In 2001, I graduated high school and headed off to college. My parents had saved enough to cover one year of tuition, room, and board. After that year it became clear to me that I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I had started thinking I wanted to become a teacher, and quickly changed my mind after some student teaching experiences that made me realize it’s not for me (seriously, all of you that are teachers are AMAZING).
I went on to get married in 2004, and began to slowly work toward obtaining a degree in business, despite making about $10 collective dollars an hour between my husband and myself. Grants covered some of it, but the rest was student loans. I didn’t understand compound interest when I signed that paperwork, I was just grateful for the opportunity.
In 2009, my son was born and college got put on hold. In 2014, I’d decided it was time to go back! My son was preparing to start kindergarten and it felt manageable to do some schoolwork during the day while he was gone (I was working mid shifts to help minimize daycare bills). Then, my son woke up with knee pain that led to a cancer diagnosis a week later. He fought for his life through a three year treatment cycle that cost 1.5 million dollars. Through that time, my husband lost his job so we were living on one income, and I was still going to school full time working on that degree.
Almost eleven years later and my son is in full remission and fully recovered. I graduated last year with a 4.0 from a local college. We’ve paid off the multiple tens of thousands of dollars in medical debt from his treatment (just last year!), although he still has thousands per year in medical costs from treatment of the “after effects” that no one warns you about.
We will die with our student loans. It’s something I’ve accepted and I only borrowed $35k. It’s grown to almost $60k, in spite of all the payments I’ve made on it. I’ve accepted that consequence in return for my son being alive and well.
It’s so disheartening to see all the “you took the loan, you owe the loan” comments all over social media. In most cases, I agree. These loans, however, are insanely predatory and we are signing away our lives at EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD.
I am so sorry for all you have been through. I paid for college but it was much less expensive when I went. College has become so expensive which is ridiculous. I have never felt that “you took the loan, you need to pay for it.” I loved what Biden was trying to do. He was trying to make repaying the debt doable. I would rather my taxes help people like you than cover for wealthy people that aren’t paying taxes. Let’s start garnishing their wages. Good luck to you and your family.
Thank you so much for the kind words! I feel the same! We are often so much more alike than we might think sometimes. This community is one of the best ones out there, and I’m thankful it.
I too would rather my tax money go towards those that aren’t already dripping in money.
I feel you entirely!!! I was in a similar situation with loans, making payments and never getting them paid off. What you borrowed to what you owe is totally unfair. If they structured the student loans the way they do a car loan or house it would be doable and we could actually pay them off. Congress also needs to do their part and either restructure the student loan provisions or eliminate it all together so that college is free for everyone!
I am so sorry for what you and your family, endured. You might want to call your representatives and share your story with them. That’s impactful. All of them really are.
I never understood why they won’t cap the interest rate on these loans. Why are college loans at a higher rate than buying a house? If we want a well-educated country we need to prioritize this. I am fortunate to be able to pay down my loans, but I am a nurse practitioner have been paying for 13 years and have 12 to go. I can’t save for my kids future because I’m still paying off my debt so this cycle will continue for my family.
One of the best ways the gov’t could help with student loans is to stop the practice of capitalizing interest. I don’t understand why it’s even allowed - on any loan, but especially on student loans. It’s outrageous.
The biggest problem I see with so many education debates is we have shifted to seeing education as an individual benefit instead of a societal benefit. While I understand the MANY issues with our existing higher education system (including the cost and loans), I am disheartened when it seems like the solution is just “fewer people go to college and everyone goes into trades”. How are we to compete on a global economic scale if we have fewer college graduates? I guarantee China is throwing money hand over fist to educate the next generation of scientists, doctors, and engineers. Instead college students here get debt and shame for even trying.
Really well put. I have always been very confused by why I see it framed as “the trades” vs “higher education” as some kind of battle. Both are important. We should have systems in place that facilitate making it possible for people to do WHATEVER it is they want! We need everyone and all these different skills.
