Just read an interesting Washington Post article noting that roughly over 40 million Americans have student debt. Indeed, it further notes that 65 percent of student loans are held by Americans younger than 39, while people age 40 to 59 hold another 30 percent. Student debt can be brutally unforgiving for those who don’t pay back the money. Students who default can lose their paychecks, tax refunds, or even a portion of their Social Security. Total U.S. student loan debt level is at a record high of over $1 trillion U.S. The average undergraduate who borrows to attend school graduates was nearly $30,000 U.S. in debt. Almost 20 percent of student borrowers are now in default. Indeed, some analysts have proclaimed the current student debt loads in the U.S. as the next equivalent to the previous housing bubble. Thousands of former graduates from post-secondary institutions are simply refusing to repay their education debts.
The level of student debt in Canada is just as much a concern. On average, someone graduating with a bachelor’s and master’s degree will owe about $20,000 Canadian. In certain disciplines such as business, law, medicine and dentistry, the final student debt load can total many thousands more. Higher education can often not be achieved without the financial help and moral support of parents, who themselves have to dip into their retirement savings or obtain second mortgages.
Interestingly, the burden of student debt is becoming an issue in the 2016 presidential campaign as candidates court the millions of Americans grappling with the high cost of college. To date, in expectation of an October 2015 federal election in Canada, none of the federal political parties have really addressed the issue. There wasn’t anything much in the most recent federal budget concerning student loans and loan repayments. It seems that the concerns of Canadian millennials, who are particularly affected by high student debt, are not being addressed by the current federal government.
On top of that, many young people are having a tough time getting a good paying job in today’s lacklustre economy. Minimum wage jobs don’t do much to help pay down student debt. Is this truly the “lost generation”? We have thirty-year-olds, as part of the so-called boomerang generation, returning to live with their parents because of financial considerations and poor labour markets. Some are beginning to question the real value of higher education. Underemployment has exploded in the last decade, and many have to survive on contract and part-time employment with little job insecurity. No wonder many millennials have put off getting married, buying homes and having children. Can’t blame them! Societies need urgently to address this issue now. Politicians and educators need to step up to the podium and take concrete actions. As voters, we need to do this for current and future generations of graduates.
FROLITICKS 