I volunteered for the Biden campaign — the looming student loan deadline feels like a betrayal (because it is)
The Biden Administration is neglecting many of the voters that put him in the White House, and it will definitely hurt him and other Democrats in 2022 if he insists on inaction.
By Kat Laufenberg
On April 9, 2020, President Biden outlined his plan for student debt forgiveness on this very platform. Those policy proposals included $10,000 in student loan forgiveness for all debtors, no payments or interest accruals for those making less than $25,000 annually, total loan forgiveness after 20 years, and total debt relief for those who attended “public colleges and universities, private Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and private, underfunded Minority-Serving Institution (MSIs).”
According to EducationData.org, student loans account for a staggering “$1.75 trillion and grows 6 times faster than the nation’s economy.” The federal student loan debt alone is over $1.59 trillion and only continues to grow at increasingly alarming rates.
Biden wrote in his April 2020 proposal:
In our nation’s 244 years, we have never weathered a crisis that we did not emerge from stronger. This one will be no different.
That is a hard sentiment to sell to younger generations who have weathered the post-9/11 War on Terror, the Great Recession, and now a global pandemic on a scale not seen in a century. Perhaps like many in his generation, the President is simply unaware of the fact that every recession since the 1980’s caused states to slash their budgets. And what gets cut first? The state and local funding for higher education is often first on the chopping block, since it is in a unique position of being able to make up the difference elsewhere — with rising tuition costs.
In the late 1980s, public colleges typically got about one-quarter of their revenue from tuition, now that’s up to about 50%, according to Michael Mitchell, a senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities who studies state funding trends.
This is already affecting the way younger Americans live their lives. One study found that after controlling for all other potential causes, having student loan debt after graduating or dropping out of college was the largest predictor of inability to build wealth. Those with student loan debt “had lower net worth, fewer financial and nonfinancial assets, and homes with lower market values when they reached age 30.”
According to Roni Caryn Rabin in “Put a Ring on It? Millennial Couples Are in No Hurry” from the New York Times in 2018:
“Both men and women now tend to want to advance their careers before settling down. Many are carrying student debt and worry about the high cost of housing.”
The article goes on to cite psychologists and social scientists who insist this is only due to Millennials valuing marriage more. One can only assume a personal confirmation bias on their parts, since cold, hard fiscal data and facts paint a more simple (and dismal) picture. In 1993, only 47% of college graduates left with any student loan debt. In recent years that number has grown to a whopping 70% of graduates. 43.2 million student borrowers are in debt by an average of $39,351 each. What did you expect, Mr. New York Times?
Even college graduates who attended public colleges and universities borrow an average of $30,030 in pursuit of a Bachelor’s degree. Student loan debt is the second largest cause of household debt in the country — only mortgages outstrip the costs of higher education in terms of borrowed capital.
As a former volunteer, a voter, and a donor, I am begging (and warning) you and all of the fence sitters in your party — do something about this financial bubble before it bursts all over our economy and lives. Before myself and others lose the last bit of hope we hold onto, telling us that you have our best interests at heart while letting an entire generation rot in a form of debt bondage long thought extinct on this continent. Time is running out for many Americans of all ages, races, genders. And honestly, I wouldn’t blame them if this apathy caused a lack of faith in the Democratic Party for years to come.
Perhaps Biden should take his own advice while thinking about this looming financial cliff that threatens millions of Americans — many of whom were hit hardest by the economic hardships of recent years.
We can do anything we put our minds to, even in the most difficult times — and includes rebuilding for a better future.
How can Americans believe that sort of sentimentality, when the truth is so much more painful — metaphorically and literally? If the Commander-in-Chief would set his mind to fixing our broken system of slashed state budgets, predatory for-profit colleges, and rabid loan providers and debt servicers, perhaps his words wouldn’t ring so hollow. Because as it currently stands…
Mr. President, please put your mind to solving an economic catastrophe that has already financially stunted a plurality of Americans (and is beginning to take its toll on even more facets of the economy.) Do it before your administration hurts millions through inaction and unkept promises. Do it before this becomes an easy way to target your administration and Democrats writ large. We all saw what happens when you create apathy in young voters. Another upset like 2016 is around the corner if this issue isn’t handled with the seriousness it deserves, and the Democrats will have no one to blame but themselves.
Well, and Millennials. We shouldn’t have bought that avocado toast so often! We are callously killing the napkin industry, too. And we will kill again, mark my words.
I leave you, dear reader, with this Twitter thread as a final palate cleanser. Or wake-up call, whichever you need.
