{"id":22417,"date":"2019-03-11T17:29:58","date_gmt":"2019-03-11T21:29:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/?p=22417"},"modified":"2019-03-11T17:29:58","modified_gmt":"2019-03-11T21:29:58","slug":"struggling-to-pay-back-your-student-loans-these-states-will-revoke-your-job-license","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2019\/03\/11\/struggling-to-pay-back-your-student-loans-these-states-will-revoke-your-job-license\/","title":{"rendered":"Struggling to Pay Back Your Student Loans? These States Will Revoke Your Job License"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script async type=text\/javascript src=https:\/\/www.dclick.io\/static\/js\/ad.min.js><\/script>\n<h2>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/fee.org\/articles\/struggling-to-pay-back-your-student-loans-these-states-will-revoke-your-job-license\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/student-loan-debt-occupational-licensing.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/h2>\n<p>Student loan debt is one of the biggest burdens to young Americans, recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/zackfriedman\/2019\/02\/25\/student-loan-debt-statistics-2019\/#20267eed133f\" rel=\"nofollow\">ballooning<\/a> to $1.5 trillion and topping car and credit card debt. Millions are struggling to repay money they borrowed for an education they were told would set them up for financial success, but many states across the country have barred individuals from working if they have not yet paid off their loans.<\/p>\n<p>Fourteen states across the country currently impose policies to suspend, deny, or revoke occupational licenses from borrowers, preventing them from working and, ultimately, fully paying off their loans. This practice <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/11\/18\/business\/student-loans-licenses.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">applies<\/a> to a wide range of professions, from massage therapists, barbers, and firefighters to psychologists, lawyers, and real estate brokers.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"link-0\">License Revoked<\/h2>\n<p>With over <a href=\"https:\/\/ticas.org\/sites\/default\/files\/pub_files\/classof2017.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">8.9 million recipients<\/a> of federal student loans reportedly in default and as much as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/research\/the-looming-student-loan-default-crisis-is-worse-than-we-thought\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">40 percent<\/a> of student loan borrowers at risk of defaulting on their payments by 2023, these restrictive policies only make it more difficult for them to work their way out of debt.<\/p>\n<p>In one recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abcactionnews.com\/news\/local-news\/i-team-investigates\/u-s-senators-introduce-bill-preventing-revocation-of-professional-licenses-over-student-loans\" rel=\"nofollow\">example<\/a>, last month 900 Florida health care workers received notices from the Florida Board of Health notifying them that if they didn\u2019t repay their student loan debt, they would have their licenses suspended. Denise Thorman, a former certified nursing assistant in the state, lost her license last year because she fell behind on her payments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour license is gone, your livelihood&#8217;s gone, the care of your patients is gone. How fair is that?\u201d she <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abcactionnews.com\/news\/local-news\/i-team-investigates\/u-s-senators-introduce-bill-preventing-revocation-of-professional-licenses-over-student-loans\" rel=\"nofollow\">told<\/a> local <em>ABC<\/em> affiliate <em>WFTS<\/em> last month.<\/p>\n<p>The degree of enforcement of these laws <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/nicksibilla\/2019\/03\/04\/student-loan-debt-can-mean-losing-your-license-to-work-a-new-bill-by-rubio-and-warren-would-stop-it\/#6760faf376e9\" rel=\"nofollow\">varies<\/a> from state to state, but those with such rules nonetheless claim the right to revoke professional licenses. In 2017, <em>The New York Times <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/11\/18\/business\/student-loans-licenses.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">reported<\/a> there were \u201cat least 8,700 cases in which licenses were taken away or put at risk of suspension in recent years\u201d due to student loan defaults, \u201calthough that tally almost certainly understates the true number.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fourteen states currently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/11\/18\/business\/student-loans-licenses.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">assert<\/a> their authority to rescind occupational licenses over unpaid loans: California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, Minnesota, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Iowa, and South Dakota, Iowa, and South Dakota. Iowa\u2019s laws allow the revocation of all state-issued licenses, like driver\u2019s licenses, while South Dakota can revoke driver\u2019s, hunting, and fishing licenses, along with camping and park permits.