Student Loan Debt Forgiveness : Stimulus For The Economy

What is your American Dream? For most people, the American Dream involves a quality education, a family, a home, good health, and financial security. Many people all over the world know about the “American Dream,” but what they may not know is how it is being affected by…. With an increasing number of young people going to college and the increased cost of college, many students must take out loans to pay for their education. According to Norris, student loans have historically been a way to pursue a college education for a person who might not otherwise be able to afford it. However, student loans and the accompanying debt are quickly leading to problems financially for those that borrow that will continue for many decades (B1). Dave Ramsey,

In her essay “Is Forgiving Student Loan Debt a Good Idea,” Kayla Webley argues that forgiving debt could be a bad idea. Her article was exceptionally influential in demonstrating the way that the payment would put the nation in a bad position. It would send the wrong message to individuals who attended a university and the individuals who didn’t. Webley touched on Robert Applebaum’s petition to provide a one-time bailout of student loan debt.

Kayla Webley’s “Is Forgiving Student Loan Debt a Good Idea?” essay first appeared in the Time magazine in 2012. In her essay, she aims to convince her readers that Robert Applebaum’s idea of one-time bailout of student loan debt isn’t a good idea and how it will affect us economically and politically. Although she includes many rational arguments through the use of statistical facts and comparisons, her objectivity comes into doubt because of her word choice, appeal to ethos, and illogical conclusions.

An education is one of the most important tools a person can acquire. It gives them the skills and abilities to obtain a job, earn a wage, and then use that wage to better their lives and the lives of their loved ones. However, due to the seemingly exponential increase in the costs of obtaining a college degree, students are either being driven away entirely from earning a degree or taking out student loans which cripple their financial prospects well after graduation. Without question, the increasing national student loan debt is one of the most pressing economic issues the United States is dealing with, as students who are debt ridden are not able to consume and invest in the economy. Therefore, many politicians and students are calling

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.

With the ever-increasing tuition and ever-tighten federal student aid, the number of students relying on student loan to fund a college education hits a historical peak. According to a survey conducted by an independent and nonprofit organization, two-thirds of college seniors graduated with loans in 2010, and each of them carried an average of $25,250 in debt. (Reed et. al., par. 2). My research question will focus on the profound effect of education debt on American college graduates’ lives, and my thesis statement will concentrate on the view that the education policymakers should improve financial aid programs and minimize the risks and adverse consequences of student loan borrowing.

Because of the nation’s national rising debt, student loan forgiveness has been a significant topic of debate because of how much it can affect our nation’s debt and doesn’t always help the student. Student loan debt is one of the highest debt causes, but sometimes we forget that we are the ones that sign the line on the contract to be in years of debt. This is because we value our education. But this does not mean that just because we can’t find an amazing, high paying job right out of college that we should have our loans forgiven. We want the easy way out of something that isn’t easy, so why should the government pay for our debt? Yes, college is very expensive and that is the governments fault, but again we are the ones that signed the line on the loan papers. (Sam Adolphsen, 583)

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.”

Student debt has led to many negative consequences for students attending college. Senators tend to have different views when it comes to solving the student debt issue. Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts, has been concerned about the constant rising of interest rates on student loans throughout the years. She proposes a certain bill to help cut down such rates. Bernie Sanders, another Democratic senator from Vermont, focused on the importance of the young generation earning an education. He attempts to make college more accessible for everyone. Lastly, Robert Reich, a former United States Secretary of Labor, has pointed out that college is not for everyone. He believes that individuals should have a choice rather than being forced into college due to society.

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

In the article “Is forgiving student loan debt a good idea” by Kayla Webley, a writer for Time, Webley feels that from a human standpoint forgiving student debt holds some appeal (2). Kayla Webley refers to Robert Applebaum who started a petition in 2009 with a petition of nearly 670,000 signatures. The comments from persons posting the petition are quoted as “guessing this will never happen but it can’t hurt to sign on” (1). Burdened with an estimated $88,000 in debt, Applebaum’s proposal is to provide a one-time bailout, of student loan debt-as a way to stimulate the still limp economy (2). Webley goes on to explain that such a plan has a problem. The problem being is that with an educational bailout most borrowers who can and should pay off their student loan would take this bailout, along with the students who really can not afford their loan payments and need the relief from their student loans. In Webley’s words “If forgiveness from a bailout was offered, who wouldn’t take the handout (3).

President Obama seems to be helping with these debts the best that he can with certain programs that he has made available to the lower working class that are attempting to attend college. I believe that the government should be helping out students that are responsible enough to take on the commitment. Although society’s norms lead people to believe that student loans are the ideal solution to fund a college education, in actuality, it is more likely to drive students deeper into poverty without government assistance.

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