Society is better with lots of people doing lots of different things! I’m friends with plumbers and general contractors and barbers and engineers and doctors and all of them were motivated to start in their careers because they wanted to HELP people! It seems like there’s this belief that people go to college to feel better than others and try to get individually wealthy?? No, that’s our politicians lol
Agree completely. A more educated public benefits everyone. There are people who would make such meaningful contributions to society who don’t get the education necessary because they can’t afford it. It’s such a shame.
This would have been a great analysis to read before the election and is another glaring example of how Dems completely dropped the ball on getting the message out about the good things the Biden Admin was doing or countering MAGA false narratives about it. Biden wasn’t wiping away the legitimate debt of “lazy takers.” He attempted to undo some of the more predatory aspects of these loans and give relief to those who had been paying for years and getting nowhere. Just think of the economic power that could be unleashed by millions of people who had a little more money to spend in support of small businesses and other commerce. It’s the same rationale used to justify tax breaks for corporations and the rich. This Administration has decided to give even more tax breaks to the upper echelon while at the same time decimating the IRS to the tune of billions in lost revenue each year due to lack of enforcement and collection. And at the same time, this billionaire, Linda McMahon, has overseen the gutting of the Dept of Education and turned it into a predatory entity to, for all intents and purposes, suck blood out of turnips. Please excuse my language but that is just completely f**cked up.
I graduated high school in 2000 and college in 2004. I left school with about $18K in loans total. I did get a fair bit of help from grants and scholarships. When I graduated the job market was not great. I worked retail and a part time job for the first year. I made around $22K that year before taxes, if I was lucky. I could not afford loan payments. My first real big girl job paid $25K and it stayed there thanks to the recession for years. Eventually the IDR program was created. I was making payments but the interest compounded in a way that it was like I was just lighting that money on fire.
In 2023 after working for 17 years in public service and making payments since 2006 I qualified for PSLF. I had paid back that original $18K over that time but over $35K was forgiven. Doesn’t even begin to make sense how I could have paid my original loans off and still owed twice what I took out. But that compounding interest is a killer.
I was a first generation college graduate. No one in all the explaining about college financial aid explained compounding interest. I was told *repeatedly* that student loan debt was ‘good’ debt and that I would be thankful I took them out. I think people saw a smart kid who was poor and thought college was the answer no matter the cost. I wish someone had stopped me and said what about community college? What about doing things this way?
It’s hard to look back and say I’d for sure do things differently. I made life long friends at college. I still talk to them daily. They have supported me through some of the hardest times in my life. I learned to think differently and was exposed to people and situations I never would have experienced otherwise. But it came at a financial cost.
I think about the people who die with student debt a lot. The current system is not working. There has to be a way to foster a variety of paths; community college, technical school or four year college, that doesn’t leave kids in crippling debt. Because all of those options cost and the cost of living continues to rise as well.
Right now my husband and I owe about double the amount of loans we took out due to forbearance periods and income adjusted payments. I am 70 and had to retire due to health issues. We also did a spousal consolidation which was recommended then but they have now discontinued so we can’t participate in many of the programs they have had. Biden had set up to wipe out a lot of the compounded interest and correct a bunch of problems from Navient but that all died. My husband jokes that we can’t die until our student loans are paid off. I told him death is the only way out. It’s one of those laugh or cry things.
@Sharon, does the money from forgiven loans actually shift to taxpayers?
And if that’s true, then wouldn’t it also be true that when people default on their loans, it also shifts to taxpayers?
Therefore, making substantive changes to loan practices (like capping interest rates, eliminating compounding interest, etc) would benefit ALL OF US - not just the students who are borrowing.
