By: Trent Chassy
An issue that comes to light and seemingly fades away every presidential election, is the question of college affordability. Even adjusting for inflation, college students today are paying more and owing more over time. 40 million Americans share $1.59 trillion dollars of student debt that cannot be forgiven even in the event of bankruptcy. This multifaceted issue hurts the broader economy and leaves a trail of hardship for individuals in its wake.
There are two important, intertwined, issues involved in this crisis. The first is the continuing increase in the cost of tuition and fees. The second issue is the debt already accumulated.
Every class of college students is bearing a larger burden than the last. According to the Department of Labor Statistics, between 1977 and 2020 the average cost of tuition and fees in the United States has increased by nearly 1200%. In the same time, the consumer price index has only increased by about 230%. It is also important to add that when measuring from 1964, wages when adjusted for inflation, have only increased by $2 an hour on average. This rise in cost not only far exceeds the average increase of all consumer goods but also coincides with an economy actively limiting the buying power of the working class.
In practice, this means that working people are expected to pay more and make less to support that effort. Together, these forces can have several negative effects that dissuade people from pursuing higher education.
The issue of the debt itself is also distasteful. As mentioned before, incurring student debt has become a norm in our education. This debt confronts graduates immediately after leaving school. This is a barrier to achieving home ownership in many areas of the country.
After graduating from college, getting a job can be more difficult than it’s made to seem. A study conducted in July 2020 found that 31% of college graduates could not find a job in their field. This clearly is a barrier to starting a life but paired with the fact that now that their loans are now due for repayment, they are in for hard times. The absence of sustainable income at the beginning of student loan repayment can spell a disaster for the bank accounts of college graduates. In the United States an empty bank account can derail long term goals but also can pose an imminent threat to well-being. The idea of taking a financial risk to improve your life is simply much more difficult when completely devoid of a safety net. This debt can’t be discharged through bankruptcy and isn’t always forgiven when it’s promised to be.
So, what can be done? In terms of affordability there are options. President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, currently steeped in negotiations, is calling for free two-year public college. This would be a great advancement for the fight against tuition and one, as community college students, we could personally benefit from. However, if this milestone is accomplished, it is my belief that the benefit to the lives of everyday people will push support further in the direction of completely free public education.
On the issue of debt, it has been proposed to cancel all student debt. There have been attempts to advocate for legislative or executive action regarding this issue. Since the election of President Biden many have advocated for the president to cancel debt. The administration has refused this idea, claiming they lack authority. However, recently President Biden signed an executive order relieving the debt of about 350000 people with total and permanent disabilities. This action has prompted an argument that believes they indeed possess the authority. Were this to be true, student debt could be completely forgiven.
Some ask if investing public funds to tend to the dysfunction of our system is correct. I believe that putting money into the hands of students, or rather never taking it in the first place, will materially benefit their lives in ways that reverberate throughout the economy. This could be seen right here at Parkland through the distribution of the CARES grant. This grant offered $1500 to help each student tend to school expenses in this time of covid-19. This money frees up students to spend money in other areas of their lives, or in other words participate in the broader economy. This grant will not only serve to help students but the community as well.
College is increasingly unaffordable and the implications of this are lengthy. Our officials believed that in a time of crisis the CARES grant was necessary to stabilize our role in the economy. So, if this form of relief can stabilize our role in the economy in a time of crisis, could not taking that $1500 in the first place help us participate in the broader economy in times of relative peace? In my opinion the answer is yes. Therefore, I believe it is of the upmost importance that President Biden’s agenda is released from its hold in negotiations, is passed urgently, and immediate work should begin to expand these efforts in the future.