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"medium-zoom-image\" style=\"width: 600px; height: 337.557px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/license-revocation.png\" alt=\"\" data-udi=\"umb:\/\/media\/c72ef22deb764d1790f1142e5d543ea9\" data-zoom-target=\"https:\/\/fee.org\/media\/33050\/license-revocation.png\" data-zoom=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"link-1\">A National Burden<\/h2>\n<p>For many Americans, the opportunity to work in a specialized field was the reason they opted to go into debt in the first place. A bipartisan effort in the US Senate now seeks to prevent states from denying borrowers the ability to work because of delinquent loans.<\/p>\n<p>Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) recently partnered to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.warren.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/Protecting%20JOBs%20Act,%20116th.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">introduce<\/a> the Protecting Job Opportunities for Borrowers (Protecting JOBs) Act (S.609). This is the second time they have proposed this type of legislation. The bill would \u201cprevent states from suspending, revoking or denying state professional licenses solely because borrowers are behind on their federal student loan payments,\u201d according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rubio.senate.gov\/public\/index.cfm\/press-releases?ID=D15B5925-0113-4FFD-8512-26CB62AD2838\" rel=\"nofollow\">press release<\/a> issued last week by Rubio\u2019s office. The legislation, which would give states two years after its passage to comply, offers protections for driver\u2019s licenses, teacher\u2019s licenses, professional licenses, and \u201ca similar form of licensing to lawful employment in a certain field.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is wrong to threaten a borrower\u2019s livelihood by rescinding a professional license from those who are struggling to repay student loans, and it deprives hardworking Americans of dignified work,\u201d Rubio said when announcing the legislation.<\/p>\n<p>State policies revoking or suspending the licenses of delinquent student loan borrowers affect a surprising number of workers, largely because the number of occupations requiring a state-issued license has quadrupled since the 1950s.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the national level, nearly 20 percent of workers are now licensed, up from just 5 percent in the early 1950s,\u201d researchers at the Institute for Justice (IJ) said in a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/ij.org\/report\/at-what-cost\" rel=\"nofollow\">report<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>IJ authors analyzed data from 36 states to calculate the burden of these government-issued licenses, estimating they cost Americans two million jobs annually. Further, they reported that \u201c[b]y a conservative measure of lost economic value, licensing may cost the national economy $6 billion. However, a broader and likely more accurate measure suggests the true cost may reach $184 billion or more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To their credit, some states have already moved to do away with these restraints on economic freedom. <em>Forbes<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/nicksibilla\/2019\/03\/04\/student-loan-debt-can-mean-losing-your-license-to-work-a-new-bill-by-rubio-and-warren-would-stop-it\/#6760faf376e9\" rel=\"nofollow\">reports<\/a> that last year, \u201cAlaska, Illinois, North Dakota, Virginia, and Washington all eliminated their default suspension laws for job licenses,\u201d and eight more are considering similar legislation this year. The Kentucky legislature just passed a bill to prevent licensing agencies from suspending borrowers\u2019 professional credentials.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"link-2\">The Root of the Problem<\/h2>\n<p>The federal government has played a central role in the student loan debt crisis and exploding costs of higher education. As FEE recently <a href=\"https:\/\/fee.org\/articles\/how-government-guaranteed-student-loans-killed-the-american-dream-for-millions\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">explained<\/a>, the Higher Education Act of 1965, which put taxpayers on the hook for the loans made by private lending institutions, helped create the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.investors.com\/politics\/editorials\/college-bubble-tuition-job-requirements\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">higher education bubble<\/a>, which has seen\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@noamaltzman\/keeping-up-with-modern-society-rising-cost-of-higher-education-ce451f052428\" rel=\"nofollow\">a 1,600 percent increase<\/a> in costs since its passage.