Congress is making some promises to students it just can’t keep with the current surge of proposed legislation. The only things wrong with its argument are math (which is based on assumptions, not on evidence) and reality. Let’s face it. How many congressmen actually had to borrow money to pay for college? Do they understand the real world of recent college grads who don’t have family connections to help them?

Our typical student, Greg L., borrows his maximum every year for four years starting this fall. He plans to graduate at the end of those four years. His subsidized loans mean he will not have to pay the interest on the loans until six months after he graduates and he begins paying off the loans.

Freshman Greg receives $2,625 at 6.12% as a subsidized loan for the 2007-2008 academic year.

Sophomore Greg receives $3,500 at 5.44%. He’s thinking of changing majors.

Junior Greg receives $5,500 at 4.76%. He’s too wrapped up with his internship to notice the decrease.

Senior Greg receives his final subsidized loan for $5,500 at 4.08%. He’s trying to figure out how to fit three quarters worth of classes into two semesters.

It’s now 2011 and Greg L. hasn’t slept in a year, but he did manage to graduate on schedule. He borrowed $17,125 in subsidized government loans. He will have to start paying them back in six months. That means Greg will have to find a job, move, get a place to live, and receive enough salary to afford paying back the loans. The clock is ticking!

If our Greg L. is like the vast majority of college students attending a four-year university he has other loans to pay back. He won’t get far with $5,500, even at the most inexpensive public schools. So Greg had to go to some private lenders, and they helped him pay for the rest.

Those private lenders understand that having just graduated, Greg L. is getting started on his own. He’ll be earning an entry level salary and facing many financial needs, so he may not be able to repay the loans right away. That’s why lenders will offer him a student loan consolidation loan that will lower his overall interest rate, lower his monthly payment, and give him a payment schedule he can follow.

So subsidized loan rate changes had zero net effect for Greg L. Nothing. Nil. Technically the rate changes cost him money, as all taxpayers had to pay for the legislation to be drafted, debated, committee’d, re-drafted … well, you get the idea. It’s a shame Congress hasn’t.

We are opposed to the proposed student loan legislation and middle-class families should be too! The government is taking money out of YOUR POCKET.

It only takes one minute to make a difference: call your senators, send your senators an e-mail, download a letter to fax to your senators, become part of our petition and help your friends find out the truth about the proposed student loan legislation.