Arianna Huffington, "245,000 College Grads Looking for Sugar Daddies"All Education Matters

Arianna Huffington, "245,000 College Grads Looking for Sugar Daddies"

Lawrence O'Donnell interviewed Arianna Huffington last night to discuss the disastrous debt deal that the President helped implement. At one point she said he needs intense therapy, because it makes no sense politically or economically.

But here's what is most disgusting, and something I've been writing about for nearly 3 years - the student lending crisis. She brought it up, too.

Huffington referred to a recent article that was written in the Huff Post about young, college grads seeking "sugar daddies" to pay off their loans. She called it an "epidemic," and then mentioned the dreadful $1 trillion in outstanding student loans (we're not there yet, but we will be by June of 2012).

Here are a few highlights:

She said (jump to 3:58), "young voters are not going to come out in the large numbers they came out in '08."

You got that right, sister! And I am going to deter young voters for endorsing his neoliberal agenda.

She went on to say, "[The debt ceiling deal] is disastrous for the country. I mean that pain that is out there is really palpable. With almost 25 million people unemployed or underemployed, you have a horrible story in the Huffington Post yesterday. You and I have daughters . . . and . . . the fact that 245,000 students are now registered on a site called . . . trying to find arrangements to find Sugar Daddies . . ."

That's right, folks! These 245,000 recent grads are escorts. Hell, let's call it what it truly is - they are becoming PROSTITUTES. (I think that it is important to use that term, because it's honest. I do not, in any way, wish to vilify sex workers. But it is clear that in most cases they are victims of a vicious system. If it were up to me and I could push this option in some way, they'd be unionized, like they are in France. But we don't even like our teachers or janitors to be unionized in this country, so that probably wouldn't ever fly. That's thanks to Reagan, bustin' up the unions).

At that point, Lawrence O'Donnell told her to stop, but she insisted that it was important. He agreed.

She continued, "it's not like a few thousand women. We are talking about an epidemic of kids who are graduating from college, cannot pay for their college debts . . . we're already at a trillion dollars, more than credit card debt."

For the full piece, go here.

I have heard from someone in the Atlanta area who knows of a PhD student who is an escort. I was told she was not the only one. He knows of at least 20 graduate students who are doing the same.

When I discussed this crisis with someone via Twitter yesterday, they asked a good question, "what do you suppose the men are doing in this situation?"

I said, "I'm not sure. Perhaps some of them are doing the same thing."

It appears that you probably make more money with a fancy-pants degree as an escort. Your customers like that you can talk about philosophy or mathematics or whatever. This is truly deplorable, and shows how destructive the student lending crisis has become. We're turning out grads to become call girls?!? This is what a degree gets you these days?!?