Yesterday, the Rev. Jesse Jackson rallied Ohio University students and Athens residents alike. But one topic remained a hot issue and a crowd pleaser to most — student-loan forgiveness.
A student-loan forgiveness initiative would mean all students and graduates facing loan debts after graduation would be absolved of any payments to the government. Forgiving a recent graduate for his or her student loans would allow them to live debt-free.
Student-loan forgiveness could come with a significant effect on the economy. First, recent graduates would no longer owe the federal government any money. Their first paychecks coming out of college wouldn’t have to go toward paying off student loans and eliminating debt. Instead, they could be stimulating the economy.
A student graduating with no debt would have more money to spend as a consumer. Their expendable income could be spent aiding the economy — whether that means buying a new car or buying a cup of coffee.
In order to stave off another recession, we need to be stimulating the economy. Putting money in graduates’ pockets would mean greater consumer spending. Instead of paying loans to the government, they would have expendable income.
However, student-loan forgiveness is rooted in a much deeper problem — higher education is not affordable in our country. Student-loan forgiveness would only be a short-term solution to that problem. The cost of higher education prevents the nation’s youth from innovating and sets them up for long-term failure. Graduates with massive debt are already behind in the economic game.
Student-loan forgiveness is an excellent way to boost our economy in the short term. If tuition costs stay the same, though, the next generation will face the same problems, and yet another stimulus program will likely be necessary.
A loan forgiveness program buys policy makers some time to find a long-term fix to unaffordable higher education. But doing so needs to become an immediate priority. The government cannot simply keep excusing itself for its mistakes — it’s time to find permanent fixes to these structural problems.
Jackson said it best himself: If we want results, we have to act as catalysts. And if we want change, we have to be the change.
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