Is Forgiving Student Loan Debt A Good Idea?

The essay “Forgive Student Loans?” by Richard Vedder explains why student loans should not be forgiven. His thesis statement states, “Alongside their ranting about the inequality of incomes, the alleged inordinate power of Wall Street and large corporations, the high level of unemployment, and the like, one policy goal ranks high with most protesters: the forgiveness of student-loan debt.” Vedder acknowledges that the actual problem was the creation of federally subsidized loans. These loans increase our national debt; in addition to that, most people pursuing their bachelor’s degree don’t even receive their degree (Vedder 405). He also states the original purpose of the loan was to help the poor, but it hasn’t fulfilled that purpose. Most

There are many moral dilemma associated with college debt forgiveness. Those that decided not to go to school due to the high cost of it are suffering from the lost opportunity. They have already made the decision to not be in debt and are now seeing that it could have been forgiven. Another dilemma is the burden of paying for colleges on the taxpayers. Should someone who has never met you have to pay for your education? This argument is similar to the welfare system. However you stand on these issues know that student loan debt will affect you. It is up to the voting age Americans to make a decision that will affect the older generation, our generation, as well as the younger generations. The steps that we take now can and will set a precedent

Webley’s argument seems valid against Applebaum petition because she is able to give several great ways to why this would turn out to be a bad idea. She states that most borrowers can afford to pay off their loans but at the same time there are others who need the relief of not paying it back. She makes the point about taxpayers footing the bill for borrowers’ education, future generations, and the possibility of people just taking loans out praying for a bailout. She asked the question “why should taxpayers–especially those who never attended college in the first place–foot the bill for the borrowers?” (131).

She notes that, though a single student’s debt can be as great as one hundred thousand dollars, only about 1% of students are put into that position (130). She also adds a statistic revealing that the average debt is around $27,500 (130). Not only does she use her factual evidence to support her own argument, but to also formulate a rebuttal against Applebaum’s proposition. For example, Webley notes that this solution may cost the government nearly three trillion dollars. However, she does acknowledge that about 670,000 people defend Applebaum’s argument, in order to introduce positive aspects from the other side of the argument

Student loan debt affects college students all over the United States. Today students are having to take out loans in order to pay for all of their college expenses. It can be a pain to deal with the hassle of paying back the loans. The problems with student loans include causing students to go into debt that they are not able to pay them off in the given time which makes them put major life decisions on hold, and the debt stay with the student even through bankruptcy. A solution that would solve these problems is the idea of debt forgiveness which is the idea that the government will get rid of all the loan debt for college graduates.

Most students do not make enough money to be able to pay for college debt free. In addition, most families don’t make enough money to pay for the college costs upfront. For this reason, students have been borrowing money from private loans to be able to attend a college/university. Although the government might give several students, who apply, money to pay for books and housing, it does not cover the total cost to attend college and obtain a degree. This might not be encouraging for students who wish to receive an education but do not want to owe money in the future. Loans have been scaring off students who wish to further their education and live their lives comfortably after college. If student loans were to be forgiven, graduates would not have to worry about owing a large amount of money.

Student loan debt relief is a controversial issue in America today. Student loan debt affects twelve million college students, roughly 60% of all college attendees, per year (Student Loan Debt Statistics). Student loan debt relief rose to the forefront of economic news during the financial market crash of 2008. The U.S. Government has developed a debt relief plan that extends payments over a 25-year period, with a full forgiveness of all remaining debt at the end of that 25-year term (Ensuring That Student Loans Are Affordable). During this repayment period, payments can be suspended during times of unemployment, giving hardship students a break from their student loan payments. Many people feel that student

Student loan forgiveness is a terrible idea. Sure, in an idealistic world it would be great if the country could forgive all student loan debt and thus bring relief to all students across the nation. Realistic? Not necessarily! Instead of the fairytale notion of student loan forgiveness being the answer to all the problems, America would fair better in taking the initiative in making reforms to the educational loan system that are a bit more realistic. Student loans are a massive predicament in the U.S. that can no longer be ignored. The Atlantic 311.2 article “The myth of the student-loan crisis(CHARTIST)(Statistical data)” by Allan, Nicole, and Derek Thompson states that to date student loan debt surpasses all other forms of debt with over a one trillion dollars sum (2013). The United States should stop being complacent on an issue that has affected and ruined so many lives and begin finding ways to relieve the proverbial and ever-present menacing “Student Loan” pitfall.

