Our country has an entitlement problem.
And it’s not the working class. Single parents trying to make ends meet, essential workers who have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic, volunteers who donate their free time to make their communities a better place. I’m not talking about them.
I am talking about the people who have taken unemployment for the entire pandemic and haven’t applied for a job. It’s the Angelenos who didn’t pay rent for the past two years, despite making more than enough to pay the bills. It’s the millions of Americans who had the privilege to attend college and rocket into a higher tax bracket, just to complain about having to pay back the debts they owe.
It’s the ones who want a free ride for everything in life. Companies are begging for people to come work for them and make a living, but people are still expecting handouts. Why are we continuing to incentivize this behavior?
There is about $1.6 trillion in outstanding student debt in the United States currently. That’s almost $5,000 for every man, woman, and child in the country. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to spend that much money just to give someone else financial freedom they didn’t work for. I’d rather save for retirement or spend it on my family.
I worked through school to keep my debt low. And I know what you are thinking – college cost less back then. Yeah, it did – so did everything. But you can still make smart decisions today.
What a thought – take loans that you can pay back. Get a degree in a lucrative field. Or, even better, go to a trade school. Better yet, stop complaining about your student loans and do something about it. Join the military, spend a term with the Americorps, become a teacher.
The government should stop talking about canceling student debt and start talking about expanding repayment programs for people who contribute to society. Think of how many problems we could solve, how many health care worker shortages could be fixed, how many potholes would be filled, if we just expanded student loan relief in exchange for meaningful labor.
And where is the relief for everyone else? What about the people who are working hard to not have debt? Instead of being rewarded for their hard work, they get taxed to help others pay off their debt. How does that make sense?
Loans are a necessary evil. They help us to finance large purchases we can’t afford outright, such as houses, cars, and yes… education. Everyone knew they would have to pay those loans back at some point. And yeah, it should hurt their credit if they don’t. The problem is that we can’t take away the degree. If you default on your mortgage, the bank will take your house. If you don’t pay your car bills, you don’t have a car anymore. That’s how money works. But, if the government just relieves debt, they get the degree for free. They will forever be in a higher tax bracket than those who couldn’t access it.
Talk about inequity.
We’ve got so many better things to pay for than student debt relief. That much money could create millions of jobs, address our homelessness crisis, or maybe even start to pay down the collective national debt. Let’s get out of this pandemic handout mindset and start getting back to work.
Stuart Waldman is president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, a business advocacy organization based in Van Nuys that represents employers in the San Fernando Valley at the local, state and federal levels of government.