Getting rid of all Student Loan debt?

Recently much has been discussed on the subject of student loans. Let's look at this subject in more detail, to understand all sides of the issue.

First of all, let me state that I am one who had modest student loans, to the amount of about $8000. I studied engineering, and knew that I would be able to quickly return those loans, and in fact after just 5 years after finishing my undergraduate education, I had completely paid off those loans. I believe firmly that those loans should be paid back.

On the other hand, there are horror stories out there of people who had $50,000 or more in debt, couldn't pay the loans, had fees tacked on, and ended up with even more debt than they started with. These kinds of predatory measures are not right, and should be removed!

President Trump actually took action on student loans, in a way that wasn't very well known. As Forbes reported, President Trump effectively removed all fees and interest for student loans for the duration of the pandemic. This frees up money for those who are struggling and allows them to move forward. Those that are doing better can even pay down their debt to make it easier to finish it in the future.

So how can we properly use this valuable tool, but not abuse it? Student loan reform is something that absolutely needs to happen. I believe that student loan reform should include the following measures:

1. Reduced interest and fees
2. Accountability
3. Some measures to encourage students to pay back their loans quickly

Let's expand on these details more. The interest rates right now are actually quite low on student loans, only 2.75%. However, many students are paying far more than that. I will be looking in to why that is the case, and figuring out ways to get those rates reduced!

Accountability is a more challenging thing. Some students don't realize that they are getting sucked in to higher and higher loans, and what that will require in their lives. The schools that they attend should have some responsibility as well, particularly if they are giving them so much with so little chance for return. However, it is critical that every student has a chance to succeed, regardless of the circumstances that they were born in to. For some, those who are going to med school, for instance, higher amounts of debt may be warrented. For others, there is less of a sense of this. What I believe should happen is those who are receiving student loans should be required to attend a short class, taught by their college, including life skills like repaying debt, refinancing loans, appropriately scoping out their debt, and similar types of skills. There should be a reasonable size of these classes, such that the students can have the chance to really learn and ask questions. Lastly, I believ ethat schools should bear at least some of the responsibility if the loans are not repaid. Maybe only a token amount, 10-20%, but enough where they will be more motivated to help their students succeed!

Lastly, I believe that students do need to be encouraged to pay back their loans quickly. A 0% loan isn't going to cut it unfortunately. Perhaps this could be a system similar to many store loans, if they pay back their student loans in 5 years they get them interest free. Maybe it could be a tiered system, similar to housing loans, where if one signs up for a longer time to repay loans, one has a higher interest rate. Whatever the system, it should encourage those loans to be paid off sooner.

Student loans are an extremely valuable part of helping everyone to succeed in life. Still, we must make sure these continue to be a valuable tool, and not a weight to the upcoming generation.

Poverty, education, and the American Way.

I firmly believe that everyone in this country should have a chance to move on up in the world. But what exactly does that mean? I believe that everyone should have the opportunity, no matter where they started, to succeed. This helps in so many ways, it helps to find new talent, reduces poverty, and overall helps people to live better lives.

Let's start with an ancient Chinese proverb. "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." We should be teaching men, and women, to fish. Finding ways to help them improve their circumstances will always be of benifit. In Doctrine and Covanents, a book of scripture used by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Section 42, we read the following:

30 And behold, thou wilt remember the poor, and consecrate of thy properties for their support that which thou hast to impart unto them, with a covenant and a deed which cannot be broken.

42 Thou shalt not be idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer.

By all of this, we should help the poor, especially those willing to work. We should give them skills so they can take care of themselves, and someday improve themselves, and thus be able to better take care of society.

I personally have benifited from policies inspired by these principals. When I was born, my father was working to improve his life situation by attending college. He received pell grants, student loans, and food stamps during that time. Since that time, nearly 30 years ago, he has gone on to be an engineer, further improving his life circumstances. As a result, I was able to also go to college, and while still on my own, I was able to do it with fewer student loans and pell grants, and have achieved a level of success.

Policies which can help students to rise above poverty should always be pushed forward. This benifits us all. By education, we have more engineers, scientists, teachers, and others who are able to help. We should also encourage those who are willing to take on trades, like plumbing, electricians, carpenters, welders, and other such skills. All of these are worthy skills, and have a measureable effect on all of us.

In general, I believe all should be able to work, all should have the ability to improve their life circumstance, no matter the circumstances they were born to, and we should be willing to help those around us to improve their life circumstances. These will pay dividends as well. It has been shown that President Biden's proposed free college tuition would pay for itself in 10 years. I know that I personally have paid far more in taxes as a result of my education than was invested of me. The same can be said of my siblings and parents. Some thought needs to be given to ensure that such money is not wasted, there are certainly some college degrees that aren't really worthwhile. Still, as a whole it benifits us all to have education. Most of those who receive pell grants go on to have quite successful careers. Remember, the proposal is only to allow for paying tuition. They still have to work to survive for the years they are getting that education, simply wasting their time is otherwise of no worth.