Opinion: Student Debt Relief

 After reading and listening to the differing opinions about the newly announced government student debt relief, I have come to some conclusions.

Student debt forgiveness is basically writing off a portion of predatory interest that the government has allowed. It will not help everyone, especially those with large amounts of debt (the top end of qualifying loan relief is $20k). Nor will it help those those who tried to manage their debt load by refinancing to private loans. Those folks are just stuck, and it is all so unjust.

Higher education is required to fill needed professional services such as medical and mental health care, engineering/architecture, law/political science, etc. Without free or reduced-cost higher education opportunity, these necessary societal positions will be filled with only those that can afford education (those in higher income levels), but also will be more and more unavailable to those who cannot (which further entrenches an oppressive class system). This will greatly reduce the diversity of life experience brought to these important professions.

Currently, I have a friend who is accumulating a large amount of student debt going through medical school. My family physician is still carrying a large debt load after years of working, and I have had adjunct professors in university tell of their ongoing student debt load. AARP just ran an article talking about the many people that carry student debt into retirement. This circumstance of taking on student debt to get necessary professional degrees can be a deterrent to potential students. Without doctors and teachers, what then? Further, I don’t believe that people should be put in a position to have to justify why they want to earn higher degrees; society admires those with degrees, but then demands that higher education be justified: “They chose to go to college, now they must pay the bill for their choices!” How does a person justify why they want to undergo all the education and internship required to become a physician? Or a lawyer? Is it selfish to desire to be an accountant or computer tech instead of a restaurant worker, security guard, or cashier?

Trade schools are very important to our society’s function and should also be considered ‘higher education.’ However, they are not the answer for those who cannot afford traditional college or university. These trade schools often charge stiff tuition fees and encourage potential students (and families) to pay with federal student loans (I am speaking from experience - my middle son went to trade school and came out with student debt).

The bottom line for me is that if higher education/trade school is required by most employers offering jobs that pay a living wage (not to mention offering health insurance, but that’s another argument), then that education needs to be available to all who want to work for higher degrees and training without committing to crippling long-term debt.

In the current circumstance, one can choose to go to college/trade school to get a better job but agrees to staggering (life) debt to do so. Or one can choose not to attend college/trade school after high school and be restricted to minimum or lower paying non-professional jobs. There is nothing wrong with working in customer service or retail, other than the low pay – and that is fine if that is what a person wants to do. But choosing between lifelong debt or living at poverty level is not much of a choice in my view – it is servitude to the upper classes and elites that have the discretionary resources to pay for higher education out of pocket (who, I believe, are in those classes mostly due to inheritance, the benefit of low-cost education, or the profit from the work of low-paid workers).

I believe the government should, yes with taxpayer’s money, invest in the higher education needs of the society to make a way for all to work towards their education and professional goals. This would go a long way to make our country a more prosperous and equitable place to live. 

Full disclosure: I have student debt from the education that is required for my new employment in the field of mental health care; as it stands now, I will be working to pay my federal student debt bill. My youngest son has chosen not to go to college yet because he hesitant to incur student debt and is somewhat stuck in a low-paying job; for him, there are few viable options.

The only way out of this mess is student debt forgiveness, doing away with predatory interest on student loans, and reinstituting government supports for colleges, universities, and trade schools to keep tuition at manageable rates. Our society needs professionals, (not to mention educated citizens who can critically think,) and those professionals require higher education.