Is Forgiving Student Loan Debt A Good Idea?

Student loan debt has become a discouraging problem throughout today’s economical foundation. “Overall debt is falling but student loan debt is increasing year-over-year and at a much faster rate,” chief executive David Stevens told The Washington Post. “[Young graduates] are already on the margin for being able to qualify for a mortgage. If you add on a

“Ensuring quality higher education is one of the most important things we can do for our future generations” (Ron Lewis). There are more students enrolling in post-secondary schools than ever before and consequently there are more students acquiring large debts. Once a student graduates, they enter a $33,000 or more student loan debt (Students Loan Resources). These student loans continue to place graduates into large debts, which is largely caused by their lack of knowledge of available resources, and this impacts their everyday lives and future generations.

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.

Does the amount of student loan debt have an effect on the economy? If so would forgiving student loan debt help lower the national debt or would it just increase it? According to Mary Claire Fischer, a writer for Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, “two-thirds of students who receive bachelor’s degrees leave college with debt in tow” (Fischer). Among these students, the average amount owed is twenty-six thousand dollars (Fischer). There is a six month grace period after graduation to allow the student time to find a job and programs to try to help eliminate debt. “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimates that one-fourth of the American workforce may be eligible for repayment or loan forgiveness programs” (Atteberry). The

A problem with student loan debt is that students gain more debt because they are not able to pay off the student loans within the given time which also causes them to put certain life decisions on hold. According to Sophie Quinton debt is a problem for the recent college graduates because “There’s currently no way to get rid of federal student debt other than paying off the loans. while some borrowers are paying off their debts just fine, overall they are adding debt faster than they are shedding it”(Quinton). According to Jamaal Abdul-Alim stated that a “survey - titled Student Loan Debt: Who’s Paying the Price?- revealed a number of troubling statistics about the practical ways that student loans are impacting college graduates in their everyday lives. For instance the survey found that: 49

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

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.

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).

Kevin Carey’s goal for writing this essay was to reach out to college/university faculty, and Student Affair professionals to call to their attention the crushing problem of students loans and debt and emphasize the need for income-based loans in favor to the system that is now in place that causes students to fall further into debt due to high

In the short essay, “Is Forgiving Student Loan Debt a Good Idea?” by Kaya Webley, she illustrates through validations that student debt is a problem, but Applebaum’s proposal brings about political and economic problems. One of her validations is that most people can afford their student loans. She also states that only a small handful of graduates leave school with an unbearable student debt. Webley touches upon programs that are already in place to help pay off college debt. Another one of her validations is that the bank does not care if the student can not pay the student loan, the banks will get the money one way or another. In addition, because of the banks colleges have no motivation to lower tuition. Lastly, she writes about

In the U.S. students are encouraged to earn a college degree, but the cost of an education turns many away. “Driven by the allure of a decent salary with a college degree, Americans borrowed to go to school. Outstanding student debt doubled from 2005 to 2010, and by 2012 total student debt in the U.S. economy surpassed $1 trillion” (Mian, Sufi 167). There are plenty of opportunities to obtain funds for college, including one of the most common, student loans. A student loan is defined as “a common way to fund education, specifically college and graduate school, and they provide educational opportunities that you otherwise may not be able to afford” (Barr). Student debt is at an all-time high in America. Over half of all lower income

When talking about student loan forgiveness many arguments can be made and, Webley acknowledges a few of them in her article. She argues that the proposal that Robert Applebaum made about the one-time bailout, that it may come across as a very expensive proposition, but it has been done before in your country history, when the government bailout out the banks and automakers, so why not a college graduate. She also, argues that most borrowers can not afford to pay off their student loans and the ones that can do not feel like handing the money over every month. With that being said, she believes that everyone would take the bailout if it was offered to them. Webley as argues that the current model on how higher education in the United

The price of higher education is a long burden and many recent graduates are struggling to covered their student loans. With this in mind, the idea of a student loan forgiveness program can be seen like a big relief. As a result, Kayla Webley arguments that if is a good idea to forgive student loan debts. Webley wrote her response on a Time magazine article called Is Forgiving Student Loan Debt a Good Idea? on April 20, 2012. As a college student, we can argument that a forgiveness program will be a great idea but as a taxpayer I might have some doubts. For that reason, I believe that Webley’s essay surely presents an effective argument on the issue. For instance, Webley states that “it’s easy to see why forgiving student debt holds some appeal.

Does the amount of student loan debt have an effect on the economy? If so would forgiving student loan debt help lower the national debt or would it just increase it? According to Mary Claire Fischer, a writer for Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, “two-thirds of students who receive bachelor’s degrees leave college with an average debt of twenty-six thousand dollars” (Fischer). This means that the average student debt has doubled since 2007 (Ross 24). The total student loan debt is $1.2 trillion with $1 trillion being from federal student loans (Denhart). This debt accounts for six percent of our nation’s $16.7 trillion debt (Denhart). Since student loan debt is such a big part of the national debt, if the student

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