In the last week or so, two politicians running for POTUS have outlined different student debt forgiveness programs (will not name them because I do not want to be banned). I believe that the student debt crisis is a serious problem but I am really opposed to blanket loan “jubilees” for a variety of reasons. For one thing, people who scrimped and saved to pay off their loans are punished for trying to do the right thing. For another, the loan “jubilee” (automatic cancellation of loans as a one-time deal) does not address the underlying cost issues of higher ed. I’m curious what people think of student loan forgiveness. Pros? Cons?
It depends on what you think the problem is. If you think the underlying problem is the COA has skyrocketed in inflation adjusted terms, loan forgiveness would exacerbate the issue. Colleges would hire more administrators and non-teaching staff, and compete to see who could have the most luxurious housing and dining facilities. If you believe college should be free to everyone like K-12 education, some form of loan forgiveness might follow from that.
There’s a similar thread here:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/2148404-student-debt-forgiveness-p1.html
There is already a thread about this topic in financial aid…