Good question! If that were true - money forgiven from SLs shifted to taxpayers - then WHY did we forgive all those PPP loans? Why was that somehow OK to do? When you seen who benefited, and how that tilts strongly towards a certain political party, it certainly causes some suspicion…
I was told to switch to the SAVE plan (currently a NP working at a non profit medical clinic) then it was stuck in the courts so I have been placed in a forbearance. I try calling to see how I can start making payments again and nobody helps me. When I try to apply for a new payment plan there is harsh rhetoric about my last 7 years of payment not counting to PSLF and to talk to someone on the phone. Then nobody picks up the phone. I find it laughable that the rhetoric is people don’t want to pay back loans. I would love to make payments but the system is so messed up there isn’t a clear path for me to do it.
Yes! Same here. I have less than a year left now until my 120 payments but will have to buyback almost 2 years worth of payments. I have no idea what they will charge for the buyback, IF they’ll even approve my buyback, or when. And who’s to say they won’t change something again before next year. Living with this stress over your student loans is not normal!!
Me too! MOHELA has all our SAVE loans stuck in forbearance and I am very very worried what will happen. Of course borrowers will suffer the effects of that. And NO ONE will talk to you!
And only 3 years away from forgiveness (after 25! years of payments) but I don't have much faith that the forgiveness program will still be intact by then.
I literally just made my last student loan payment last month! But the only way I could do it was to double my payments. It was hard and took 4 years of that to do, but it’s a great feeling. I was absolutely encouraged by Navient to defer or go into forbearance for YEARS while interest was accruing because I didn’t understand any of it
I took out $30k in student loans to finish my undergraduate degree and once I graduated, I look hard at the numbers and realized I’d never pay it back on their payment plan. I got a private loan through my credit union and paid it off in 5 years. Best move I ever made.
It’s predatory. There is no reason these loans have higher interest than a mortgage. And it’s frankly nonsense that somehow our government could afford to forgive hundreds of thousands of dollars in PPP loans after COVID, but offer no student relief. BTW **several** members of Congress benefited from those PPP loans being forgiven; and now they demand that ordinary people - not those earning a six-figure salary like Congressional reps are - “accept the responsibility” of paying back what they’ve borrowed. OK Senator Whosis, but why don’t those rules apply to YOU, too?
This article leaves that out. It also omits what Reagan did, first as governor of CA, and then as President, to make college LESS affordable, therefore adding to the whole student loan debacle.
Meanwhile in America we’ve all been told me must earn a college degree to get a good job. Most employers want to know you have a college degree (they don’t even care re: the subject, just require one, period) before they’ll consider hiring you.
It’s become a quagmire for all but the rich.
Anyone with a brain can see that it’s the high & compounding interest that is the killer here. It’s insane to expect someone to pay off a debt that doubles and triples while you are actively paying it off, trapping many people into debt for a lifetime. At least when paying on a mortgage you are gaining equity. Here, your credit score drops lower and lower as your debt grows, and you cannot advance anything in your life: home, family, security, legacy for your children. This system is designed to keep people in poverty just as many tax laws are designed to benefit the most wealthy among us. It’s criminal that our government hasn’t done better for people wanting an education; in fact, this intractable situation feels like just another aspect of the war on education by the GOP. Not hard to imagine, considering they so strongly oppose ANY relief efforts on SLs.
Thank you Sharon for shedding some light on this issue. For me (as well as many, I'm sure, who frequent this forum) this is personal.
My student loan nightmare began in 1980. Over the course of the next 20 years while completing my bachelor's, then six years later, my master's--I attempted to navigate the horror that is the student-loan process.
The total principle amount that I borrowed over that time period was in the neighborhood of $70K. Because I completed my coursework in sporadic fashion across multiple institutions, I heavily utilized forbearances. However, I did make relatively substantial payments during repayment periods. Overall, my payments amounted to approximately $80K. In essence, I had repaid approximately $10K more than my principle. In 2006, after completing my master's, and entering a time where I would begin final repayment (no longer anticipating additional loans)...my consolidated balance was $94K. So, I borrowed 70K; Repaid 80K; and still owed 94K. And, I was 15-years from retiring.
