If Biden Won't Cancel Student Debt, Why Should We Go to College?
United States college enrollment is on track to drop by half a million students, according to data released last week by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. This rate is on track with 2020’s, when there was a drop of 400,000 students nationally, largely attributed to the coronavirus; if we continue apace, we’ll witness the largest drop-off in U.S. college enrollment in 50 years.
But it’s not just because of COVID: This follows a multiyear trend of declining enrollment, due in part to — you guessed it — the cost of college. The numbers are showing that Gen Z is asking a legitimate question: What is the price of a college education really worth in the U.S.?
Student loan debt is deepening the racial wealth gap. Studies show it exacts a psychological toll on those trapped in its binds, limiting one’s ability to pursue homeownership, start a family, and other goals that having a degree should enable. Worse still, the current administration hasn’t acted on the issue even after Joe Biden won the election on a promise of student debt relief.
We know that Biden and his Department of Education have the power to end the burden of $1.7 trillion in loans for 44 million Americans. Congressional Democrats largely back at least some amount of loan forgiveness. Instead, come January 2022, we’re expected to start paying off our student loans again. It’s a slap in the face.
As the holder of a bachelor’s degree, let me be the first to say that I have some regrets. I have close to six figures of student loan debt, which I’ve considered paying off using a broad range of strategies, such as entering a TV competition with a cash prize (Jeopardy!, ideally) or donating my eggs. (Check out this guy, who ate lunch and dinner at Six Flags for seven years to pay off his loans.)
Unsurprisingly, short of generational wealth, there aren't a lot of ways to come up with $100,000. I’m the eldest of five kids, and now two of my siblings have loans too. Yet another is in high school, unsure whether to take the risk. And why should they? There’s no reason to expect college will become more affordable. The best we can hope for is that elected officials see some sense, forgive student debt, and enact protections so students aren't exploited by exorbitant interest rates.
In the meantime, we’re stuck watching our generation’s livelihoods and futures get turned into a political football. On Friday, The New Yorker reported that the Department of Education’s response to a Freedom of Information Act request suggests that the White House has written a policy on student debt cancellation, but is essentially sitting on its hands.
This news is especially stinging given that a key college affordability policy within Biden’s Build Back Better bill, two free years of community college, was cut out because of obstruction from West Virginia senator Joe Manchin. That decision, says Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI), will cause the student debt crisis to "absolutely be exacerbated."
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) weighed in on October 28 via her Instagram Story, saying it was time to "bring the heat on Biden to cancel student loans." "He doesn't need Manchin's permission for that," AOC said. "Now that his agenda is thinly sliced, he needs to step up his executive action game and show his commitment to [delivering] for people."
On October 26, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona told The Atlantic that “conversations are continuing” regarding student debt. That’s politician-speak for “nothing is really happening.” But Biden seemed to have a clear answer in mind when he told a crowd just a year ago, “I will eliminate your student debt.” Wonder what changed.
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