The idiom used by Benjamin Franklin “…In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” is used very often in our society. Why doesn’t he mention student debt? Because it wasn’t an issue in colonial times. Education was more like a home-school situation than a government situation. Taking a look back at the post about the history of religion, we can recall Harvard was founded in the 1600s – but “formal education” was not very popular in colonial times and it was so young men could learn more about religion. 

That’s not to say the school was not used – it simply widespread to go to additional schooling. It wouldn’t be until the 1700s when secondary schools gained popularity – through Latin grammar schools – open to the Upper class, though some poor young men were allowed to attend for free.

By 1784, the major colleges that were established you may recognize if you know anything about US schooling – Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth, and Penn… these schools today are called called “Ivy League” schools and are extremely prestigious. In fact, all 8 of them rank in the top 17 of the US News and World Report of best colleges along with MIT, Stanford, and Cal Tech.

But that’s nowhere near where it is today to attend these schools. According to Statista, the cost of attending these universities ranges from $51,143 (Havard) on the low end climbing to $60,944 (Brown) per year. And that isn’t including room and board – you can tack on an extra $16,346 (Brown) on the low end to $26,010 (Columbia). Now, yes, these are prestigious Universities that should be expensive right?

Well, no, as of 1985 – according to Harvard – the cost of tuition was roughly $14,100 at the university. It was so significant that The Havard Crimson reported on it on 4 April 1985. Yale and Penn were roughly the same cost – of colleges of the same type tend to do.

Fast forward to today, the outlook of school costs for higher education is, honestly, astronomical in comparison. College tuition on the low end is roughly pushing $1,865 at your basic community college. And the Pell Grant may not cover it all or your books and room/board. Yes, typically if someone is attending a community college they are a student staying at home with their parents or someone who lives on their own. If a student decides to go to a private institution, it can be $15,100 in-state. An in-state public college tuition can cost roughly $9,375 to attend. Private colleges can rack up a bill of $35,852.

That’s a huge discrepancy between Ivy Leagues in 1985 to even public colleges today in 2022.

For scale, a base model 2022 Chevy Cruze (a compact car) cost $19,995 straight off the lot brand-new or $20,495 for the hatchback edition of this car. This is without the heated seats, cruise control, and rear cup holders.

College Tuition costs as much as a new car – a middle-of-the-road new car. Just the base of the base models.

High Tuition Rates Lead to Loans

Graduating high school is one of the scariest things a teenager can experience. Becoming an “adult” means less time for friends, learning how to be a functioning adult in society (at least, in the US), and going off to college – at least for roughly 60% of the high school population.

For some, parents have saved and saved and saved money away in a “college fund” for their students. But that’s only 20% of parents aged 30-59 in 2017. What about those students whose parents didn’t d that?

Why student loans are an option! There are several types of student loans available through the US government thank to the National Defense Education Act in 1958, followed in 1965 by The Higher Education Act where they began to offer the Perkins loans, Federal Work-study, and Stafford loans. In 1972, the Pell Grant would be created for “in-need” students to attend college and is named for Senator Pell, who helped create it.

The Different Types of Loans

There are currently 4 types of loans available to attend college. These are:

• Direct Subsidized LoUnsubsidizedsubstidized Loans
• Direct PLUS Loans
• Direct Consolidation LoSubsidizedSubstidized Loans: These loans are for undergraduate students with a demonstrated financial need and it is determined by the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) a student fills out when going to college. The subsidized loan has better terms than other loans from the Fed as they will cover interest during specific times (while a student is in school, then during a six-month “grace period” after a student finishes schools, and deferment).

Interest on current subsidized loans is 2.75% – which there is an origination fee of 1.057% on loans made after 1 Oct 2020, but before 1 Oct 20.

Subsidized Loans: While similar, there are differences. Unsubsidized loans have the interest on the loan fall solely on the borrower. But they are available to both undergraduate and graduate students with the eligibility not being based on financial need.

The interest rate is almost double a subsidized loan at 4.3% – at least for graduate and professional students. It remains the same for undergraduate students.

Both of these loans are referred to as Stafford Loans and do have borrowing limits. For dependent students (on their parents’ taxes) it is $31,000 and then $57,700 for independent students.

Direct PLUS Loans:  This loan is also known as the “Parent PLUS Loan.” These “fill the gap” between the cost of attendance and available resources after borrowing max of the unsubsidized and subsidized loans. Credit checks are required, but even if a student has bad credit, a PLUS loan can be obtained with a co-signer or meeting other criteria.

The current interest is 5.3% with an origination fee of 4.228% after 1 Oct prior to 1 Oct 2021.

