. Coincidentally, California has been doing this for a few years after I came up with my idea. I can’t take any credit for it. But they’re doing it with doctors only, which I thought was interesting as they should do it with everybody. The success has been evident in reducing student loan debt and getting much-needed medical services in poor areas. So, let me talk about my idea and how it applies to bankruptcy law.

Let’s say you owe X amount in student loans, and the average cost to hire a bankruptcy lawyer is $1,500. Plenty of people qualify for bankruptcy or have issues like a divorce case, but Legal Aid won’t accept the case. Legal aid does excellent work, but they’ve been getting stricter with the cases they take. My understanding is that unless there’s domestic violence involved, they won’t most divorce cases.

Note that it was International Domestic Violence Awareness Day a few days ago. Unfortunately, domestic violence continues to be an issue. As a family law attorney, I’ve had to deal with too many cases involving issues of domestic violence. So, if you know someone in a violent relationship, please try to help them. If you are a victim of domestic violence, please seek help and access the link posted.

In the same way, a person could use help for a divorce or bankruptcy case; what about a criminal case? Public defenders can’t take every case and won’t take cases if the prosecutor isn’t seeking a jail sentence. So, there are endless cases where pro bono lawyers are needed, but working for free isn’t ideal for lawyers either. That’s where my idea comes in.

• Understanding the Risks of Cosigning Student Loans for Your Child

In my hypothetical situation, suppose you owe $50,000 in student loans, and the average bankruptcy cost is $1,500. What if we created organizations or government agencies with bankruptcy experts who would take an application and confirm whether that person can afford to file for bankruptcy or not? There is such a thing as being too broke to file for bankruptcy.

Anyone can face tough times financially; maybe it’s due to medical bills, and they can’t afford a lawyer since they are in the process of claiming disability. Now, instead of paying for bankruptcy, what if we credit the lawyer $1,000 to handle that case pro bono and max the amount of cases that can be done annually.

One misconception about pro bono work is that it is mandatory. It’s not. Some states do require it, while others suggest it. Honestly, it’s hard for us to do pro bono work because we’re not getting paid, and like everyone else, we have bills to pay. People get offended by that, but the landscaping company isn’t doing pro bono, and neither is your dentist or hairstylist.

Remember that we do have pro bono work for our friends and family, and usually, we don’t pick up cases from strangers. Unfortunately, we can’t help everyone; it would be too much for us. But my idea could change that.

If a bankruptcy lawyer could take a pro bono case, that equals a $1,000 credit in student loans and max out the amount that can be done per year, for example, five cases, that’s $5,000 a year, and the student loan balance is reduced.

This is similar to what has been done in California, which brought medical care into neighborhoods that needed it. There’s only so much the public defender and legal aid can do. Besides lawyers, imagine other professions, such as accountants helping with taxes, financial management, and financial education. But don’t stop there.

Why limit it to any specific profession? What if I want to do something else? Nowadays, if I were going to law school, I might be attracted to something tech-related or environmental. So why not do something related to the environment?

For example, picking up trash on the beach for four hours and there’s a credit received. Not only does this result in resources being spread out in endless areas and reduce the costs for local governments, but it can make a difference. Just think of all the areas this could potentially affect. It’s also a way to learn about giving back to the community.

Statistically, the older generation, the retired folks, often participate in charitable organizations because they have more free time. But what if we could get people to start helping out early? What if we could show them what it feels like to give back?

I used to organize a motorcycle event called the Turkey Ride. The last year I did it before leaving Miami, I collected 7,400 pounds of turkeys and fed three counties through spring break, thanks to the motorcycle riding community. It felt great to do that, and everyone involved loved it, too. We did something good for the community while having fun.

The options are limitless. Why not speak at a school? I’ve done that for friends who wanted me to talk in class. We can read to children as well or talk about our jobs, a show-and-tell scenario.

California’s method has proven to be effective. With bills such as the College Cost Reduction Act, the cost of living increases with the Trump tariffs, monthly student loan payments are increasing, and it’s getting harder to survive financially. But this is a good way to balance things out; everybody gets something in return. Whether it’s representing victims of domestic violence or any other profession, we can all help and benefit. It might even get rid of the political issues tied to student loan forgiveness.

So, that’s my idea to reduce student loans. Let’s see if it ever happens. If so, you saw it here first.

Colleges and universities can purchase my bankruptcy law textbook directly from Routledge Publishing. For paralegals and students buying single copies, you can do so via Amazon books. To access my YouTube channel, click this link.

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Please note the information on this site does not constitute legal advice and should be considered for informational purposes only. Always consult with a local bankruptcy lawyer for issues of bankruptcy and student loan debt.