The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender. Proverbs 22:7
No one helped her with the math.
A high school senior, great grades, and a good athlete. Perfect college material – except for the money. “Don’t worry,” the guidance counselor advised, “we’ll help you get financial aid.”
Six years later, while guests at the same wedding, she tells me she “feels duped.” No one had explained to her what it would cost when she had earned the degree. Her student loan payments were so high that she couldn’t afford to buy a car or rent an apartment.
As sad as that story is (and there are millions like it), it does not justify the government “forgiving” any portion of her debt. According to an article at CNBC (https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/23/elizabeth-warren-and-2020-election-democrats-propose-student-loan-relief.html) Americans owe $1.57 TRILLION in student debt! Another article, (https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/student-loan-crisis-borrowers-dont-understand-costs-193650429.html) says that despite unpayable amounts, the students continue to pile it on. Are they piling on in anticipation of forgiveness?
This is one more socialistic option being touted by Presidential hopefuls.
I get it. This debt has stymied the ability of many millennials to get a good start in adult life. I do not know how many feel duped and how many knowingly went into the debt believing it would be easy.
Who are we allowing to advise our children? Why would no one think to do the math for them? I know one young woman who came out of college with $90,000 in debt with a social work degree. There are no numbers that would make that combination add up.
Christian parents, please talk to your children. Paying room and board to live on the campus of a big name university is not the only way to get an education. This generation has more affordable choices now than ever before. On-line courses and living at home after high school allow for a greater ability to “pay as they go” so they can afford to pay the bills and maybe even get married after college!
Apprenticeships, trade schools, on the job experience, and self-taught scholars are no longer things of the past. Wise students are seeing that the numbers just do not add up to take on the loans. And, waiting for the government to bail them out is just irresponsible behavior from an entitled generation.
Let’s insist that this government money would be better spent in a myriad of ways. In fact, if it is available, why not have the Federal government pay down its own $21 Trillion debt first?
Perhaps, then, as we tell the coming generation about the mighty deeds of God, let’s tell them about the foolishness of men who do not consider the consequences of their actions until it is payback time.
Socialism creates an environment where the government takes over the responsibility of the citizen. Some of it, like forgiving loans or making college “free,” sound great. But, do the math. It is gonna cost us so much money and so much freedom that we just cannot afford it.
We are being duped. We cannot afford to believe that the people who accrued $21 Trillion of their own debt are trustworthy to help our adult children get rid of theirs.