Argumentative Essay On Student Debt

More than forty-five million Americans are currently suffering from student loan debt. Student debt has been an ongoing dilemma for decades. People have opposing opinions on who is to blame for this conflict, with one side believing the parents’ and students’ are at fault, and the other believing the colleges are to blame. Although there have been many plans to help solve this issue, it unfortunately still remains a problem. Student debt in the United States is an issue that affects current and former college students and can be solved by forgiving or decreasing student loans.

Over the past four decades, it has become much more difficult to discharge student debt than how it was originally. Student loans and other consumer debts were

For example, In March 2020, a coronavirus relief plan started by President Trump put most borrowers' payments on pause. This measure has been continued by President Biden. Many people have applied to have their student debts completely erased. Some applications have been approved, but none of the cancellations have been followed through yet (Liptak A10). This was extremely helpful for people that were unable to pay for their basic needs at this time, let alone their expensive loans. Similarly, "Since March 2020, federal student loan borrowers have been able to skip their payments. That pandemic pause is scheduled to end in January. Administration officials have said they plan to eliminate the debt of many applicants this month and next" (Cowley A14). The pause set by Trump has since ended, meaning people have continued to make scheduled payments. Some borrowers that applied to have their debts discarded were successful and do not have to worry about their student loans. In recent years, many new options of solving the student debt problem have come about, such as President Biden’s loan forgiveness plan. This plan assists people of all incomes, but mostly people that make less money. In other words, President Biden's order gives people with lower income more money to put towards their loans.

Colleges being free of tuition is a drastic change, however, it would ultimately end the student debt crisis. To illustrate, A different suggestion to solve the student loans crisis would be to make college tuition-free altogether. This could be helpful to students that make less money and would otherwise not attend college because of the cost. This could also decrease the total amount of borrowing (Helhoski). This action would make colleges much less expensive and easier to pay for. Despite not having to finance tuition, students may still have to take out loans to pay for living expenses. Another method to reduce student debt is condense repayment plans. This would be helpful for young students to gain financial stability. Specifically, "Income-driven repayment plans, federal options that set student loan payments at a portion of a borrower's income, are a strong safety net. But experts say the four income-driven options _ in addition to the three other federal repayment plans _ should be streamlined into one new program. Some suggest automating enrollment" (Helhoski). Experts believe that combining these plans into one would be beneficial in aiding students, and that they should be enrolled into this program as soon as possible after they