YOUR STUDENT DEBT SHOULD NOT BE MY PROBLEM
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YOUR STUDENT DEBT SHOULD NOT BE MY PROBLEM
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Of all the pandering showcased during Democrats’ attempts to win back the presidency, wiping out student debt ranked at or near the top.
“I believe that education is the future for this country,” socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders barked during the first round of Democratic primary debates, explaining that’s why we must “eliminate student debt and we do that by placing a tax on Wall Street.” Sen. Amy Klobuchar spoke similarly. “I can tell you this,” the Minnesota senator demagogued, “if billionaires can pay off their yachts, students should be able to pay off their student loans.”
There can be no serious discussion of this issue, however, in 60-second sound bites. So, beyond the soak-the-rich shtick that shades every Democratic economic debate point, the candidates resorted to two tactics: shock and sob stories.
The Shock Strategy
The size of student debt provides the jolt necessary to peddle their plans to the American populace. “I got $100,000 in student loan debt myself,” California Rep. Eric Swalwell bemoaned. “College affordability is personal for us,” South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg shared, noting that his household has “six-figure student debt.” So, sure, “I believe in reducing student debt,” Buttigieg announced.
Next came the sob stories. Those student loans are suffocating a generation, the candidates suggested. After all, “40 million of us who can’t start a family,” the diaper-changing daddy Swalwell contradictorily proclaimed, adding that they “Can’t take a good idea and start a business and can’t buy our first home.”
“We can’t put people in a position where they aren’t able to go on and move on,” frontrunner Joe Biden agreed.
Tellingly, when not constrained by the debate format, these same politicians push the same narrative to garner support for bailing out student loans, all while the media provides the Democrats a free assist.
“With loans totaling more than $130,000,” Buttigieg’s household is “among the 43 million people in the United States who owe federal student loan debt,” the Associated Press reported last month, before highlighting the myriad plans to bail out student debt pushed by a cadre of presidential candidates. . .
Sob Stories Reign Supreme
Then the sad tales continue the sales pitch for a government solution to student debt—a ploy that began well before the 2016 elections. Here’s one of myriad media examples.
“Shayna Pilnick, 28, would like to buy an apartment but can’t afford a mortgage. Jacqueline Mannino, 23, and her boyfriend, Benjamin Prowse, 26, want to get married. Jacob Childerson, 24, and his wife, Jennifer, 25, wish they could start a family, but they live with Jennifer’s parents,” is how USA Today opened its 2013 profile of millennials unable to obtain their dream life because they are “tethered” to “tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt.”
There are many ways to counter these arguments, based on both economics and equity. But it’s hard to counter soundbites with sense, so instead, here are my inquiries for these politicians, the press, and all the students demanding relief from the burdens of their debt: Tell me your sob stories from age 12 on, not what you can’t do now, but what you couldn’t do then. Tell what you had to do then and through college to avoid what is now, to you, crushing student debt.
What time did you get up to deliver papers in junior high? How many hours a week did you work since 14 to save for college? How many toilets did you scrub? How many high school football games did you miss because you were working? What dream college did you forgo to avoid taking out student loans?
Which 8 a.m. class did you take so you could complete your major’s requirements and still work in the afternoon? Which bus line did you take to get to your job because you didn’t borrow to buy a car? What job did you work full-time while completing your MBA at night?
What did you do to afford college? What didn’t you do because of the cost of college? Were you getting tattoos and traveling your way through college? Were you pledging and partying? Did you go to your top-choice university? Maybe an out-of-state public university with higher tuition rates? Which spring break and study abroad destinations did you visit along the way?
Did you splurge on your fairytale wedding instead of paying down your student loans? What cars did you buy or lease? Where did you live? What electronics did you own? What clothing and other personal expenditures did you have? In short, show me the money and how you spent it!
None of my business? You’re right. Nor is your student debt my business or my problem.
(Excerpt from the Federalist. Article by Margot Cleveland.)
