Student Loan Forgiveness; Right or Wrong?

One of the major talking points for the Democrat Party of late has been “Student Loan Forgiveness.”

Most if not all of the 2020 Democrat candidates had “we will pay off your college student loans” on the tip of their forked tongue. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders even went so far as to promise that any child in America that wanted a college education could obtain one for free at a State University if he were elected President. It is not a bad deal; I can go to the University of Iowa and get my $400,000 medical degree, specializing in neuro-surgery, all for free. Not a bad gig. Too bad Bernie didn’t win.

On a serious note, though, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris both campaigned on essentially the same thing. At the very least, they want to “forgive” all student loans when they are sworn into office. This brings up a very serious question. Is this even fair? I would go on a diatribe here, but I think I will leave it to the television star and the Crab Fisherman’s voice and Dirty Jobs, Mr. Mike Rowe. He wrote an outstanding piece on his Facebook page a couple of days ago.

The following is written by Mr. Mike Rowe and has not been edited or altered in any way. I did fix a few punctuations.

Lots of people on this page have asked me to comment on the various proposals to forgive hundreds of billions of dollars in student debt. Many, it seems, suspect that I’ll be supportive of these efforts since I’ve written at length about the outrageous rise of college tuition and the scandalous ways in which hundreds of thousands of students have been conned into borrowing ridiculous sums of money to purchase degrees that never lead to an actual job. Well, for the record, I do not support student loan forgiveness.

My reasons for opposing student loan forgiveness are not a secret. I’ve written at length on this page about the fundamental unfairness of doing such a thing – especially to the millions of Americans who have paid their college debts and sacrificed much to do so. I’ve also said that forgiving student debt would send a terrible message to the very same universities that already gouge their customers with sky-high tuition. Tuition will never come back to earth if we bail out those who borrowed more than they could repay. Kevin Williamson, however, has summed it up better than I have. This paragraph in the attached article jumped out…

“The majority of student debt is held by relatively high-income people, poor people mostly are not college graduates and those who attended college but did not graduate hold relatively little college-loan debt, etc. As the New York Times puts it, “Debt relief overall would disproportionately benefit middle- to upper-class college graduates.” Which ones? “Especially those who attended elite and expensive institutions, and people with lucrative professional credentials like law and medical degrees.”

I encourage you to read Kevin’s article. It’s short but powerful. I also encourage you, if you’re so inclined, to make a modest donation to my foundation, which is currently raising money for our next round of work-ethic scholarships. mikeroweworks.org.

At mikeroweWORKS, we have no objection to a broad-based, liberal arts education. We simply object to the cost and therefore focus our efforts on assisting students who wish to pursue a trade that doesn’t require a four-year degree. Like last year, I hope to award another million dollars in 2021 to qualified applicants looking to master a useful skill. Specifically, plumbers, electricians, pipefitters, welders, HVAC, mechanics, and so forth.

Finally, it should go without saying that I pity every young man and woman who is struggling today under the yoke of a crushing student loan. I sincerely do. You were quite possibly sold a bill of goods. You were very likely pressured by your friends, your parents, or your guidance counselor, to attend the “right” school. You were perhaps a victim of this persistent, pernicious, and preposterous push to peddle a four-year degree to every person with a pulse, and for that, you have my sympathy. But that’s not my fault. Nor is it the fault of the American people. The fault belongs to you, and so does the debt.

This is why I’ve spent the last twelve years discouraging people from slipping into hock at the outset of their careers. This is why I push back against the insane notion that a four-year degree is the best path for most people. I don’t want to see more people borrow money they can’t afford to pay back. But nor do I wish to pay it back for you. I will, however, encourage you to apply for a work-ethic scholarship, and wish you every success in the future.

I will only add this. For myself personally, I feel exactly as Mr. Rowe does. I am truly empathetic to all of those who got stuck with high student loans with exorbitant interest rates. I truly am. But again, I am not the one who sat in the basket weaving class, and I am not the one who signed the paperwork so I could attend frat parties and take the basket weaving class in the first place. Why should I have to absorb the cost?

What are your thoughts, America? How do you feel about this? Feel free to leave your comments below.