I Paid Off My Student Loans And I’m Totally Fine With A Student Loan Bailout

When the Federal Government announced that it would be bailing out student loans to avoid the government taking a loss on them, I wasn’t surprised. Nor did I see anything wrong with this move. Why? Because I’ve already paid off my student loans – and I’m not alone. There are millions of us in this country who have already paid off our student loans and are fine with the idea of bailing out borrowers who still have payments to make on their student loans but aren’t able to afford them.

The Case Against The Student Loan Bailout

For years, people have been urging Congress to bail out the student loan industry. If you’re like most of these people, you probably assume that this bailout would simply forgive loans for struggling borrowers. The real way a student loan bailout would work is much different: it would let lenders charge high-interest rates to some of the wealthiest colleges in the country.

The Case For A Student Loan Bailout

Yes, college loans are expensive. Yes, you will have to work hard to repay them. But there are many reasons to keep higher education available for all students who need it. The idea of a student loan bailout isn’t absurd at all we should just call it what it is: investing in our future.

1) When tuition prices go up, so do the number of people dropping out of school altogether or defaulting on their loans. These people aren’t getting degrees and they’re not earning enough money to pay back their loans. 2) Why would we bail out banks instead of making sure every child has an opportunity to get a degree? Let’s invest in our future instead of taking risks that could cost us even more in the long run.

How The Government Can Help Students

At the end of 2018, there were 44 million borrowers in America with student loan debt. These 44 million people are paying $600 billion in interest payments every year. The high-interest rates on student loans discourage young adults from pursuing higher education because they have to give away a large amount of money before they get anything out of it.

*There is a bill proposed that would reduce the interest rates to 4%. This would free up money in the US economy and make college an option for more people who have never considered it before.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Needs Some Tweaking

It’s not impossible to get a student loan bailout in the US, but it would require completing teaching or public service job that offers those benefits. Many people have completed these requirements, which is why there are an equal number of people who think this is unfair.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness needs some tweaking and a more clear set of guidelines. However, if you don’t qualify for this program then your best option is still to pursue your dreams even if you don’t feel 100% certain that it will work out.

The Argument To Make College Free (For Some)

Higher education in the United States should be free for anyone who wants to pursue it. Higher education is not a privilege, but a right guaranteed by the Constitution. We should follow the lead of countries like Canada and France which provide public university education at no cost to their citizens because we have an obligation as Americans to invest in our future.

The evidence that college degrees pay off is well-documented. A degree dramatically increases your lifetime income and lowers unemployment rates. The sad fact is that far too many people can’t afford the higher cost of tuition or don’t feel like they have a choice but to take out student loans for their children’s education when paying them back only becomes more difficult later on.

Don’t Blame The Students

The current student loan system is inherently flawed. College should be completely free and there should be no such thing as loans to pay for it. Colleges, instead of accepting so many thousands of dollars in tuition payments, should prioritize making their degrees affordable to the masses.

There’s no good argument for colleges being able to sell degrees at such a high price considering how easy it is for them to get more money than they’re asking for. By having free college (either by offering scholarships or paying the student’s expenses themselves), colleges could provide better education opportunities to students and make sure that people have a chance at life-changing educational opportunities that are not bound by their income levels.

We Need To Stop Funding Colleges Without Oversight

Money goes to colleges without oversight. Meaning, money goes to colleges that are not truly there for students – these schools use the money on things like football teams, fancy buildings, and marketing instead of using it on teaching students.

These schools have professors who show up for class one out of five times and do lectures that are simply reading off PowerPoints for hours at a time, classes with hundred-person lecture halls with thirty people in them, chaotic campuses where sexual harassment is rampant and no clear systems to report it through.

The federal government needs to start regulating what types of institutions qualify for federal aid because otherwise, we’ll continue funding colleges that are more focused on profit than they are on giving kids the best education possible.

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