Comments on: “US Marshals arresting people for not paying their federal student loans” (P.S.: Really?)

By: Another guy named Dan

Another guy named Dan — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 17:12:29 +0000

I think the original and incomplete version of the story got so much traction because it appealed to narratives being pushed by both sides of the political spectrum: the left’s “student loans are ruining people’s lives”, with a dose of “Law enforcement comes down too hard on minorities” and the right’s “Big government is abusing the little guy”.

Since everybody already believed that such an event could occur, there was less skepticism of an outrageous claim as their should have been. While there may be elements of truth in the narratives, to abandon fact checking and seeking “the rest of the story” serves neither side, nor the journalistic profession well.

By: MattS

MattS — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 16:53:55 +0000

I’d already seen the report that Aker’s claim were largely fabricated elsewhere.

By: Walter Olson

Walter Olson — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 14:56:42 +0000

Thank you, Matt, for catching this, and especially for doing so so quickly. I’ve revamped the post to alert readers.

By: marco73

marco73 — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 14:44:42 +0000

I hadn’t followed this story too much; it was just too good to check.
Excellent research Matt.
After looking over your links, the real issue stood out. Sure, people who are trying to run from debts will not answer the phone or their door, provide false information, and generally give the collection folks the run around. But when 2 marshals are at your door, and you tell then you have a gun and retreat into your house, just what do you think is going to be the outcome? Mr. Akers needlessly opened up a whole world of hurt on his situation.

By: MattS

MattS — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 14:31:52 +0000

http://www.georgiabankruptcyblog.com/miscellaneous-cases/arrested-for-not-paying-student-loans-no-the-paul-aker-story-was-essentially-fabricated

1. Aker owes more than what he claims.
2. He wasn’t arrested for the debt itself. He was arrested for evading service and failing to show up for mandatory court dates.