I stand with Occupy Wall Street

I am one of the lucky ones...I have a job that allows me to stay within the repayment terms of my student loans. I pay my bills on time, every month, and haven't missed a payment to Citibank, Sallie Mae and other responsibilities like credit cards, rent and utilities. However, the thought of my graduated repayment plan kicking in scares me because I'm already living on a shoestring. I take responsibility for signing the dotted line on my loans and taking part in the Federal Student Aid program through the US Department of Education, and will continue to make sacrifices to pay back my loans.

Three years ago, Citibank and other institutions like them were able to receive a government hand out in the billions when a profit-seeking business turned into greed, packaging known toxic assets and selling them back to us, their customers. When toxic assets went bust and trillions of dollars evaporated from the economy, millions of people saw their savings, homes and livelihoods decimated, or worse.

They bought that hand out with lobbyists and lawyers in Washington that we, their customers, paid for - and they're doing it again, with student loans.

What happens when student loan backed securities go bust because a second recession wipes out the lucky ones, the ones that are still employed? What happens when, because we lost the jobs we studied so long to be qualified for, we can no longer pay the interest, let alone the principal, on the loans?

Who gets the hand out then?

Even though I have to stay in my office and work to keep my job to continue to meet my responsibilities, I stand with Occupy Wall Street. There are fringe elements out there, yes, but don't let the media, all media, fool you. The bulk of the people there are just like you and me. And unfortunately, we can't afford the well connected lobbyists in Washington. But we can be heard.