I was told that this would clear my red flags, and that I would stop getting harassing phone calls and emails from "Student Assistance" (there's a mis-named group if I've ever seen one), and in ten years I'll be done making payments.

So today I get an email from Sallie Mae, asking me, yet again, to fill out a forbearance form for a deferment.

Why? Maybe they're slow and haven't updated the records? I just made my payment two days ago -- maybe collections hasn't gotten the memo yet?

So at the bottom of the email is a phone number I can call with questions. 1-888-2SALLIE.

I call.

And am promptly placed into a call center. In either India, Pakistan or Bangladesh.

"Peter" answers the phone. I can barely understand him, his accent is so thick. He proceeds to misunderstand me, repeat back incorrect information, and generally make me angrier and angrier.

Why, pray tell, is the institution that's charged with helping students pay for college being administered by people in a foreign country? Why are the debts of Americans being processed by foreign nationals? Why on earth isn't Sallie Mae hiring recent college grads to do the work? I would have gladly worked a few years as a support teammember at Sallie Mae if it meant I could have worked off some of my debt.

From Sallie Mae's website:

Sallie Mae®, the nation's leading provider of student loans and administrator of college savings plans, has helped millions of Americans achieve their dream of a higher education. The company primarily provides federal and private student loans, including consolidation loans, for undergraduate and graduate students and their parents.

In addition, Sallie Mae offers comprehensive information and resources to assist students, parents, and guidance professionals with the financial aid process. Sallie Mae owns or manages student loans for nearly 10 million customers, administers more than $11 billion in college savings accounts for 1 million customers through its Upromise subsidiary and employs approximately 12,000 individuals at offices nationwide.

Sallie Mae was originally created in 1972 as a government-sponsored entity (GSE). The company began privatizing its operations in 1997, a process it completed at the end of 2004 when the company terminated its ties to the federal government.

Sallie Mae is listed on the Fortune 500 and is one of the Top Innovators in IT according to InformationWeek. The company also has been recognized as one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens according to Business Ethics magazine and one of the top 30 companies for executive women by the National Association of Female Executives.

How on earth can Business Ethics magazine rate a company that outsources jobs to foreign nationals as one of their best Corporate Citizens??? I'd hate to see the worst on their list. But I digress.

What the hell has happened to our people that we've let our country get away from us like this? Are we so greedy and complacent that we're willing to forego job security and our kids' future in exchange for a cheaper pair of ill-fitting jeans made at a sweat shop in the south pacific? that we're too proud to work in jobs where -- heavens forbid! -- our hands are dirtied, or even sullied by the mere thought of hard work? Do we really believe that we are entitled to riches without having to work hard for them?

So again, why is Sallie Mae, the guarantor of my student loan, outsourcing its phone center work to Hindis Asian Indians and Pakistanis and Bangladeshis and other foreign-type non-American tax paying people who don't speak English as a native tongue in East Abhamanejad or Newer New Delhi? Why isn't a goddamn American answering my call about American money? Why isn't the profit that Sallie Mae gets every year on my interest payments being used to support America? Why isn't the goal of supporting Americans in their quest for higher education extended to helping them in the critical years just following college?

Why have we sold ourselves up the river?