The following year (2007), PSLF was enacted by Congress. Being a public school teacher, I thought my prayers had been answered. However, in it's original form, PSLF only covered teachers who worked in Title I schools, which I did not. My job classification would not qualify until Obama entered the White House. I took the necessary steps in 2009 to join the PSLF program. After the required ten-years (120 uninterrupted, consecutive minimum payments), I submitted my paperwork for "forgiveness." Since I was on an income driven payment (IDR) plan, my balance now stood at $100K. Would anyone like to guess whether I received my forgiveness per PSLF terms? I'll give you a hint: NO.
Ironically, what finally 'saved' me was COVID, and of course, Joe Biden. During the student-loan payment reprieve precipitated by COVID, then president Biden (DOE) aggressively enacting PSLF--as it had been mostly ignored during Trump-1.0--I received my student-loan forgiveness letter in September, 2021 (3-months after I had retired). Final balance: $115K.
What I realized then, and still do today is that I was one of the lucky ones.
My suggestion for our federal government going forward: (obviously, D's will have to gain control first) -- Student loans should be 100% government serviced...and INTEREST-FREE. Simple. In an era where most 'wealthy' nations provide post-secondary education at little-to-no cost for their citizens, the least we (THE wealthiest nation) could do is make post-secondary education "not-for-profit."
“Every seventh year you shall grant a remission of debts. And this is the manner of the remission: every creditor shall remit the claim that is held against a neighbor…
If there is among you anyone in need, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards your needy neighbor. You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be.” Verses from Deut. 15
Full disclosure that I am for separation of church and state 😉 I shared the above verses to point out the hypocrisy of White Christian Nationalism (an ideology/movement fueling the Trump admin and the far right). They love to misquote & misinterpret the Bible, bending its words to justify their hate. It’s plain as day that debts are to be forgiven and we are to care for the poor among us, but Christian Nationalists conveniently overlook these verses that don’t serve their own selfish interests and would rather exploit/oppress vulnerable populations.
Too true! The Bible is filled with accounts of charity and debt forgiveness, and Christ literally said that "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me"...
And yet my teachers* used this one single verse to justify why we don't need to worry about alleviating poverty: "the poor you will always have with you." Truly a comical level of proof texting 🙃
*I did correspondence courses from Pensacola Christian Academy/Abeka for my high school education. They're not explicitly Christian Nationalist...but they're not NOT Christian Nationalist: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abeka#Criticism
TS -- Your quote from Deut. 15 just struck a thought that never entered my mind until seeing it here: An individual/business can file (chapter 7) bankruptcy in the U.S. ... every seven years. Unfortunately, in my early life, I had to file bankruptcy. I remember asking my lawyer if this was a once-in-a-lifetime 'thing.' He said, "no. But you have to wait at least seven years before you can do it again." I always wondered where the '7-years' came from. Maybe it's this?
When we bought a car in 2018, we paid $18k; our car loan is set to be paid off in the next two years with us only paying $250 a month. Meanwhile, we have student loans that were the same amount, that will take us another ten + years to pay off. To everyone reading this thinking: well you are just being irresponsible- NO. The student loan system at its core is predatory (thanks Reagan) and designed to keep low income households out of higher education. “During Reagan's reelection campaign as governor of California in 1970, his education advisor Roger A. Freeman warned about the dangers of producing an educated working class, stating, "We are in danger of producing an educated proletariat. That’s dynamite! We have to be selective on who we allow [to go to college].”
I bought into the idea that college was the only path to prosperity during the 2007/8 financial crisis. First generation college grad — I thought it was an investment worth any cost. Unfortunately, there was little to no education around financing college and predatory lending practices. I fell prey to a for-profit college. When I came across The Debt Trap by Josh Mitchell and The Merit Myth, it’s something I wish everyone considering college and working on policy would read: https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/meritmyth/
In 2001, I graduated high school and headed off to college. My parents had saved enough to cover one year of tuition, room, and board. After that year it became clear to me that I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I had started thinking I wanted to become a teacher, and quickly changed my mind after some student teaching experiences that made me realize it’s not for me (seriously, all of you that are teachers are AMAZING).
