Please Stop Complaining About Student Loan Forgiveness

Picture: Unsplash, Honey Yanibel Minaya Cruz

Think Twice Before You Complain

In almost every corner, I’m finding complaints about student loan forgiveness. People on my Facebook feed seem to think their ideas on student loans are worth an audience (they’re not). Even though President Joe Biden has announced that college students will receive $10,000 in loan forgiveness and Pell Grant recipients will receive another $10,000, no one has been granted this yet. Those who would be relieved to have this cancellation are hoping this promise won’t be a fairy tale.

It’s scary because Congress or the Supreme Court could try to block it.

For those not in the know: Student debt cancellation will go to individuals earning less than $125,000 a year or to families who make under $250,000. Most people don’t earn that much money in a year.

Your Complaints Come Off Like Lemon Juice Squeezed Over Fresh Wounds

My issue right now is that so many entitled people are complaining about student loan forgiveness, AND THEY’RE DOING THIS PUBLICLY. Clearly, if you are someone who would benefit from student loan forgiveness you wouldn’t be complaining about it. If a loan borrower wants to they can tell the federal government they don’t want forgiveness, and they plan to work their butt to pay off their debt. I assume most people will accept loan forgiveness. They likely won’t have a big parade for it or an announcement, but the smart choice would be to take the loan forgiveness and get into a better financial situation.

People who would benefit from this action aren’t going to talk about it to those who are complaining that it is wrong, unethical, sets a bad example, blah blah blah. Those who will be receiving loan forgiveness don’t want you, the complaining actant, bothering them. They don’t want you saying mean things to them. They don’t want you picking on them. They’re not going to share their opinion with you because they think you’re a jerk. You’re an entitled jerk who doesn’t get their situation.

Those who are making complaints right now are doing one thing: signaling their status. There is nothing sweet and kind about that. To those who have worked hard for their livelihood, hearing someone they trust complain about student loan forgiveness does one thing… they now think you’re an elitist.

The Big Problem Behind Student Loans

The problem with student loans is the high-interest rate. For a long time, this has desperately needed to be corrected. People spend decades paying off their student debt, and they don’t get very far because the interest rate is too high. It didn’t use to be this way.

I’ve paid $15,000 in student loans, but I’m still supposed to pay my original balance of $20,000 because of the interest rate. The interest rate for student loans shouldn’t be like taking out a mortgage. I took classes and sometimes didn’t buy books for the classes because that was another cost. I never bought a parking pass; I’d park my car blocks away and walk to campus.

Also, the cost of tuition is accounting for things that have NOTHING to do with a student’s education, such as the bloating of administration, building new gyms and dining halls to make campus life seem like a resort, and building up sports teams when only a handful of universities actually benefit from a strong sports team. The cost is high because it’s not all going toward the student’s actual education. Dorm costs are rising even though they’re the same old buildings, and some schools require that freshmen live on campus.

Another frustrating factor: Wages for professors and adjunct staff aren’t rising. The people who actually teach are getting ignored while administrators are getting added like wildfire and with six-figure salaries. Administrators are like the CEOs of campuses. There are too many. They’re expensive. They don't get the big picture. They cause more problems than solutions. Their big salaries take away from other employees and their wages.

People With Debt Aren’t Sloths

I was a Pell Grant recipient. I also had scholarships, my dad paid what he could, I took out loans, and I had a graduate assistantship. I had three jobs at one point while taking 19 credit hours. I still walked away with $20,000+ in debt.

Higher education needs massive reengineering to be affordable in the United States. There should be scholarship opportunities before and after attending school. The interest rate for loans needs to come down drastically. States and the federal government need to put funding toward higher education; it is essentially the most important branch of education because it’s what truly prepares people for their careers. We need doctors, lawyers, pilots, accountants, teachers, computer programmers, scientists, and a long list of others. You can suffer through a bad elementary school year or high school year, but having a bad college education can have long-term consequences.

Right now, getting through college is akin to a scam because of the cost and because of the serious hold loans have on people. It’s been a burden for me to carry my loan weight, and it’s far less than what a lot of people have on their plates.

I have done what I can to live frugally. I’ve avoided making huge risky moves that could bankrupt me. I probably should have moved to California since I earned a film degree, but I didn’t because the financial toll was too much. How would I get there and stay there unless I had real connections? That was too much a game of luck for me.

Prices for college need to be slashed. We need people to have access to education, and we need experts to guide our country… not people who aren’t qualified to discuss important matters.

It’s rude to complain about student loan forgiveness on social media. Keep your comments to yourself, or reserve to talk about something like this with your bar buddies. When you complain so openly on social media about student loans AND with your actual given name, you’re going to ostracize yourself from people who might not have had the same advantages or opportunities as you. You can’t just look through your friends' list or follower list and easily discern who was a Pell Grant recipient and who wasn’t.

Also, where were you when the government gave out PPE loans? I didn’t hear you complain then. Does it bother you that the military budget is so gigantic and that the military literally does everything it possibly can to continually demand for more money each year? We have a surplus of tanks and other weapons and defense items. Can’t the government be fussed to look at other issues and start giving relief to its citizens? What’s the point of taxes if it doesn’t go back to benefit the people? The government is FOR the people; it’s not the people for the government.

You’ve been lost to the military complex and its budget if you’re unhappy that some people might finally get out of debt.

• USA’s military spending in 2021 hit $801 billion.
• The White House projects Biden’s student loan debt cancellation will cost about $24 billion per year.

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Originally published: https://andrealawrence2468.medium.com/please-stop-complaining-about-student-loan-forgiveness-a02ea17034bc