Issue 3 • 2022 13 A SMALL STEP IN SOLVING AN EXISTENTIAL EDUCATIONAL PROBLEM By Mark Anderson, NMBA Legal and Legislative Assistant If you follow the machinations of the United States Congress and the Executive Branch with any regularity, you will begin to notice that most of what actually ends up being enacted falls along the lines of corporate tax cuts, subsidies for already absurdly profitable entities, continually expanding military budgets with no end in sight, and other priorities that have no relation to democratic popularity or will. However, in the past couple of months, the Biden administration has addressed the concerns of average Americans in the form of concrete policy, something that is sadly rare in Washington, D.C. Most notably, President Biden announced a student loan debt relief plan that that should genuinely help a substantial amount of people. Biden’s decision is a relatively simple, effective and helpful policy, and the reactions in various factions have also been informative. Biden announced he would cancel $10,000 from every student loan balance owned by the federal government (about 80% of the outstanding total), subject to an income cap of $125,000 for individuals and $250,000 for families. In addition, Pell Grant recipients (often a proxy for low-income debtors) are eligible for up to $20,000 of relief. In total, nearly half of all student loan debtors will receive full cancellation, and it is estimated that 90% of relief will go to people earning less than $75,000. The Biden administration has also announced it will begin taking student debtors out of default, which will help them restore access to other credit. These policy decisions are a good start in solving what has become a massive problem. The student loan debt crisis has had cascading effects in recent years, preventing multitudes of young people from robustly participating in the economy and discouraging students from pursuing higher education. According to a Penn Wharton study of the policy, about 60% of the benefits would accrue to people in the bottom 60% of income. Overall, the relief is largely targeted toward lowerincome debt holders, which cuts against the argument that many college graduates from wealthy families will largely benefit from debt relief. The vast majority of students from wealthy families have their college paid for by their parents, which is fine, but these aren’t the students incurring massive amounts of debt. The discussion of wealthy students benefitting from student loan debt relief is simply a red herring by people who don’t want any relief at all. This decision from the Biden administration is a small step in what, unfortunately, needs to be a thorough rehabilitation of both America’s public education system and, more importantly, how Americans view education on the whole. It’s fairly easy to see how the accelerating costs of higher education and the subsequent debt it leaves many students have made more Americans suspicious of its efficacy. When a college education leaves a student with shaky job prospects and a mountain of debt, it’s difficult to argue its inherent worth. Therefore, it becomes much easier to cast doubt on the very concept of higher education itself. In an ideal world, education should be viewed as a noble pursuit by its very nature, but, in America, education has taken on an extraordinarily mutated form, and the most obvious reason is the ballooning costs attached to it. Many parents are under tremendous financial strain while sending their children to college, so students often feel pressure to major in subjects that, in their minds, will lead to greater financial reward. Higher education in America has turned into a knock-down, drag-out attempt to get out of financial destitution for many students. Any notion of pursuing higher education to simply improve one’s intellect, critical thinking skills, and understanding of the world is completely out the window for all but the most fortunate students. In the framework of this country, pursuing higher education to better one’s intellect is viewed as a frivolous pursuit undertaken by unserious individuals. This is a byproduct of the financial structure of the college experience in America. When a society starts fully treating education as a commodity rather than a right and a necessity, it doesn’t bode well for the future of its population. We are at that point in the United States. Continued on page 14
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