Lay of the Land

The idea of student loan forgiveness splashed across the headlines.  The average student loan debt in Utah is $31k, but in other states the average is closer to $54k.  Ouch!  The cost of college has skyrocketed in the past two decades.  

Scholarships and Scraping By

Americans are familiar with pinching pennies and scraping by when faced with ridiculous inflation costs.  I was one of those penny pinching students, and through scholarships, Financial Aid, Food bank food and sheer hard work, I was able to graduate with a relatively low debt.  By the time my husband and I got through, we had a comparatively miniscule amount of $8k.  In the ten years following, I’ve paid that down to a measly $2.5K.  Does blanket loan forgiveness then devalue the hardworking student? 

Yes and No

When faced with the daunting bill of college, I choose to apply for scholarships (a LOT of scholarships) to try to cover my college expenses.  The remaining funds were gained by eating expired food bank food, and working 2 jobs.  While many were lucky enough to get scholarships, those who couldn’t got student loans–debt, and more debt

• Higher Tax Brackets

Many argue that college graduates end up in a higher tax bracket than non-college grads, and for the most part, that’s true. The logic that a college degree enables you to get a better paying job, is somewhat true.  According to The Tax Foundation college graduates tend to make double what non graduates make. So in the long run, college can really pay off.  

• Some were already promised forgiveness, but haven’t gotten it

A Bachelors of Science doesn’t always guarantee the big bucks. Knowing that we teachers make diddly squat, the government offered an incentive:  Promised loan forgiveness at the onset of the loan. Teach 5 years in a Title 1, dirt poor school. Or 10 years as a public servant.  The carrot dangled;  Betsy DeVoss created a gigantic bait and switch affecting the entire country, and has since been sued over the issue. Yet I’ve never known a teacher who actually had achieved loan forgiveness.  I’ve been applying for student loan forgiveness for 3 years with no success.  The bitter irony is our nation’s student loan crisis was created because of the extremely high cost of education— higher than High school.  

• Slavery of debt vs. living like a miser

So is my hard work devalued when thousands get an “Easy Pass” on their debt?  Maybe.  While student debt is being addressed now, these students have had to live with enormous debt dogging their every step for years; often keeping them from dreams of a home, or business, even cars, out of reach. Even now, borrowers are being toyed with like a cat with a string.  Will we get loan forgiveness?  Or Not?

I had to be very careful and conservative with my money for many years, but I’ve had a significantly smaller debt demon on my shoulder.  My character has been enriched by my experiences.

A more fair approach 

A small loan forgiveness will help those who have grappled with this demon for years and provide relief to those who succumbed to student loans even after living like a miser.  It would benefit those hard working individuals who choose a less prestigious college and worked so hard. Those who took the “Easy Pass” and accrued debt will still get some relief. But without forcing the American public to pay for their foolishness.

Footing the Bill 

Any wide scale debt forgiveness has huge implications for the economy,  so I suggest those receiving forgiveness are those who pay it back—since college graduates make more money, we should tax those brackets to foot the bill of loan forgiveness. Loan forgiveness now; higher taxes the rest of your life. As to those teachers who get loan forgiveness, pay them more; then they can help foot the bill.

In the end