All Debt Should Be Created Equal
(I’m Talking to You, Student Loan Debt)
Benjamin Franklin said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” I wonder what Mr. Franklin would say to today’s student loan price tag.
Ben may need to re-write his words if he knew that over $1.5 trillion is currently owed in student loan debt and 1 in 4 borrowers have defaulted or been delinquent. Some investment!
I wonder what Mr. Franklin would think of our hopeful, spirited youth signing away their financial freedom in the quest for the American dream, to be support their families, to create a legacy, to invest back in our nation.
Our Founding Fathers knew all about debt and the importance of repaying them, collecting them, creating penalties. What I would pay to see the looks on their faces as they observed our current system of funding higher education.
How do we grow this great nation when our bright young thinkers are in the basements of their parent’s homes because they can’t afford housing, living expenses and student loan debt?
How do we inspire a nation of innovators and dreamers when they realize they’ve been sold a bill of lies and broken promises?
How do we expect our next generation of problem solvers to believe in fairness and equality when the cards are stacked against them?
If we cannot take care of our basic needs — food, shelter, safety — we cannot think beyond getting those needs met in the short term.
I am not asking that all debt be forgiven. I am not asking to wipe away commitments and obligations. I am asking for fairness, that all debt be treated equal.
If my debt exceeds my assets and I am unable to pay, the courts can judge what is an appropriate course of forgiveness or repayment.
If an interest rate is too high on a mortgage or credit card, I have the ability to refinance.
Why is this not allowed with student loan debt? Why is it so inflexible and immobile?
Student Loan Debt is the anchor of our countries leadership and it is sinking our great nation.
The load is too heavy to bear for many even before the pandemic. Now is the time to make radical and necessary changes. To allow for forgiveness, adjustments, and release.
We do not move ahead faster by working harder. We go faster when we our load gets lighter.
There are affordability calculators to determine how much a mortgage a person take on.
Credit scores dictate how much financial risk a person can take on and assign people an interest rate related to that number. Yet we expect a 17 year old, without a credit history, to make a future decision that can weigh them down for the rest of their life.
The time is now for student loan reform if we truly want to invest in the future of our great nation.
(Thank you for reading this piece. I’d love to get your thoughts. This was part of a class on Rhetoric I’m taking through HarvardX).
