Debt To the “Highest Degree” The debate over whether or not a college education is worth the money is a contentious topic. Some people believe that to remain competitive with the rapidly increasing technological world, college is too expensive and therefore should be made free in the United States. The foes of this idea are in dire opposition claiming that free college would burdened Americans with more taxes, the quality of universities will dwindle, thereby devaluing a college degree and most interestingly enough, eliminate the private sector. However, increased taxes are an ever- inescapable necessity of being an American. While both sides of this issue have merit, it seems clear that a college education is not a worthwhile …show more content…
This high cost has resulted in a student loan debt crisis. In fact, the average student loan debt for 2016 was approximately $38,000 which is 6 percent higher than the year prior. 44 million Americans are now burdened with student loan debt totally $1.48 trillion a staggering dollar amount that surpasses credit card debt by $620 billion. In 2016 the U.S Department of Treasury unveiled a report finding that student loan debt accounts for 31 percent of the governments assets. The most common of these loans are the Stafford Loans which comes in two types, subsidized and unsubsidized. In these loans the Department of Education is the direct lender. The difference between the two loans are that in the subsidized loan the interest doesn’t begin to accrue until the student has failed to register as full time. With the unsubsidized, the interest begins to accrue once the money is borrowed. Coincidentally, of the total amount of money allotted to borrow per year of college, the unsubsidized loan always accounts for the greater portion of what a student may borrow. This deliberate financial snare is designed to trap the vulnerable