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The nation is divided over whether to relieve the burden of skyrocketing student loan debt. Proponents argue for economic relief and social equity, while critics raise concerns about fiscal responsibility and the education system's future. I'm going to take a dive into the heated arguments on both sides of this contentious issue.

Why do students have to get loans? Students often require student loans to cover high costs of higher education, including tuition and living expenses. These loans enable access to essential educational opportunities, empowering individuals to invest in their future careers. Responsible management of these loans is crucial to avoid excessive debt post graduation.

Joining us is Jody LeVette, who's a director of non profit of childcare for low income students. And has been doing it for eight years. Yeah, it was many years ago, but yes, I took out loans in order to get my bachelor's degree. And yeah, just for my bachelor's and my teaching certification. Joining us to talk about this is Jessica Elia.

I had to take out student loans because I my parents basically were like, Hey, we paid this, but then I wasn't doing great. So then I was like they're like, you need to take out a loan if you wanted to live on campus. So I did. And then I had to pay it all back and I would have taken out more student loans because I'd love to learn like I would have gone back and done more master's degree things and everything but I did it because I couldn't afford to, I had looked at trying to go into like counseling or to get a because in South Carolina, you have to even do like your master's.

Then if you have another, it'll be plus 30 and all that. And I had to find ways to do it that were cost efficient. You know what I mean? Because I couldn't afford to keep taking them out. Luckily I only had about 10, 000 in student loans. Also joining us is Kim Dunbar, who's been teaching for 16 years.

Yeah. I just finished with my educational specialist degree. For those that don't know, that's halfway between a master's and a doctorate. So there was, I shopped around trying to get a better deal and, did apply for some some Scholarships and stuff, but at this level, there's not that much scholarship money.

And then being a practicing educator, who the heck has time to go in and do all of, all of the scholarship stuff. So eventually, it's just okay, fine. Let's get this done. Yeah, I just took out a bunch of money. I wish I didn't have to. What is the average cost of tuition? According to Research.

com, at public institutions, the average cost is 9, 000 per year for in state students, and 23, 000 is tuition per year for out of state students. What is the average interest rate? The federal student loan interest rate for undergraduates is 5. 50%. for new loans taken out for the 2023 24 school year.

Federal rates for graduate student loans and PLUS loans are higher at 7. 05 percent and 8. 05%, respectively, according to nerdwallet. com. How long do they take to pay off on average? 21 years. A typical student loan is structured to take 10 years to pay off. But research has shown it actually takes 21 years on average.

When you are just out of college and expecting to be out of debt by the time you're 32, the reality is that Sallie Mae could follow you well into your 40s, according to ramsaysolutions. com. No, I finally paid them off. But I've been teaching 20 years and thank God I didn't go to my first choice college because that was.

25, 000 a year in 1999. I'd be paying that for the rest of my life. And how many years did it take you to do all that? To get it completely paid off? Let's see. 10 years. All the stuff for my bachelor's paid off a long time ago. The stuff when I came back and started teaching and got my master's I was over halfway done paying that off when COVID hit, and I've still tried to pay a little bit along and along.

But it just, okay, I have an extra little bit here and something would come up and, life is and I have not, because I've always been working I haven't had the kind of problems. I haven't taken out like I have other people that I just finished school with. They were taking out like 40, 000 dollars in student loans a year.

And I'm like. What are you doing with the rest of the money? I didn't do that, but it's still expensive. And I do this, I keep going back to school to become better as a teacher. And isn't that what all parents want? They want their child's teacher to keep trying to become better at their craft.

That said, why? Why is it so expensive? Okay no, I'm not still paying them off. That was seems like centuries ago. If you ask my children that I was at school, but it took me probably 15 years to pay off those loans. At the time I was making the minimum payments. And just continuing to do I do have experience though. Both my children have had to take out loans for college. And one of them has paid it off. The other one is still paying. So it's a it's a relevant topic for me. Even though I personally am not paying off loans. What are the reasons for cancelling student debt?

Cancelling federal student debt can provide significant economic relief for millions of Americans. It would alleviate the financial burden that often follows graduates for years or even decades, enabling them to invest in homes, start families, and contribute more to the economy. Moreover, it can promote greater eq Equity and education as students debt disproportionately of affects low income and minority communities by reducing this debt We can create a more inclusive society where access to higher education is not hindered by financial constraints ultimately fostering social and economic mobility for all yes, but I feel like it needs To be qualified.

The, what is the stereotypical one? The one that all the athletes take the underwater basket weaving. No, we're not going to forgive underwater basket weaving. I'm sorry, but the people that are going into public service, it should be easier for us to get. Forgiveness. But I say again, we would need less forgiveness if it didn't cost so doggone much from the beginning.

What are the reasons for not canceling debt? Canceling student debt may not be a universally beneficial solution as it poses several challenges. Firstly, it could potentially be an unfair bailout for those who choose to pursue higher education without loans or have already repaid their debts. Secondly, there's a concern that.

Widespread debt cancellation might increase the cost of education in the long run if institutions respond by raising tuition. Additionally, it could strain government resources and lead to unintended consequences in the economy. A more nuanced approach to addressing the student debt issue might involve targeted relief for those in genuine financial need and comprehensive reforms in higher education.

