If I see one more brainless internet meme about how unfair and horrible it is to forgive student loan debt I’m gonna scream. America’s student loan program is a scam perpetrated on young people whose only offense is their failure to grasp the finer points of predatory lending.
First, some student loan lenders charge compounded interest (i.e. interest charged on interest). This is why countless working Americans, who long ago paid off their principal balance, are still encumbered with snowballing student loan debt.
Second, the student loan rules were written to ensure that no borrower (no matter how desperate their situation) can ever discharge that debt through bankruptcy. Gambling debts are dischargeable through bankruptcy, but not student loan debt. In what universe does that make sense?
Finally, if you believe student loan forgiveness is tantamount to the government taking money out of your own pocket, you could not be more wrong. Once those countless Americans overwhelmed by student loan debt are freed of that burden, they will take the money saved and infuse it right back into the economy — purchasing homes, cars, washing machines, etc. It’s called “trickle-up economics” and it’s the only economics that truly lifts all boats.
