No Forgiveness For Student Loan Debt
No Forgiveness For Student Loan Debt
Danielle McArthur Moore
Lorain County Community College
Kayla Webley touched on a topic that will soon hit very close to home for me. Student loans have been a necessary evil during my schooling and, as the end of school approaches, I too will be faced with the daunting task of repayment. While there are many good points made in her article, I am by no means on board with the idea. Simply giving a “bailout” for college graduates who owe loans is an extremely easy way out for many successful graduates. Yes, there are people who struggle with repayment, but what about the graduates who choose to make other leisure-related financial commitments a priority, rather than paying what is owed for their education? In Webley’s article, she starts by talking about a petition that she has seen circulating on Facebook many times before. This petition was created by a college graduate who seemed to have thought that his education worth $80,000 should be free (or simply put, added to our nation’s already stifling debt). According to the article, the student loan debt for graduates was, at the time, valued at $1 trillion. Stimulating the fiscal economy is certainly something that we need to work on as a country. However, as the article states, “Someone who has $50,000 in debt forgiven isn’t likely to pump all those dollars back into the economy in a short amount of time.” There is much truth in that statement. It would take many years for someone to spend that much money, because that money is likely to be acquired over time. Relying on the sometimes minimal monthly payments towards student loans to stimulate the economy would be like watching paint dry. I am a firm believer that we get what we pay for. We have made choices during our education without having a gun pointed to our heads. Some people may have substantial amount of student loans, while others may not. When thinking about your career and why you
Danielle McArthur Moore
Lorain County Community College
Kayla Webley touched on a topic that will soon hit very close to home for me. Student loans have been a necessary evil during my schooling and, as the end of school approaches, I too will be faced with the daunting task of repayment. While there are many good points made in her article, I am by no means on board with the idea. Simply giving a “bailout” for college graduates who owe loans is an extremely easy way out for many successful graduates. Yes, there are people who struggle with repayment, but what about the graduates who choose to make other leisure-related financial commitments a priority, rather than paying what is owed for their education? In Webley’s article, she starts by talking about a petition that she has seen circulating on Facebook many times before. This petition was created by a college graduate who seemed to have thought that his education worth $80,000 should be free (or simply put, added to our nation’s already stifling debt). According to the article, the student loan debt for graduates was, at the time, valued at $1 trillion. Stimulating the fiscal economy is certainly something that we need to work on as a country. However, as the article states, “Someone who has $50,000 in debt forgiven isn’t likely to pump all those dollars back into the economy in a short amount of time.” There is much truth in that statement. It would take many years for someone to spend that much money, because that money is likely to be acquired over time. Relying on the sometimes minimal monthly payments towards student loans to stimulate the economy would be like watching paint dry. I am a firm believer that we get what we pay for. We have made choices during our education without having a gun pointed to our heads. Some people may have substantial amount of student loans, while others may not. When thinking about your career and why you