Financing to prevent future debt crisis. Now. Here's the big question Yeah question and that is do you believe or do you think that student loans should be canceled? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Okay, not and let me tell you Part of my leaning towards that is because one of my children has paid it off, he worked hard, he made all those payments, and he was proud when he was able to put that done stamp on that loan.

The other child is doing the same thing. She's working hard. And what makes it fair that she should get forgiven and he shouldn't. The other thing is I used to work at a community college and so I would see people take out those loans almost as a form of wages. They would take those loans out, they'd take one or two classes and just keep pushing those payments down the road.

And they were using those loans for more than just more than just paying for college, they were paying their rent, their mortgage, their food, et cetera. So I'm a little tainted. So I think if you take out a loan, that's a personal promise that you're going to pay it back. No. And why is that?

Because I think that the reason that. I valued my education more was because I had to pay for it. And I knew I was going to have to pay for it. And I knew I wasn't going to want to have to repeat that class if I had to, if I was paying for it. And I think that if you don't have to pay for it and they're all forgiven you just aren't going to have that same, like the same work ethic, I guess maybe we could say oh, if you graduate and you do this, then they're forgiven, but then you have people that do it just till it's forgiven and then they get out, I know some teachers is like just teach for a few years, get their loans forgiven and then they get out of teaching, and it's if you really want to do it, you really want to do it.

Okay. All right. Sorry, but I think that you should, you have to pay for your education. There's enough opportunities. There's scholarships out there. There's aid out there. I'm not saying nothing, but yeah, come on out.

I don't think that's, no, I don't think people know that. I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I was 18. To sign up for that. I don't think people necessarily know that. That's how people get into credit card debt. Because they don't know what they're doing. And I have so many friends I went to college with.

They have 30, 000 in loans and didn't even have a degree. I totally agree that the transparency in the student loan application process Is non existent. It the, an 18 year old or, at any age, you're working with a counselor at the school and the counselor's job is to get you whatever money you need to be able to come to that school.

They want as many people at that school as possible. And no, I don't think it's well constructed on the education of the borrower. And even on the. Flipside, once you have finished school and that loan is due to pay back, it's still a quagmire to walk through to try and understand who you're paying and how much you're paying and what the interest rates are and all those things.

So yeah, no that's definitely a weak area in the student loan process, especially for people in their undergraduate career. You have no clue. What did any of us know at 18, 19, 20? Not a thing. Okay, at this point in life, yes, I do know. And when I started all this, I was fully recognizing that, yep, gonna have to do this, gonna have to pay it all back.

If somebody wants to help me out, I am so happy to take their contributions. But I guess it's just there are some jobs, some things that deserve a little extra consideration. If you go in, if you go into a hospital, let me be honest, my mother was a nurse and so they have a special place and nurses do fairly well.

But they don't, they could use some help. And wouldn't you, if you were in the hospital, wouldn't you like to think your medical staff could be focused on you and not worried about, Oh my gosh, this is getting ready to come up. I'm getting ready for this payment and it's going to, it's not going to be easy.

That's my thing. Let's look at the bigger picture. You think about the skeptics who believe that student loans should not be canceled because they had to pay off theirs from when they were students? Do you think that's fair? What do you have to say to those? Like I said, for my bachelor's, I did.

I went and paid the whole thing off myself. No forgiveness, no stuff. It was a matter of taking Two jobs and busting my behind to get it done. And let me say it front. That was my choice. I also know that not everybody can do the things I have done. So why am I think about my nephew who just graduated with his bachelors.

Okay, he's a physics major. Last time I heard any of the hard sciences, lots of places are about to fall all over themselves. To get him. He was an honor graduate in physics. Come on. Why are they not forgiving his stuff, getting him through the advanced degrees and plugging him into research. That doesn't make any sense.

Bottom line, people need to be held accountable and responsible for their actions. They. They need to be able to if you make a choice, you need to be responsible for that choice, whether it's student loans, whether it's credit card debt, whether it's buying a Mercedes or a Hyundai. You make the choice, you need to be accountable for that choice.

And I feel very strongly that now, is there wiggle room to extend loans and maybe help people pay them off? Absolutely. I think there should be some gray area or some negotiating area for those young people who didn't understand exactly what they were getting into. But, Total cancellation.

Absolutely not. There are too many people who have worked far too hard and paid off their debts. That we have to take them into account too. Because you have to be responsible for your decisions, and if you want to like, I don't, I think that sometimes you can get roped into that debt.

But it's like anything else with life. Are we going to start oh, we're not going to say oh, cause you took that loan out at 18. You didn't know any better. Okay. You killed somebody at 18. Did you not know any better? You got to take some accountability here. We're enabling.

I feel like we're enabling people. Or however you answered earlier. Why do you think it's so important for like the targeted individuals to get it? Why do you think it's important? Other profession, if they were to have the credentials I have, they would be making six figures. And it isn't all about the money, but I did early in my career as a teacher, I did have to do the two and three job thing to make ends meet.

Why? Why is that acceptable? Thank you for watching TFD Deep Dives. For more episodes like this one, Please make sure to like and follow. Reporting to you from Fairview Heights, Illinois, I am Ben from TFD Deep Dives.