Thousands of young adults graduated from college over the last couple of years with hopes of using their costly degrees to get well-paying jobs as they started lives of their own. Unfortunately, for most of those who graduated, the promise of the degree they obtained didn’t hold up. Employment for those with young professionals – or wishing to be young professionals, rather – is at an all time high. Most have had to move back in with their parents, and an even higher number are being crushed with student loan debt.
The student loan debt that most graduated students now have was taken on simply because they believed that a degree was the only way they could get a well-paying job in the real world. The average debt each graduate has accrued from a 4-year, nonprofit university is $27,000 and the number is even higher for those who attended private schools.
Many of these young adults are now without jobs, yet heavy student debt loans looming over their shoulders. In addition to moving back in with parents to save money, many are also trying to make ends meet and cover their bills by obtaining cash advances through title and payday loan companies such as Cashnetusa.
To alleviate the stress these students loans are placing on younger adults, President Obama is now trying to pass initiatives to reduce the amount recent graduates have to pay on their loans so that they aren’t rushing to pull out Cash net loans or working 3 part-time jobs.
So the question then arises, is it better for college graduates to have to pay their loans in full or for them to be forgiven? Both sides have their benefits.
If recent graduates were able to reduce the amount they owed on their student loans, they would be able to take higher risks – take the lower paying job with possible advancements, start a business, afford to by a car. All of these things would better stimulate the economy. It would help the younger generation restore faith in the system that has failed them, and possibly even reduce the number of protests we are seeing.
On the other hand, the forgiving of loans could strain the budget and reduce the amount of money coming into the Department of Education, which would then need to be more greatly subsidized by a government that doesn’t have any more funds to give.
Either way, the economy has the potential to be further strained. However, the opportunity to give a younger generation with an already bleak outlook a chance might be worth the financial gamble. Reducing loans would mean greater spending and more young professionals at work. Now it is just a matter of convincing young professionals that they still can obtain the careers they once sought, and convincing Congress to work towards a common goal: helping those suffering in this rough economy.
Economy