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Comments
What common sense. None of my children have college debt because they carefully planned and worked.
Well gosh. We used loans for our education and following graduation, we both began paying them back systematically on a monthly basis until the balance was zero. We borrowed knowing we’d have to repay for the privilege of borrowing. It’s called responsibility. When we purchase a car, we have no illusions someone may come flying by and remove that burden in a couple of yearsMaybe interest rates need to be reduced to help repayment BUT the fact is, money was borrowed and needs to be repaid.
I feel that it is the responsibility for the parents to fund their children’s education. Now, if the parents are hard working and poor and they really can’t afford it, the child has to help out. When you become a parent, this is your responsibility as a parent to save for their college education.
There is truth in this article, however, it doesn’t tell the whole story.
Because college education has been “dumbed down” many universities offer remedial reading and math classes which take away money for professors teaching legitimate college-level courses. The schools of “higher education” have done this because of federal money that is offered. This creates a situation where many students are unable to take all their required classes in four years and graduate, get a job, and start repaying.
Also, the cost of tuition has risen astronomically and the interest rates are high. Is anybody paying 7% on a home mortgage loan? I doubt it, but I consider interest rates on college loans to be usury.
I know there are students who fall into the category of complaints and criticisms that have been listed, but I also know there are students who have worked hard and lived cheaply in order to get an education that will allow them to use their God-given talents and who want to make a constructive difference in our nation.
One solution would be to dramatically lower the interest rates on student loans so that students can pay back what they borrowed instead of the amount increasing exponentially.
Another would be for four-year colleges and universities to not offer remedial classes. That is what community colleges were created to provide.
Father God,
I pray our Secretary of Education Betsy DeVoss will address these issues and will receive strategies from You
on the best ways to correct these problems. I ask that students will receive better advice on education choices. And LORD, I ask that Your family not look with disdain and scorn on those who are in financial debt from student loans. Help us pray for them to turn to You for forgiveness if they have been proud or foolish, and ask for guidance and Your deliverance from this bondage. I ask this in the name of Jesus who had compassion on people who needed help and hope. Amen.
Amen Barbara!! The end of this article says it well. The college students want “the full college experience”. They want to go to a college without thinking about the bills at the end of their education. They do not want to go to a local four year college or go to a college they can pay for. They do not want to go to a trade school where they can leave school with no debt and actually have a job too. They want to party for four years rather than be responsible. I have listened to many good speeches about this. And, Mike Rowe had a very interesting interview (on Mike Huckabee’s show) about how much money people could make if they went to a Technical School verses going to a 4 year university. But, the kids want to go out to eat and go to bars and have the latest cell phones rather than try to work toward a viable career. The Bible says that if a person doesn’t work, don’t let him or her eat. If I get a loan for Mercedes but I choose to eat out, party, and waste money on the latest electronics I cannot ask someone else to pay off my Mercedes when the bill comes due. If this younger generation does not want to do the work to research which college they can afford, then they should not be allowed to complain about the bills later.
It isn’t just the students. College costs have risen far faster than most of the rest of society. I’ve heard that some have huge funds available in their foundations. The only money I give to my alma mater is for scholarships. I hope they use it for that.
This article is so full of realism about how spoiled our youth have become. They really don’t know how or why they should be held responsible for creating this problem. It is part of the
entitlement mentality. I always say that if you can’t afford something then maybe you should lower your expectations. Go to trade school and learn a skill that will make you marketable. Sorry but I agree with the writer.
I totally agree with the writer. I am tired of the sob stories. I know many hardworking parents who put their kids through college debt free with major sacrifices on their part and the “kids” also worked. We are talking about young adults here…not children. These people weren’t going out to eat every night, frequenting godless Starbucks, buying the latest $1,000 phone, etc. etc. They lived below their means and saved money. Now OTHER people who made foolish, slothful choices want those wise people to kick in for their student debt!! No thanks!!