Many students struggle and struggle to pay their loans back, some even into their late fifties. This both our faults and the governments fault. If tuition wasn’t as high we wouldn’t have so much debt, but again it was our choice to sign the papers for a lifetime of paying back the cost of our education. We value education, and that is why we agree to pay as much as we do. We hope to further our education so that somewhere down the line it pays us more than it originally cost. Because the more degrees we have, the better chance we have at a better job. But the government is responsible for raising their prices on tuition. By raising our tuition the teachers got raises on their checks. But sometimes our debt isn’t always worth it, a good amount of students drop out from college each year without finishing their degree but they still have to pay for the classes they took even though it doesn’t benefit them in the end because they have no degree. (Sam Adolphsen, 183)

The education correspondent for Time magazine, undergraduate at the University of Washington, concentrating on journalism and political science, and graduate work at Northwestern University, specializing in new media, Kayla Webley, in her essay “Is Forgiving Student Loan Debt a Good Idea?” states Robert Applebaum’s solution for student loan debt is a “radical and wildly unfeasible solution” in both economically and politically. Applebaum’s proposal is to “provide a one-time bailout of student debt…as a way to stimulate the still-limping economy.” However, Webley counters the solution has to have “the purported benefited and fairness of a one-time student loan bailout.”

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

Student debt forgiveness is not the answer, for it is the cost that is the issue that needs to be addressed. As Robert Applebaum states in his short essay mentioned in the article “Student Loans: Should Some Indebtedness Be Forgiven?” tuition rates are increasing at ridiculous rates because colleges somehow feel that because the government makes it easy to get a loan it justifies their rising tuition costs (466). Instead of arguing for student loan forgiveness, perhaps protesters should refocus their attention at the paramount reason for needing student loans in the first place.

Attention Step: Haley Edwards, author of the article titled “But Can America Afford This Approach to Solving Student Debt?”, from the Time magazine, published November 30, 2015, tells a story of a woman named Allison Minks, who owes an amount of $99,326 in federal student loans. Mink is a 35-year-old mother of two and her full-time job as a counselor at a nonprofit clinic does not begin to cover her student loan debt. Tired of being in debt, Mink went searching for a solution and she found a program that says if she works in public service, she can get loan forgiveness after just 10 years. In other words, because of this program, Minks now pays an affordable amount each month and she’ll be scot-free before she is 45. But, Mink is only covered

student debt crisis has reached an all time high with debt reaching a total of 1.3 trillion dollars across the United States.With tuition cost increasing,lack of scholarships and unpaid back loans,student debt will continue to increase even higher.The enormous amount of debt put upon each student creates the inability of those students to help the economy grow.Our economy as we know it is a loop and decreasing the student debt significantly will help the economy grow.Instead of putting that money towards the government where it won 't be used to help decrease the student debt as we can see by the total debt, it should go to the community, such as purchasing homes,cars,consumer goods,sales tax which will help improve the economy even more.Crippling student debt is stifling the growth of the U.S. economy because it inhibits graduates from being able to spend money on consumer goods and home purchases. To alleviate this, lenders should be required to forgive student loans in cases where students are unable to repay their debts,decrease a cost of attendance,and increase scholarship opportunities from universities.Doing so would benefit the growth of the economy by increasing tax revenues, unfreezing credit markets, and creating jobs.

In the United States today, the number of students graduating college with student loan debt is quite astonishing. In the article titled, “How the $1.2 Trillion College Debt Crisis Is Crippling Students, Parents And The Economy”, we will examine and break down the student loan debt crisis by the numbers. Today, almost two-third’s of students graduating college are graduating with an average of $26,000 in debt. For most students, $26,000 is a lot of money when the average annual income for a first year graduate is only in the mid $40,000 a year range. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, student loan debt has reached a new milestone, crossing the $1.2 trillion mark (Denhart, 2013, Introduction, par. 2). With student loan debt levels