Ayer me llegó la newsletter de UnCollege, cuyo asunto decía lo siguiente: "Revolution or devolution?", titular que encontré muy sugerente una vez leído el contenido. No puedo dejar de compartirlo aquí:
A glimmer of hope
Under current laws in America, amended in 2005 during the Bush administration, student loan debt is not dischargeable in the case of bankruptcy. You can foreclose on your house and have your credit card debt written off, but you can’t get out of paying your student loans. Perhaps that’s because it’s easy for a bank to repossess your house—because it’s a physical good—but difficult for a bank to repossess your education. But that still doesn’t make sense—why should private student loan debt be treated any differently than other private forms of debt?
This week, Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) introduced legislation to pass a law that would allow private student loans to be dischargeable in the case of bankruptcy. If passed, the law could provide relief to millions of people, including the 8.9% of student loan debtors who are now defaulting on their loans. The number of people defaulting on student loans is up nearly 2% from two years ago, and will continue to rise in the foreseeable future. To learn more about Durbin’s effort to reform student loans, check out this article from the Huffington Post.
It’s easy to ignore just how difficult paying off student debt can be. We’re young, ambitious, and a little naïve. Whether we borrowed $10,000 or $100,000, the future looks bright, and a degree supposedly guarantees you—according to statistics—more than enough extra money to pay off that debt. And yet, as shown by a recent article in the Washington Post, the reality might be more stark than it appears: senior citizens with student debt, sometimes well into their 80s, are still haunted by student loans. Even when these student loans are over half a century old, many senior citizens have their Social Security checks taken if they are unable to meet their monthly payment. It is estimated that student loans total over $870 billion. Americans 50 and older are responsible for 17% of that.
When it comes to opportunity cost, college is making less and less sense. I can’t think of a way to spend four years that would justify a nagging debt for the rest of my life. Why should we indebt ourselves to a system that no longer guarantees a foundation for our future?
A recent article in Esquire summarized the bleak outlook for America’s youth. From law school tuition rising 317% from 1989 to 2009, average medical school debt going from $20,000 to $158,000 over the last three decades, and only 54% of Americans between 18 and 24 being employed (the lowest figure in documented history), our generation faces rising educational costs, declining educational benefits, and a depressing job market. Does all of this college debt really make sense?
But the picture is bleak not just in America. All over the world, youth unemployment is skyrocketing. As Felix Salmon points out, nearly 50% of youth in Spain and Greece are unemployed. In Egypt, Tunisia, and Lebanon, nearly 30% are unemployed. This generation is disenfranchised, disempowered, and wondering what is next. Sadly, I don’t have the answers. We must create the solutions.
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