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President Barack Obama just announced that millions of borrowers will be able to lower their payments and consolidate their loans. However, some protesters in the movement do not believe that this proposal is radical enough to address the crushing debt that many borrowers face. Instead, they are advocating a “Pledge of Refusal,” encouraging people to stop making payments on their student loans. It is based on the idea that borrowers could instead spend money buying homes and other consumer items, thereby stimulating the economy. According to a recent report by the Federal Reserve Bank, in the United States, total student loan debt is at a historic high of nearly $1 trillion, a figure which surpasses the total amount of credit card debt owed by Americans. In addition, due to the recession and the lack of jobs, more borrowers are defaulting on their student loans.
As someone who had significant graduate school loan debt, I can empathize to some extent with the protestors who call for reform. Luckily, I finished my graduate work 10 years before the economic downturn in 2008. At that time, there was a high likelihood that I would find a decent job in my chosen field. Today, graduates are having a hard time finding jobs in their field of study, often relegated to keeping the low-income retail jobs they worked while attending school. Many are unemployed. With tuition rates continue to increase because of state budget cuts, the amount of student loan debt will certainly continue to rise in the foreseeable future. However, even in these tough economic times, loan forgiveness should not be this problem’s solution. Although I did graduate when the economy was sound, I still faced what felt like insurmountable debt. Because my spouse at the time also had huge student loans, we ended up paying more each month for our past educational expenses than for the home in which we lived. I often had to take jobs which paid the bills rather than ones that inspired me. I forwent vacations and home improvements to make sure that I dutifully made my monthly payments. I made choices and sacrifices.
While the face of the economy has changed, the principle that one should be accountable, and pay for his or her debts, should not. Students today need to be smarter about their education and the cost/benefits of the loans that they accrue. They need to recognize that it may no longer be economical to obtain a law degree or an MBA when the market is so tight for graduates in these fields. Despite the economic downturn, there is still a demand in the fields of science, technology, health care, accounting and the skilled trades. Many of these jobs do not even require a four-year or advanced degree. If a person decides not to obtain the necessary education to enter an in-demand occupation, then he or she must be willing to accept the responsibility of paying back student loans. While it may not be fair that students with wealthy parents do not have to incur crippling debt to go to school, taking out a student loan is ultimately a choice. And one thing that we all learned before we entered college is that life is often not fair.
Ami Peterson, who lives and works in Olympia, is a member of The Olympian’s Board of Contributors. She can be reached at amipetersonoly@yahoo.com.
