Student Loan Debt and Forgiveness

In February, 2006, the Deficit Reduction Act passed through legislation. This act would ultimately cut $12 billion from federal student aid. This act increased interest rates on student and parent borrowers. The Stafford Loan interest rates rose from 5.3% to 7.14% on existing loan and 6.8% on any loans taken out after this act passed (Talia Berman). What this act did do was lower income taxes to those that made more than $1 million!

Most Americans would agree that higher education is important. Compared to years ago, when a high school education was acceptable in most jobs, a college degree is now required in the majority of positions. But what if you can’t afford to get a degree? What then?

David Leonhardt in his article “Is College Really Worth It? Clearly New Data Say” goes over the biggest negatives of college that deter students and even returning adults from receiving a higher education and earning a degree. He talks about the struggles of finding work after college and the accumulated student debt. Daivd Leonhardt points out that “Americans with four-year college degrees made 98% more an hour on average in 2013 than people without a degree.” (Leonhardt). Which shows that as much as college costs, you get that back multiple times over after graduation and after you are employed. The stress and struggles that undergraduates face such as deciding a major, the issue of time commitment and large financial sacrifices are worth

Ever since it was turned into a semi-private loan service, Sallie Mae used money to lobby its way in order to become an effective profit-generating machine that fed off the student’s monthly payment while the government just watched as the well-intentioned program went down the drain. In the beginning, Federal student loan started off with the intention of providing equal opportunity in the academic world. For that reason, President Johnson (D) signed the Higher Education Act in 1965 that offered guarantees of low interest, leniency on payments, and options when the student cannot afford to pay it back. In the next presidency, President Nixon (R) expanded the educational program to make it a semi-government program

Here in the United States, there are many forms of consumer debt, which help contribute to the large sums of debt countless Americans find themselves faced with. Directly effecting many college students is student loan debt. Student loan debt is now the second largest form of consumer debt behind housing” declares the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (Grisales). This is due to the fact that student loan debt grew 7.1% in 2014 to $1.2 trillion (Grisales). If this statistic alone is not worrisome this next one is sure to be. The amount of debt in the housing market that helped to spark the last recession was only $1.3 trillion (Grisales). Due to the increased amount of debt required by students to attend college many students are feeling the wrath. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, “In 2014, 11.7 percent of females and 17.7 percent of males between the ages 25 and 34 were living with their parents” (Grisales). The fear of obtaining massive amounts of debt is driving the current generation of student’s to put off many future hopes and dreams. While causing them to move back home to save money. The current student loan crisis is crippling the economy and ruining the lives of American students.

A decade ago, student loans barely existed. Today, however, American students borrow up to couple million dollars a year to attend college. An entire generation is burdened with debt, and affected by the modern phenomena known as the “student debt crisis.” In recent years, student loan borrowing rates have risen notably, leading to concern about the public financial risks associated with the financial challenges faced by many students. Of late, the United States government has given out about $170 billion in financial aid annually in an effort to encourage students to attend postsecondary education. Such funding are usually supported by research that consistently finds positive and growing average economic benefits of

Throughout the United States, student loans have been show to drag this economy down. Student loans have been a big problem through many of the years. It has been showing a trend and it is raising and exceeding many of the debt types each year. Many problems that students that have loans cause are, “ 20 percent of respondents indicated they cannot get a loan for other items, are unable to purchase a home, and student loan debt negatively impacts their credit. 18 percent of individuals indicated they are living paycheck to paycheck, “drowning” in debt, and have a large debt load. 13 percent indicated they have a lower quality of life and are unable to afford the extra things. 12 percent indicated they are unable to save for their retirement or their children’s education and feel less secure.” Students that have

Since tuition rates are increasing, student loans are becoming something that is simply a part of becoming a college student. It is almost expected that going to college means having an unimaginable amount of student loans. The reason that this stereotype exists is because it seems to be true. Between 2005 and 2011, the amount of federal student loans for private school students increased by 84.3 billion dollars. The other issue with increasing prices pushing for the acceptance of more loans can be said to be derived from ignorance. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says that, in 2012, many students most likely lacked the understanding necessary for deciphering

It is no big secret that, in America today, most high-paying jobs require a college degree. Thomas C. Frohlich of USA Today stated that “graduating from college is a prerequisite for the vast majority of high-paying jobs”(2013). With the cost of a college degree increasing in unison with demand, few can earn a degree without the help of student loans. The American Student Assistance website reports that of the twenty million students enrolled in college, about sixty percent are attending with the help of student loans (2014). Obviously, student loan debt affects the individuals that obtain them. However, it also has severe effects upon the nation’s economy.

Even though private loans have become an essential option, students borrowing these loans encounter further obstacles. Students who are unable to receive federal subsidized loans, which offer better forgiveness and numerous repayment options, are stuck with private loans. And due to the high interest rates of these private loans, students encounter

In the United States today, the number of students graduating college with student loan debt is quite astonishing. In the article titled, “How the $1.2 Trillion College Debt Crisis Is Crippling Students, Parents And The Economy”, we will examine and break down the student loan debt crisis by the numbers. Today, almost two-third’s of students graduating college are graduating with an average of $26,000 in debt. For most students, $26,000 is a lot of money when the average annual income for a first year graduate is only in the mid $40,000 a year range. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, student loan debt has reached a new milestone, crossing the $1.2 trillion mark (Denhart, 2013, Introduction, par. 2). With student loan debt levels

History Many factors are accountable for of student debt. The growing problem of student debt has become more prominent in the past decade inspiring many documentaries that check the causes and effects. One reason is due to the new guidelines developed by the federal government. There are now new rules deciding who can borrow as well as how much debt they can take on. Colleges and universities have increased the costs for students to attend their schools then increasing the amount of debt these students take on as student loans. Reports have shown that borrowers who finished college in the early 1990s were able to keep up managing their student loans without an enormous burden. Some blame the economy for the debt increases but in the same 7-year period credit card debt and auto debt have decreased. If student debt had stayed constant with inflation since 1992 graduates would not be facing such burdens by student loans. Public universities increased their fees by a total of 27 over the five years ending in 2012 or 20 adjusted for inflation. Public university students paid an average of almost 8400 annually for in-state tuition with out-of-state students paying more than 19000. For two decades ending in 2012 college costs rose 1.6 more than inflation each year. Government funding per student fell 27 between 2007 and 2012. Student enrollment rose from 15.2 million in

If you have heard of student loan forgiveness but don't quite understand what it is, you will want to read this. We are going to discuss the most frequently asked questions about student loan forgiveness. When you are done reading, you should have a good idea how student loan forgiveness works and if it is a good choice for you.

Last March, contained in the Student Aid Bill involving Rights, President Obama instructed several federal agencies to boost student loan servicing and help help make paying for higher education an easier along with fairer experience for a lot of Americans, regardless of the type of financial loan they have. These federal companies were directed to consult with the actual CFPB,

Encompassing the fact that Albert Lord, Chief Executive of the largest student loan company in America, Sallie Mae, reported that in 2003 the company’s record profits were “attributable to penalties and fees collected from defaulted loans” and that “…Sallie Mae’s fee income increased by 228 percent between 2000 and 2005”, every imaginable factor of control now pervades the actions of student loan companies in modernity (Collinge 5).