Student Debt Burdened Them, So They Moved Abroad and Stopped Paying • Hacker News Board

Re: Student Debt Burdened Them, So They Moved Abroad and Stopped Paying

#111

Post by harambae » Mon, Apr 06, 2026, 9:42 PM UTC

mothballed wrote: post #36

throwuttfj wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Passport Blocks: Arrears exceeding €5,000 can result in registration in the passport alert system, making it impossible to receive a new passport, I would say that is pretty serious violation of human rights, for relatively small infraction. Soviet countries used similar system to prevent people from leaving their communist paradise. How are you supposed to pay your debt, if you are not allowed to find new job abro…

US does same for very small child support debts (I think around $1000) as well as larger tax bills. Of course when I cross to/from Mexico by land at small crossing I've noticed most have no passport and just beg for forgiveness which usually works.

> I've noticed most have no passport and just beg for forgiveness which usually works

in which direction? headed south or back north?

Re: Student Debt Burdened Them, So They Moved Abroad and Stopped Paying

#112

Post by mothballed » Mon, Apr 06, 2026, 11:42 PM UTC

harambae wrote: post #111

mothballed wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US does same for very small child support debts (I think around $1000) as well as larger tax bills. Of course when I cross to/from Mexico by land at small crossing I've noticed most have no passport and just beg for forgiveness which usually works.

> I've noticed most have no passport and just beg for forgiveness which usually works in which direction? headed south or back north?

South almost never checks anything whatsoever so it's a moot point there unless you're crossing in a major city like Tijuana. On many occasions even the guy at the metal detector has been sleeping. (Also note: Mexico never changed law like US, in Mexico it's still legal to enter with only a birth certificate and ID)

Going North into america I'd say the majority don't have passports and they are let through anyway. I actually have a legal US passport and I watched myself detained, jailed, and interrogated while everyone without a passport was let through with a birth certificate and state driver's license (this is modern times, not the days when that was all you needed). So maybe it is worse to have a passport as it's suspicious as most people at the lesser land crossings do not.

Re: Student Debt Burdened Them, So They Moved Abroad and Stopped Paying

#113

Post by kadoban » Wed, Apr 08, 2026, 5:02 PM UTC

dyauspitr wrote: post #108

kadoban wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The difference is you _can't_ do that for student loans. There is no option to get rid of them via bankruptcy. So, this happens instead.

Yeah because then most students would graduate and declaring bankruptcy would be the first thing they do out of school. People have almost no assets at that point that they can lose, no real income. They would ride out the 7 years of bad credit while building out their early career and essentially would get a free education. The financial system wouldn’t be able to manage that at the pure scale of the number of peopl…

I did not suggest that you could just turn on bankruptcy with no rules.

> [...] essentially would get a free education.

How horrible, imagine the world.