I went on to get married in 2004, and began to slowly work toward obtaining a degree in business, despite making about $10 collective dollars an hour between my husband and myself. Grants covered some of it, but the rest was student loans. I didn’t understand compound interest when I signed that paperwork, I was just grateful for the opportunity.
In 2009, my son was born and college got put on hold. In 2014, I’d decided it was time to go back! My son was preparing to start kindergarten and it felt manageable to do some schoolwork during the day while he was gone (I was working mid shifts to help minimize daycare bills). Then, my son woke up with knee pain that led to a cancer diagnosis a week later. He fought for his life through a three year treatment cycle that cost 1.5 million dollars. Through that time, my husband lost his job so we were living on one income, and I was still going to school full time working on that degree.
Almost eleven years later and my son is in full remission and fully recovered. I graduated last year with a 4.0 from a local college. We’ve paid off the multiple tens of thousands of dollars in medical debt from his treatment (just last year!), although he still has thousands per year in medical costs from treatment of the “after effects” that no one warns you about.
We will die with our student loans. It’s something I’ve accepted and I only borrowed $35k. It’s grown to almost $60k, in spite of all the payments I’ve made on it. I’ve accepted that consequence in return for my son being alive and well.
It’s so disheartening to see all the “you took the loan, you owe the loan” comments all over social media. In most cases, I agree. These loans, however, are insanely predatory and we are signing away our lives at EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD.
I am so sorry for all you have been through. I paid for college but it was much less expensive when I went. College has become so expensive which is ridiculous. I have never felt that “you took the loan, you need to pay for it.” I loved what Biden was trying to do. He was trying to make repaying the debt doable. I would rather my taxes help people like you than cover for wealthy people that aren’t paying taxes. Let’s start garnishing their wages. Good luck to you and your family.
Thank you so much for the kind words! I feel the same! We are often so much more alike than we might think sometimes. This community is one of the best ones out there, and I’m thankful it.
I too would rather my tax money go towards those that aren’t already dripping in money.
I feel you entirely!!! I was in a similar situation with loans, making payments and never getting them paid off. What you borrowed to what you owe is totally unfair. If they structured the student loans the way they do a car loan or house it would be doable and we could actually pay them off. Congress also needs to do their part and either restructure the student loan provisions or eliminate it all together so that college is free for everyone!
I am so sorry for what you and your family, endured. You might want to call your representatives and share your story with them. That’s impactful. All of them really are.
Good luck!
I never understood why they won’t cap the interest rate on these loans. Why are college loans at a higher rate than buying a house? If we want a well-educated country we need to prioritize this. I am fortunate to be able to pay down my loans, but I am a nurse practitioner have been paying for 13 years and have 12 to go. I can’t save for my kids future because I’m still paying off my debt so this cycle will continue for my family.
Congress controls the interest rates; how many of their campaigns are being funded by the banks?
And how many of them had their PPP Loans forgiven ( cough MTG)?!
One of the best ways the gov’t could help with student loans is to stop the practice of capitalizing interest. I don’t understand why it’s even allowed - on any loan, but especially on student loans. It’s outrageous.
Agreed, the way they charge interest is usurious and illegal for other industries.
The biggest problem I see with so many education debates is we have shifted to seeing education as an individual benefit instead of a societal benefit. While I understand the MANY issues with our existing higher education system (including the cost and loans), I am disheartened when it seems like the solution is just “fewer people go to college and everyone goes into trades”. How are we to compete on a global economic scale if we have fewer college graduates? I guarantee China is throwing money hand over fist to educate the next generation of scientists, doctors, and engineers. Instead college students here get debt and shame for even trying.
Really well put. I have always been very confused by why I see it framed as “the trades” vs “higher education” as some kind of battle. Both are important. We should have systems in place that facilitate making it possible for people to do WHATEVER it is they want! We need everyone and all these different skills.
