Earlier today on the show, we engaged in a LEGNTHY conversation about Joe Biden’s decision to forgive student loans for another 160,000+ people to the tune of 7.7 billion dollars.
This is a conversation that splits people down the middle regularly. As a millennial that has eliminated his debt, I think I can offer a unique perspective in this dialogue as someone who supports forgiveness, despite not standing to benefit from it.
However, with every passing year, my college experience is becoming less and less relevant to the situation at hand.
That’s why I’m thankful that my new intern, Erin Farina, was willing to share her thoughts and experiences as a current student and what she thinks is the most important part of this discussion.
Read her thoughts below:
I do not think that forgiving student loans is the solution that Joe Biden and other democratic politicians and advocates believe that it is.
Repaying loans is helpful, but it does nothing to address the root of the problem. I have friends now who will be graduating with 50k+ in debt, and if costs keep increasing, in ten years, there will be another generation with the same problem that millennials and older members of Gen Z are currently facing.
Repaying college debt, but not changing the cost of college or the interest rates isn’t solving the problem. It is solving half the problem. There are many steps involved in solving this problem.
In the greatest country in the world, college should be affordable for everyone, not just wealthy people.
A young person does not have control over the socio-economic status in which they are born, and they should have every opportunity to further their education and “pull themselves up by their bootstraps.”
(This is Ben again, here’s the true meaning behind the idea of “picking yourself up by your bootstraps.”)
There are several jobs in this country that are both desirable and require a college degree, and often times, when people cannot pay out of pocket, then they NEED to take out loans.
I absolutely think that we can all do better educating our high school students regarding financial literacy so they can make an informed decision before starting school. However, it is illogical to tell a student that if they cannot afford the education, they cannot have that career.
In one of the richest country in the world, the land of hopes and dreams, where we have educational opportunities kids in other countries do not have access to, young adults should be encouraged to further their education if that is their desired path instead of being told to avoid it due to the cost.
We should want America to be bustling and full of intelligent people who will change the world… right?
Ben here, again.
I think this is a very astute observation from some one experiencing this issue on the ground level.
I’ve always believed that there’s millions of high school and college students that acknowledge that a one time hand-out will not solve a very obvious systemic issue, and it’s comments like Erin’s that convince me that I’m right.
Whether we would like to admit it or not, we have all received help in one way or another, whether it be from within our community or from the government, and this is just another example of a system we’ve allowed to degrade and need to rectify.
I’m not expecting people to read one opinion piece and change their minds on this divisive issue, however I hope this will open some eyes to the realities facing millions of Americans trying to juggle a full course load, work study hours, internships, and trying to maintain some semblance of a social life.
Or at the very least, start the process to, as Erin so eloquently put it, “change the world”.
[www.cnbc.com ; uselessetymology.com ; Spreaker: Outside the Box]
