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Student Loan Debt and Forgiveness

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Student Loan Debt and Forgiveness
Portfolio Paper: Student Loan Debt and Forgiveness
Justin Puckett
5/17/2012
Public Administration: PMG300
Colorado State University Global Campus

When it comes to achieving success in the work force and finding a fulfilling and lucrative career there are few things more important that higher education. Going to college and getting a degree is essential in finding success in the work force. The problem is when the cost of gaining that degree outweighs the financial compensation the career that follows is able to supply. Very few people are able to pay for college out of pocket. The result of this is that students seeking higher education are forced to take out massive student loans. This means that they are entering the work force after college already thousands of dollars in debt and under water.
Outstanding student loan debt topped $1 trillion dollars last year. (Block) This figure is now exceeding the total amount of credit card debt in the U.S. Thousands of borrowers are now forced to postpone important life events such as getting married, buying a home or having children until their debts are paid off. Defaults on loans are rising, which typically leads to larger loan balances. This problem is not limited to young adults. Many student loan borrowers are older adults who went back to school to finish or gain a degree that they put off due to various life events. Others are parents who co-signed loans for their children because they were unable to afford college out of pocket. There’s widespread agreement that student debt is a problem, but there's little consensus on how to go about solving the issue.
The average undergraduate student leaves school today owing nearly $29,000 and graduate students leave owing about $44,000. (Heavey) Interest rates on subsidized federal Stafford student loans, one of the primary loan options available to students, are set to double on July 1st 2012 unless Congress steps in to prevent it. Recently Senate Republicans


References: Green, B.(2012).” Obama, Romney Agree on Extending Student Loan Interest Rate Cut”. U.S. News & World Report. http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/04/23/obama-romney-agree-on-extending-stafford-interest-rate-cut Heavey, S King, N. Jr. (2012). “Student Loans: Two Can Play At This Game”. The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304065704577424821235434812.html Lako, W Shafritz, J., Russell, E., & Borick, C. (2011). Introducing Public Administration. New York, NY: Pearson Education, Inc. Weise, K. (2012). “Private Student Loans Are Becoming More Competitive”. Business Week. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-23/private-student-loans-are-becoming-more-competitive Weston, Liz
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