Ever have one of those moments where you think “if this passes I may buy a hoodie and a bandana and  start a firebombing campaign?” Well I just had one. 

The topic of student loan repayment forgiveness came up on the TV. I was immediately filled with rage.  Why was I filled with rage you might ask? I was filled with rage because I busted my butt to pay off my student loan. I ended up borrowing about the average amount because, despite coming in with a wad of cash and producing some income while I was there the numbers didn’t work. I could have lived cheaper (I’m substantially better with money now) but didn’t do anything completely crazy. We made the normal payments for a couple years as we got our stuff together financially.

Establishing our emergency fund happened to occur roughly when I got a promotion. We started making big (like 1/3rd of my take home pay) payments and over about a year got it paid off. That really sucked. We lived really cheap and could not do some things we wanted to do. It was a big sacrifice for us to pay it off that fast but we wanted to be done, partially to save on interest but mostly so we could finally be debt free and able to aim a lot of money towards our next goal, home ownership.

Did getting student loans work out for me? Yes it did. I have a college degree and a good job. I could have borrowed a bit less and lived cheaper but there is nobody to blame but my own self for that one.
As for student loans on the whole; It is worth noting that my generation are receiving far fewer grants and costs are much higher than when previous generations pursued higher education. Forcing colleges to get their costs under control would be worthwhile though it might mean *gasp* cutting needless admin positions, making being a professor a bit less cushy, not constantly building new stuff to then tear down perfectly functional old stuff, etc. We are really getting a raw deal but I definitely do not let the 22-30 year old age group get off blame free.

Despite their intelligence and behavior on pretty much every front, legally speaking 18 year olds are adults.  That means they can make adult choices, almost always stupid ones. College is a great experience in a lot of ways but at the end you need to be able to get a job. Getting a degree in underwater basket weaving is stupid.  Going to an expensive private college to get a degree in education or communications or some social science is not necessary, and if you are financing it via student loans it is downright stupid. A beginning teacher making 32k a year or so can’t afford big student loan payments.

Student loan forgiveness is a big gripe of the “99%” crowd. I have absolutely no sympathy that the choices they made did not work out well. Mostly I think we will find the ones who are in real trouble made stupid choices. While I do think that structural changes (controlling costs mostly, along with schools helping kids not being pimps for the loan industry) should occur they do not absolve individuals of responsibility.