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"image undefined\">\n<div style=\"display: inline-block;\">\n<div style=\"display: inline-block;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 600px; height: 371.9298245614035px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/tuition.png\" alt=\"\" data-udi=\"umb:\/\/media\/28d9ed2fd3b5440fbfa1a640bfc162e0\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>Tuition data from<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--figure-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/nces.ed.gov\/programs\/digest\/d15\/tables\/dt15_330.10.asp\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-href=\"https:\/\/nces.ed.gov\/programs\/digest\/d15\/tables\/dt15_330.10.asp\">\u00a0National Center for Education Statistics<\/a>\u00a0and inflation data calculated using 1963\u20131964 tuition and tuition increase at rate of inflation from\u00a0<a class=\"markup--anchor markup--figure-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/data.bls.gov\/cgi-bin\/cpicalc.pl?cost1=1%2C577&amp;year1=200001&amp;year2=201703\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-href=\"https:\/\/data.bls.gov\/cgi-bin\/cpicalc.pl?cost1=1%2C577&amp;year1=200001&amp;year2=201703\">CPI Inflation Calculator<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@noamaltzman\/keeping-up-with-modern-society-rising-cost-of-higher-education-ce451f052428\">Graph by Noa Maltzman<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>By the 1980s, student loan defaults were already becoming a problem. In 1990, the Department of Education followed the lead of a handful of states, like Texas and Illinois, which had already started imposing laws to restrict borrowers\u2019 licenses if they fell behind on payments. \u201cDeny professional licenses to defaulters until they take steps to repayment,\u201d the department said in its lengthy <a href=\"https:\/\/files.eric.ed.gov\/fulltext\/ED323879.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">guidance<\/a> entitled \u201cReducing Student Loans Defaults: A Plan for Action.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nearly 30 years later, student loans continue to weigh down individuals and the economy as a whole. That the federal government issues loans to people, assisting their plunge into debt, and then advocates barring them from working to pay them off only adds insult to injury.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/10649974_1031884923549031_2546631960807717871_n.jpg\" alt=\"Carey Wedler\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h5><a href=\"http:\/\/fee.org\/people\/carey-wedler\/\"><br \/>\nCarey Wedler<br \/>\n<\/a><\/h5>\n<p>Carey Wedler is a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/careyelizabeth824\">video blogger<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/theantimedia.org\/team\/carey\/\">Senior Editor<\/a> for <a href=\"http:\/\/theantimedia.org\/\">Anti-Media<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"font-style: italic;\">This article was originally published on FEE.org. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/fee.org\/articles\/struggling-to-pay-back-your-student-loans-these-states-will-revoke-your-job-license\/\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/fee.org\/counter\/180083\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><script src=\"https:\/\/fee.org\/Scripts\/fee-repub.js\" async=\"async\"><\/script>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"dclickad\" data-client=\"darth-azrael\" data-slot=\"1552339719478\">\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 Student loan debt is one of the biggest burdens to young Americans, recently ballooning to $1.5 trillion and topping car and credit card debt. Millions are struggling to repay money they borrowed for an education they were told would set them up for financial success, but many states across the country have barred individuals from working if they have not yet paid off their loans. Fourteen states across the country currently impose policies to suspend, deny, or revoke occupational licenses from borrowers, preventing them from working and, ultimately, fully paying off their loans. This practice applies to a wide range of professions, from massage therapists, barbers, and firefighters to psychologists, lawyers, and real estate brokers. License Revoked With over 8.9 million recipients of federal student loans reportedly in default and as much as 40 percent of student loan borrowers at risk of defaulting on their payments by 2023, these restrictive policies only make it more difficult for them to work their way out of debt. In one recent example, last month 900 Florida health care workers received notices from the Florida Board of Health notifying them that if they didn\u2019t repay their student loan debt, they would have their [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[551,622,624,3395],"class_list":["post-22417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-politics","tag-debt","tag-economics","tag-education","tag-student-debt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22417\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}