Society is better with lots of people doing lots of different things! I’m friends with plumbers and general contractors and barbers and engineers and doctors and all of them were motivated to start in their careers because they wanted to HELP people! It seems like there’s this belief that people go to college to feel better than others and try to get individually wealthy?? No, that’s our politicians lol
Agree completely. A more educated public benefits everyone. There are people who would make such meaningful contributions to society who don’t get the education necessary because they can’t afford it. It’s such a shame.
Never mind the fact that college shouldn’t cost more than a car…IMO.
This would have been a great analysis to read before the election and is another glaring example of how Dems completely dropped the ball on getting the message out about the good things the Biden Admin was doing or countering MAGA false narratives about it. Biden wasn’t wiping away the legitimate debt of “lazy takers.” He attempted to undo some of the more predatory aspects of these loans and give relief to those who had been paying for years and getting nowhere. Just think of the economic power that could be unleashed by millions of people who had a little more money to spend in support of small businesses and other commerce. It’s the same rationale used to justify tax breaks for corporations and the rich. This Administration has decided to give even more tax breaks to the upper echelon while at the same time decimating the IRS to the tune of billions in lost revenue each year due to lack of enforcement and collection. And at the same time, this billionaire, Linda McMahon, has overseen the gutting of the Dept of Education and turned it into a predatory entity to, for all intents and purposes, suck blood out of turnips. Please excuse my language but that is just completely f**cked up.
I graduated high school in 2000 and college in 2004. I left school with about $18K in loans total. I did get a fair bit of help from grants and scholarships. When I graduated the job market was not great. I worked retail and a part time job for the first year. I made around $22K that year before taxes, if I was lucky. I could not afford loan payments. My first real big girl job paid $25K and it stayed there thanks to the recession for years. Eventually the IDR program was created. I was making payments but the interest compounded in a way that it was like I was just lighting that money on fire.
In 2023 after working for 17 years in public service and making payments since 2006 I qualified for PSLF. I had paid back that original $18K over that time but over $35K was forgiven. Doesn’t even begin to make sense how I could have paid my original loans off and still owed twice what I took out. But that compounding interest is a killer.
I was a first generation college graduate. No one in all the explaining about college financial aid explained compounding interest. I was told *repeatedly* that student loan debt was ‘good’ debt and that I would be thankful I took them out. I think people saw a smart kid who was poor and thought college was the answer no matter the cost. I wish someone had stopped me and said what about community college? What about doing things this way?
It’s hard to look back and say I’d for sure do things differently. I made life long friends at college. I still talk to them daily. They have supported me through some of the hardest times in my life. I learned to think differently and was exposed to people and situations I never would have experienced otherwise. But it came at a financial cost.
I think about the people who die with student debt a lot. The current system is not working. There has to be a way to foster a variety of paths; community college, technical school or four year college, that doesn’t leave kids in crippling debt. Because all of those options cost and the cost of living continues to rise as well.
Right now my husband and I owe about double the amount of loans we took out due to forbearance periods and income adjusted payments. I am 70 and had to retire due to health issues. We also did a spousal consolidation which was recommended then but they have now discontinued so we can’t participate in many of the programs they have had. Biden had set up to wipe out a lot of the compounded interest and correct a bunch of problems from Navient but that all died. My husband jokes that we can’t die until our student loans are paid off. I told him death is the only way out. It’s one of those laugh or cry things.
@Sharon, does the money from forgiven loans actually shift to taxpayers?
And if that’s true, then wouldn’t it also be true that when people default on their loans, it also shifts to taxpayers?
Therefore, making substantive changes to loan practices (like capping interest rates, eliminating compounding interest, etc) would benefit ALL OF US - not just the students who are borrowing.
