Just genuinely curious on everyone's thinking/reasoning on this topic. (I know I am starting the umpteenth thread on this topic, but wanted to attempt to have a civil conversation in one place. Difficult with the Zoo, I know). Just quickly glancing through the multiple threads on here, it seems the vocal majority are against this and I am curious as to why. Apart from the "Biden is a communist" comments which have no real merit and comments that "Congress should be doing this," which is a different conversation, I am trying to find a reasonable argument as to why this is a bad thing.
It seems that many of those against this graduated many moons ago (I graduated in 2013) and went to college at a very different time when tuition wasn't what it is today. The total federal student debt has more than tripled since 2007 when it was about $500 billion to the $1.6 trillion today. In the years since graduation, including my own, states continue to cut funding towards public college and education. So what's been done to combat this? Skyrocketing tuition and mountains of student debt.
I don't think many 17-18 year-olds fully understand what they are signing up for when they apply for federal student loans. Interest alone can oftentimes be a killer. I have many peers who have never missed a payment and owe more now than they initially did when they graduated because of these interest rates and not being able to pay towards the principal. According to the US Department of Education, about 60% of people with federal student loans owe <$40,000. Which I know may not seem like a lot, but to those making under $80,000 (these include your nurses, your kids' teachers, their coaches, your physical therapists, your social workers, your reporters), it make take many years to get out of. And if you're spending so much time and money paying off these loans, you are not buying other goods and services and not investing your money which keeps you in this spiral for longer. Not to mention that this disproportionately affects minorities as they borrow an average of $25,000 more and make about $5,000 less (but we can save this discussion for another time.)
The other sentiment that I don't quite understand is "Well, I worked hard to pay off my loans, my wife's loans, my Cousin Joe's loans." This is a wonderful achievement and should be celebrated. But the thought of these high loans has deterred many people from seeking higher education. And isn't it in the best interests of our society as whole to be as highly educated as possible? I am of the belief that the more educated we all are, the more informed decisions we can make, and the better we can all move forward.
"But how will we pay for it" and "It is just going to add to the national debt." It's funny how these arguments only come about when trying to help the lower and middle classes. None of this gets brought up when we go to war, when multibillion dollar corporations get another tax cut, etc. I don't know about you, but I would rather my taxes go toward education, veterans' benefits, etc that actually helps my fellow Americans and pushes us forward.
None of this addresses the root cause of the problem, which I think is the increasingly high tuition that schools charge that is primarily taken on by individuals. Public schools should be primarily funded by the government. Your taxes pay for your local elementary, middle, and high schools. Why does this not include higher education too if it is basically mandatory to have if you want a decent paying job?
Now these are just the thoughts of a thirty-something millennial and proud Aggie who was fortunate enough to have financial and emotional support from his parents, scrapped for as many scholarships as I could, went to graduate school, and still had a lot of loans to pay. I was also lucky enough to be able to move in with my parents after graduation for two and half years to live rent-free and make a sizeable dent on my loans before venturing out on my own. My wife and I are on track to pay off all student loans by the end of the year. I worked hard and am proud of how far I have come, but it should not be this difficult or this expensive to seek higher education and make a better life for yourself. I want my kids to do even better than I have done, but I would like for the deck to not be stacked against them or anyone else trying to better themselves or society.
I hope my thoughts come across as reasonable and understandable as they did in my head. I welcome any and all discussion points as I would like to understand all sides of whatever argument you may have.
Thanks & Gig'Em
It seems that many of those against this graduated many moons ago (I graduated in 2013) and went to college at a very different time when tuition wasn't what it is today. The total federal student debt has more than tripled since 2007 when it was about $500 billion to the $1.6 trillion today. In the years since graduation, including my own, states continue to cut funding towards public college and education. So what's been done to combat this? Skyrocketing tuition and mountains of student debt.
I don't think many 17-18 year-olds fully understand what they are signing up for when they apply for federal student loans. Interest alone can oftentimes be a killer. I have many peers who have never missed a payment and owe more now than they initially did when they graduated because of these interest rates and not being able to pay towards the principal. According to the US Department of Education, about 60% of people with federal student loans owe <$40,000. Which I know may not seem like a lot, but to those making under $80,000 (these include your nurses, your kids' teachers, their coaches, your physical therapists, your social workers, your reporters), it make take many years to get out of. And if you're spending so much time and money paying off these loans, you are not buying other goods and services and not investing your money which keeps you in this spiral for longer. Not to mention that this disproportionately affects minorities as they borrow an average of $25,000 more and make about $5,000 less (but we can save this discussion for another time.)
The other sentiment that I don't quite understand is "Well, I worked hard to pay off my loans, my wife's loans, my Cousin Joe's loans." This is a wonderful achievement and should be celebrated. But the thought of these high loans has deterred many people from seeking higher education. And isn't it in the best interests of our society as whole to be as highly educated as possible? I am of the belief that the more educated we all are, the more informed decisions we can make, and the better we can all move forward.
"But how will we pay for it" and "It is just going to add to the national debt." It's funny how these arguments only come about when trying to help the lower and middle classes. None of this gets brought up when we go to war, when multibillion dollar corporations get another tax cut, etc. I don't know about you, but I would rather my taxes go toward education, veterans' benefits, etc that actually helps my fellow Americans and pushes us forward.
None of this addresses the root cause of the problem, which I think is the increasingly high tuition that schools charge that is primarily taken on by individuals. Public schools should be primarily funded by the government. Your taxes pay for your local elementary, middle, and high schools. Why does this not include higher education too if it is basically mandatory to have if you want a decent paying job?
Now these are just the thoughts of a thirty-something millennial and proud Aggie who was fortunate enough to have financial and emotional support from his parents, scrapped for as many scholarships as I could, went to graduate school, and still had a lot of loans to pay. I was also lucky enough to be able to move in with my parents after graduation for two and half years to live rent-free and make a sizeable dent on my loans before venturing out on my own. My wife and I are on track to pay off all student loans by the end of the year. I worked hard and am proud of how far I have come, but it should not be this difficult or this expensive to seek higher education and make a better life for yourself. I want my kids to do even better than I have done, but I would like for the deck to not be stacked against them or anyone else trying to better themselves or society.
I hope my thoughts come across as reasonable and understandable as they did in my head. I welcome any and all discussion points as I would like to understand all sides of whatever argument you may have.
Thanks & Gig'Em
-FTA c/o 2013