Direct Consolidation Loans: These loans let students consolidate their eligible federal loans down into one loan – typically done after schooling and without an application fee.

Thisnterest ios weighted based on the current interest rates on the student loans to be combined and then are rounded up to tone-eighth one-eighth of 1%.

These loans are eligible for income-driven loan repayment and even loan forgiveness.

Tuition-free is Not a Pipe-Dream… for Other Countries

These are all seen as normal ways to go to college, but the issue lies in the fact that college tuition has tripled in the last 30 years. When you look at other countries in the world, you see many of them offer tuition-free college education.

Germany

Germany offers tuition-free education at its public universities, though private tuitions cost money… which makes sense. Students coming from outside the European Union require a residence permit. Most universities offer programs entirely n English, but a few require proficiency and while a residence is required,  some universities may require a bit more paperwork (such as proof of finances, language proficiency, health insurance, etc).

And even though they are tuition-free, they may require a “Semesterbeltrag” – a semester fee – which is roughly the equivalent of what a student in the US would pay for a book. This fee typically covers a public transportation pass.

Sweden

Sweden tuition-free country… at least to those in the EU. For international students, a student may have anywhere from $9,000-$39,000. Requirements include being proficient in English and a student visa. Most scholarships are for master’s programs.

Denmark

Like Sweden, EU students and Swisscanare able to attend tuition-free. Students outside these parameters can pay anywhere from $8,000 to $21,000. Tuition is also free for those who have permanent residency or are participating in exchange programs. Non-EU students are required to apply for a Danish residence permit.

France

France requires foreign students to present a document vouching for proficiency in French. The French government spends 5.2% of its funds on education. The tuition rates are also low with an average of $240 per year and the only thing that raises the cost of attendance could be admin fees. There is also no differentiation between French nationals and international students when it comes to tuition.

Student Loans Are Crippling

Once, the Pell Grant covered 80% of a 4 year public college, but now only cover a third. What does that mean for students whose parents can’t pay for their high education? Mor loans.  Per the Department of Ed, undergraduates will graduate with nearly $25,000 of debt.

As the cost of tuition rose, the Fed has not given a rise to the Pell Grant to help fund students’ college, as it was agreed upon when the Pell Grant was conceived.

The more loans people take out, the more their lives are affected. They aren’t able to buy houses or even start small businesses. The middle and working class Americans cannot build wealth because of these loans.  These loans as of 2022 sit at nearly $1.6 trillion. Yeah, trillion, with a T.

One-third of borrowers have debt but no degree. I, myself, dropped out of college due to mental health when I was 18 and was saddled with $17,000 and I went to a public university for one year in 2012. But not everyone who drops out does it because of mental health – but because the cost of attendance is so astronomically high.

16% of borrowers are currently in default (they just stopped paying because they couldn’t) with nearly one-third of them being senior citizens. And default can lead to wage garnishment or the lowering of the borrower’s credit score.

Wage garnishment meaning the government reaches into a borrower’s paycheck and takes money from them. Before the borrower is even allowed to use that money for things to keep themselves living – like food and rent. And credit scores can affect everything from getting an apartment to buying a new car.

Anyone who has student loans can attest to the fear that comes with an apartment complex having/wanting specific credit score in order to have a place to live. If a borrower doesn’t have a roommate or a co-signer, chances are if there is a base level of credit (typically 640 or higher), they aren’t getting that apartment. This leads to them needing to find an apartment that doesn’t need/require credit checks. Which are getting harder and harder to come back (honestly, credit scores and landlords are a whole other thing to write about and how predatory they are).

Credit and wage garnishment aside, POC who started college in 1995 still owed 95% of their original student debt. Let me repeat that, non-white borrowers from 27 years ago still owed 95% of their original debt.

A Dim Light in the Dark

Many people from the regular working-class constituents to politicians have been calling for the total cancellation of student loan debt and tuition-free college for years – with it becoming more and more vocalized in the last 5 years with Vermont senator Bernie Sanders running on a platform in 2016 and 2020 for tuition-free college and many other left-leaning ideologies that have been slowly moving the Democratic Party further left.

And it isn’t just Bernie Sanders. Other major political advocates include Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Maxine Waters (D-CA). Now not all these people agree with total forgiveness and there are many more (typically democrats and independents) advocating for an increase in assistance for the Pell Grant, for the forgiveness of student debt, up to $50,000.

The Bookings Institute further advocates for POC who are saddled with a majority of the student debt – owing almost double their white counterparts.

August 2022

With roughly 10 days left before student debt repayments were to restart, borrowers were in a bind for their September budgets as the average student loan payment was $460.