Good question! If that were true - money forgiven from SLs shifted to taxpayers - then WHY did we forgive all those PPP loans? Why was that somehow OK to do? When you seen who benefited, and how that tilts strongly towards a certain political party, it certainly causes some suspicion…
I was told to switch to the SAVE plan (currently a NP working at a non profit medical clinic) then it was stuck in the courts so I have been placed in a forbearance. I try calling to see how I can start making payments again and nobody helps me. When I try to apply for a new payment plan there is harsh rhetoric about my last 7 years of payment not counting to PSLF and to talk to someone on the phone. Then nobody picks up the phone. I find it laughable that the rhetoric is people don’t want to pay back loans. I would love to make payments but the system is so messed up there isn’t a clear path for me to do it.
Yes! Same here. I have less than a year left now until my 120 payments but will have to buyback almost 2 years worth of payments. I have no idea what they will charge for the buyback, IF they’ll even approve my buyback, or when. And who’s to say they won’t change something again before next year. Living with this stress over your student loans is not normal!!
Me too! MOHELA has all our SAVE loans stuck in forbearance and I am very very worried what will happen. Of course borrowers will suffer the effects of that. And NO ONE will talk to you!
I'm stuck in SAVE too.
And only 3 years away from forgiveness (after 25! years of payments) but I don't have much faith that the forgiveness program will still be intact by then.
I literally just made my last student loan payment last month! But the only way I could do it was to double my payments. It was hard and took 4 years of that to do, but it’s a great feeling. I was absolutely encouraged by Navient to defer or go into forbearance for YEARS while interest was accruing because I didn’t understand any of it
Congratulations! That really is a big deal!
I took out $30k in student loans to finish my undergraduate degree and once I graduated, I look hard at the numbers and realized I’d never pay it back on their payment plan. I got a private loan through my credit union and paid it off in 5 years. Best move I ever made.
It’s predatory. There is no reason these loans have higher interest than a mortgage. And it’s frankly nonsense that somehow our government could afford to forgive hundreds of thousands of dollars in PPP loans after COVID, but offer no student relief. BTW **several** members of Congress benefited from those PPP loans being forgiven; and now they demand that ordinary people - not those earning a six-figure salary like Congressional reps are - “accept the responsibility” of paying back what they’ve borrowed. OK Senator Whosis, but why don’t those rules apply to YOU, too?
This article leaves that out. It also omits what Reagan did, first as governor of CA, and then as President, to make college LESS affordable, therefore adding to the whole student loan debacle.
Meanwhile in America we’ve all been told me must earn a college degree to get a good job. Most employers want to know you have a college degree (they don’t even care re: the subject, just require one, period) before they’ll consider hiring you.
It’s become a quagmire for all but the rich.
Anyone with a brain can see that it’s the high & compounding interest that is the killer here. It’s insane to expect someone to pay off a debt that doubles and triples while you are actively paying it off, trapping many people into debt for a lifetime. At least when paying on a mortgage you are gaining equity. Here, your credit score drops lower and lower as your debt grows, and you cannot advance anything in your life: home, family, security, legacy for your children. This system is designed to keep people in poverty just as many tax laws are designed to benefit the most wealthy among us. It’s criminal that our government hasn’t done better for people wanting an education; in fact, this intractable situation feels like just another aspect of the war on education by the GOP. Not hard to imagine, considering they so strongly oppose ANY relief efforts on SLs.
Thank you Sharon for shedding some light on this issue. For me (as well as many, I'm sure, who frequent this forum) this is personal.
My student loan nightmare began in 1980. Over the course of the next 20 years while completing my bachelor's, then six years later, my master's--I attempted to navigate the horror that is the student-loan process.
The total principle amount that I borrowed over that time period was in the neighborhood of $70K. Because I completed my coursework in sporadic fashion across multiple institutions, I heavily utilized forbearances. However, I did make relatively substantial payments during repayment periods. Overall, my payments amounted to approximately $80K. In essence, I had repaid approximately $10K more than my principle. In 2006, after completing my master's, and entering a time where I would begin final repayment (no longer anticipating additional loans)...my consolidated balance was $94K. So, I borrowed 70K; Repaid 80K; and still owed 94K. And, I was 15-years from retiring.
