The Road to Hell: The American Student Debt Crisis
The student debt crisis in America is one of great concern, as the current cumulative cost of debt among Americans is just over $1 trillion. Americans find themselves trapped between getting a quality college education to pursue a successful future career, and paying the increasing cost for college. The student debt crisis is a great example of the aphorism that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”; as the younger generations of Americans seek to better their futures by attending college and receiving a degree to better qualify them in a specified field, they are simultaneously pushing themselves farther and farther into, what is for many, crippling debt. Although a secured career and success in their field would allow them to adequately pay off these debts, many students are faced with the barriers of high upfront costs and the potential of having a low-income career.
The student debt crisis began with the establishment of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known at the G.I. Bill, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. As soldiers were returning from World War II, the government wanted to provide a way for them to have easy access to higher education so they created this bill which provided low-interest loans. Following the G.I. Bill was the establishment of the National Defense Education Act of 1958, which allowed college students, particularly in the areas of engineering, science, and math, to receive low-interest loans from the government. The National Defense Education Act of 1958 was primarily motivated by the Russian launch of Sputnik, the first artificial Earth satellite, which challenged the level of American technology and education. The High Education Act of 1965, signed by President Johnson also had an incredibly large impact on the student debt crisis. This act incorporated the Federal Family Education Loan Program, or FEEL, which enabled private lenders to issue student loans, as backed by the federal government, so that these private lenders would receive pay even in the event that the student could not pay them back. The combination of these three federal policies contributed greatly to the modern day student loan debt, not only acting as the first forms of government loans for education, but also enabling the use of private loans for education.
One policy solution that has been proposed, specifically by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, is a plan for “free college”. Senator Sanders has proposed the College for All Act, as a six step plan to lower the existing student debt and make college more affordable for future students. Some of the goals for this act include: eliminating undergraduate tuition at four-year public colleges and universities, reforming the currently existing student loan system, reform the system of work study, and simplifying the student aid application process. Instead of tuition being paid by students, this plan proposes to impose a tax on Wall Street, which Senator Sanders claims over the next decade could produce $600 billion. These taxes would be imposed on investment houses, hedge funds, stock trades, bonds, and other derivatives, and would have the ability to fully support this act.
The College for All Act is certainly a more radical concept, and it seems would be difficult to succeed in making it through Congress to be passed. It positively focuses on the importance education provides for the future generations of America, and it aims to solve issues regarding educational inequalities for students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. Many critique the College for All Act for its funding, and are skeptical of the ability of this Wall Street tax to pay for this act in its entirety. If passed, this act could solve the current student debt crisis and increase the number of students of all backgrounds attending college, although it seems it would be quite difficult to pass and to get full and proper funding for.
In many ways, the culmination of student debt into the crisis it now is, that affects millions of young Americans, is an effect of a more debated issue: should higher education be considered a public good. All of America provides free education to students ranging from kindergarten through twelfth grade, why does it suddenly change for university? Instead, this becomes a window into societal values, neglecting to be on education for all, as noted the student debt crisis specifically blockades less wealthy students from advancing their education, and rather quantifying higher education as a luxury that only the wealthy can afford without the continued difficulty of student loans. The rights, and in modern day American society, needs of citizens to have at least an undergraduate degree in order to pursue a successful career in a chosen field, are neglected, and instead become privileges for those who can afford it. If American values of liberty, equality, success, and the pursuit of happiness are to be upheld through this generation — maybe a new road would rather be paved, than “beautifying” the one to hell.