Monday, April 28, 2014

Dept. of Education Rewards Incompetence Just Like the IRS

Oh it's so fun and easy to poke fun at government and its bureaucracies.

Hopefully all of you have heard about the IRS agents that didn't pay their taxes that received bonuses. How about the Department of Education employee that gives advise on student loans that self admittedly made mistakes on her student loans?

The stupidity of this is astounding. Nicole Callahan released an article named "4 Mistakes I Made With My Student Loans and How You Can Avoid Them." This is not advise from someone in the public sector but someone that works for the government. Her position? Digital Engagement Strategist at the Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid.

Yes. She openly admits she made mistakes on her student loans and yet gets a job related to student aid. What could go wrong?

So what were her four mistakes?

I should have kept track of what I was borrowing
I should have made interest payments while I was still in school
I should have kept my loan servicer in the loop
I should have figured out what my monthly loan payments were going to be BEFORE I went into repayment

Half of her problems were "I didn't do simple Math."

However she is only a "Digital Engagement Strategist" and hence she is just more web designerish right? (Don't let Obamacare roll out affect you judgement of government web technology experts) Let's blog-search her name.

Oh no!

About 120 results

Let us list every headline associated with her name. Page one only.
  • 6 Things You Must Know About Repaying Your Student Loans ...
  • 4 Mistakes I Made With My Student Loans and How You Can ...
  • Need Advice About Your Student Loans? Your Loan Servicer ...
  • ED.gov Blog
  • 7 Ways to Promote FAFSA Completion at Your School | ED. ...
  • 5 Reasons You Should Complete the Free Application for ...
  • 4 Common Student Loan Mistakes | ED.gov Blog
  • 5 Things You Need To Know About Your Student Loans | ED. ...
  • 7 Things You Need Before You Fill Out the FAFSA | ED.gov ...
  • 4 Things to Do During Your Student Loan Grace Period | ED. ...

So there may be a bit of advice coming from Nicole on about 120 articles? And how does she describe herself in the 4 mistakes article?

So while I don’t claim to be a student loan expert, I have learned a lot of lessons along the way, mostly through trial and error.

Admits not an expert. Is this government promoting incompetence or an individual covering their posterior?

Shouldn't the Department of Education use an expert to give advise on student loans? Why are they using an amateur?



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2 comments:

  1. "Yes. She openly admits she mad mistakes..."

    Before throwing stones at the utterly incompetent, make sure you proofread your own stuff puppy.

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  2. Thanks for pointing out the typo. Did proof read, but you know, the brain does fills things in that aren't there. And Jack Daniels is a bit distracting.

    ReplyDelete