The following year (2007), PSLF was enacted by Congress. Being a public school teacher, I thought my prayers had been answered. However, in it's original form, PSLF only covered teachers who worked in Title I schools, which I did not. My job classification would not qualify until Obama entered the White House. I took the necessary steps in 2009 to join the PSLF program. After the required ten-years (120 uninterrupted, consecutive minimum payments), I submitted my paperwork for "forgiveness." Since I was on an income driven payment (IDR) plan, my balance now stood at $100K. Would anyone like to guess whether I received my forgiveness per PSLF terms? I'll give you a hint: NO.
Ironically, what finally 'saved' me was COVID, and of course, Joe Biden. During the student-loan payment reprieve precipitated by COVID, then president Biden (DOE) aggressively enacting PSLF--as it had been mostly ignored during Trump-1.0--I received my student-loan forgiveness letter in September, 2021 (3-months after I had retired). Final balance: $115K.
What I realized then, and still do today is that I was one of the lucky ones.
My suggestion for our federal government going forward: (obviously, D's will have to gain control first) -- Student loans should be 100% government serviced...and INTEREST-FREE. Simple. In an era where most 'wealthy' nations provide post-secondary education at little-to-no cost for their citizens, the least we (THE wealthiest nation) could do is make post-secondary education "not-for-profit."
“Every seventh year you shall grant a remission of debts. And this is the manner of the remission: every creditor shall remit the claim that is held against a neighbor…
If there is among you anyone in need, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards your needy neighbor. You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be.” Verses from Deut. 15
Full disclosure that I am for separation of church and state 😉 I shared the above verses to point out the hypocrisy of White Christian Nationalism (an ideology/movement fueling the Trump admin and the far right). They love to misquote & misinterpret the Bible, bending its words to justify their hate. It’s plain as day that debts are to be forgiven and we are to care for the poor among us, but Christian Nationalists conveniently overlook these verses that don’t serve their own selfish interests and would rather exploit/oppress vulnerable populations.
Too true! The Bible is filled with accounts of charity and debt forgiveness, and Christ literally said that "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me"...
And yet my teachers* used this one single verse to justify why we don't need to worry about alleviating poverty: "the poor you will always have with you." Truly a comical level of proof texting 🙃
*I did correspondence courses from Pensacola Christian Academy/Abeka for my high school education. They're not explicitly Christian Nationalist...but they're not NOT Christian Nationalist: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abeka#Criticism
TS -- Your quote from Deut. 15 just struck a thought that never entered my mind until seeing it here: An individual/business can file (chapter 7) bankruptcy in the U.S. ... every seven years. Unfortunately, in my early life, I had to file bankruptcy. I remember asking my lawyer if this was a once-in-a-lifetime 'thing.' He said, "no. But you have to wait at least seven years before you can do it again." I always wondered where the '7-years' came from. Maybe it's this?
When we bought a car in 2018, we paid $18k; our car loan is set to be paid off in the next two years with us only paying $250 a month. Meanwhile, we have student loans that were the same amount, that will take us another ten + years to pay off. To everyone reading this thinking: well you are just being irresponsible- NO. The student loan system at its core is predatory (thanks Reagan) and designed to keep low income households out of higher education. “During Reagan's reelection campaign as governor of California in 1970, his education advisor Roger A. Freeman warned about the dangers of producing an educated working class, stating, "We are in danger of producing an educated proletariat. That’s dynamite! We have to be selective on who we allow [to go to college].”
I bought into the idea that college was the only path to prosperity during the 2007/8 financial crisis. First generation college grad — I thought it was an investment worth any cost. Unfortunately, there was little to no education around financing college and predatory lending practices. I fell prey to a for-profit college. When I came across The Debt Trap by Josh Mitchell and The Merit Myth, it’s something I wish everyone considering college and working on policy would read: https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/meritmyth/