President Biden made a statement saying that there was a reprieve. Borrowers receive up to $10,000 in forgiveness without the Pell Grant – though if borrowers had received a Pell Grant, they would receive up to $20,000 in forgiveness. This would be for individuals making under $125,000 and would give roughly 45 million people relief – and canceling the remaining balance of 20 million borrowers.

He also stated that this would be the last time he would extend loan Memorium until 1 January 2023.

The US President also made it easier to pay back the current loans by lowering the income-repayment system from borrowers’ discretionary income from 10% to 5%. Which will also help with inflation, if only a little bit. It also for means that those who are current – or planning – to borrow in the future, the repayment plans will be lower.

Biden also stated he is fighting to double the current Pell Grant and make community college free to attend.

President Biden states that people making $77,000 per year will only pay $295 to $61 per month.

This however will elongate the amount of time it takes for individuals to pay back their loans, but the balances will now grow so long as they make their balances and the loan will be forgiven after the requisite amount of payments required.

Additionally, The Dept of Ed (with the permission of borrowers) will be able to pull their yearly information so they will not need to manually recertify their income annually. This is a great thing to hear because there is normally written statement and scanning (typically faxing) of documents to make sure the Deptwhoeveror whoever is serving the student loan) calculates the correct amount a borrower may pay.

There is not too much known about the PSLF (Public Service Loan Forgiveness) other than the Debt of Ed is reworking it and those who have served less than 10 years will get credit more easily. More information is easily found on PSLF.gov and changes any changes applied to a borrower’s loans, borrowers only have until 31 Oct 2022 – which is a little inconsiderate considering loan repayment goes through the end of the year.

These are, as mentioned, great steps in the right direction. That can’t be denied. There is more to be done. Between inflation – which is sitting at 8.5% the most since November 1981 – and the fact that college tuition prices are completely out of control and given that 100 million healthcare-related related debt.

Where Does it Go From Here?

A broad concept. The American people are saddled with unfair amounts of debt due to college and the awful healthcare system where pharmaceutical companies run amok with pricing.

Tuition-free college is where the US should be heading. 39 other developed nations offer free college at public universities and colleges to their nationals.

Additionally, 43 other developed countries in the world offer free/universal healthcare.

Now, people will argue that this is a form of “socialism,” and America isn’t on This list. Which is true. America is a capitalist society, which can absolutely lead to the detriment of its people.

Looking back in history, the people being led worked led to unions banning together and a capitalist named Henry Ford advocating that workers worked bet40-hours a 40weekr work and too many hours were bad for productivity.

You can also see socialist ideas with the social safety nets of the New Deal leading to a healthier and more productive community. The New Deal, passed by Franklin D Roosevelt was intended to restore the prosperity of Americans after the Great Depression.

Morale at the time was low. The Depression took everything from Americans.

So on 4 March 1933, FDR delivered his first inaugural speech in Capitol Plaza. Where he uttered the famous like “Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

Unemploymitswas at its highest during the Great Depression, ranging from 80% in Ohio to 90% in Massachusetts.

FDR’s First 100 Days

The first 100 days of any presidency sets the mood for how the rest of the 4 years will go and that began with FDR.  He took steps to get the 21st Amendment passed (ending Prohibition). He would pass acts to protect flood plans in Tennesee and paid Farmers for their fields. The National Industrial Recovery Act was passed that June – allowing for unionization and the collectively collective bargaining for fair wages.

He would also pass Glass-Steagall, an important bill that protected people’s money. Which would be repealed in 1999 and ultimately lead to the 2007-2008 Recession.

The reformation of the college and medical sectors of the US is a very long and arduous process. So far, Biden has done the bare minimum in regards to the people – letting the likes of Joe Manchin to Mitch McConnell steer the US by desecrating bills like Build Back Better and the Inflation Reduction Act.

We are seeing the establishment Democrats finally fighting back after 2 years of being stepped on and blockaded. There is absolutely more work to be done – and I am trying to use my platforms to educate people on the reasons why these are necessary changes that need to happen.

Going to my community college should not cost me an additional dollar amount to attend because the Pell Grant doesn’t cover it. And that is “full time” so 12 credit hours. My books were $300 to purchase. Two of them were digital access codes. Not even physical copies of the book.

And then I will have to pay for additional remedial classes for math and writing because to qualify for college math or Composition I (both are required for my degree) you need to meet specific expectations.

Right now, the odds are stacked against college students. Student loans are keeping down millions of Americans as the cost of college continues to spin out of control.

Hopefully, as more people become less complacent with being bogged down, there is a march in the right direction so the US can join the rest of the developed world.