True student loan debt reform requires fixing the college system
I have seen firsthand the?crippling effects of student loan debt on borrowers?and their families and applaud the impact the student loan forgiveness decision will have on borrowers who are being crushed by their debt and need the most help.?
It will provide up to $20,000 in debt cancellation to Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 in debt cancellation to non-Pell Grant recipients. Ninety percent of relief dollars will go to borrowers earning less than $75,000 per year.?
I still?firmly believe?that to ultimately address the student loan debt problem we must fix the college system by lowering costs and providing the necessary programs that lead to quality jobs, but borrowers are drowning and need action now.?And the relief plan will help redress racial economic inequity that has created extreme wealth gaps in our country.
Frankly, the numbers are astounding. Per the White House:
Let me be clear—although the recently unveiled forgiveness plan will provide immediate relief for many Americans, it is a political policy and not a solution to the real challenges with our higher ed system.??
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In fact, the numbers prove that the ROI in higher education is not working for the majority of students. College is too expensive and unfortunately does not necessarily lead to successful outcomes. Degree and program offerings are not always relevant for today’s labor market, limiting graduates’ job prospects and their ability to pay back their loans.?
Historically, the goal of higher education was upward mobility—a good job and a path to the middle class. But, for many borrowers, the opposite is true. They are saddled with debt and have salaries that cannot keep pace with debt payments.?
The cost of attending college?increased?by a whopping 169% between 1980 and 2020, while earnings of Americans aged 22 to 27 rose by a far more modest 19%, according to an analysis of U.S. Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and National Center for Education Statistics data.?
During the 2019-2020 academic year,?women received 58%?of bachelor’s degrees awarded, and they shoulder the burden of most of the country’s student loan debt while grappling with pay inequality. According to the American Association of University Women,?women hold almost two-thirds of the country’s $1.54-trillion student debt—a staggering $929 billion.
All this underscores only one conclusion—we need a solution and not a temporary stopgap.?
Read my op-ed for the New York Post here.
Tech | Business Development | Project Management |
1 年Well well, here is what I think https://tunow.net/2023/07/17/solving-the-student-loan-crisis-a-path-to-financial-freedom/
Wicked Creative Director ? Brand Design + Strategy | Creative Leadership | Champion of the "What if ..." | Certified Facilitator in LEGO?SERIOUS PLAY?
1 年This is a really great thing you are doing. The problem is so apparent and your observations on the ROI are spot on. Having two rising seniors at UGA the stress of finding work is setting in. They both have scholarships and we are paying all other costs so they can graduate without debt is going to be a blessing but many of their friends will not have that outcome. If more companies looked at the opportunity to hire talented recent grads with the assurance to help pay of their student debt after a certain point in the job, they may see a better quality of retention and work produced. If this was subsidized in part by the government it may be a way to effectively implement a form of debt forgiveness. It would be a win, win, win.
Data Scientist | MBA | MSBA Candidate at Georgetown University
1 年Dan, thanks for sharing!
QX Edcation- Co-Founder
2 年Absolutely right.
Senior Director of Product @ CredibleMind | Strategy + Design
2 年This is so refreshing to see from a leader in the education space. As a nation, if we can identify predatory lending in other other industries - why are we so reluctant to look at the practices that target actual minors? I completely agree with your points about reducing cost and the socioeconomic bias of loans, and I think you start to hint at some deeper issues. Without extensive counseling on compound interest, employment/income/cost of living trends, and personal finance management, there is no way that a minor can give "informed consent" to the financial burden of a loan. That kind of information is highly biased by class and familial culture - if we were talking about selling mortgages to children, there would be universal outrage. Not to mention, federal subsidies are often based on attendance - not graduation rates. The lack of accountability is astounding and very "2008 housing bubble"-esque.