President Joe Biden unveiled his newest ambition just last month—student loan relief. The plan will offer relief in complete and partial sums to 30 of the 40 million Americans in debt from higher education tuition. Currently, Americans owe over $1.7 trillion in federal and private student loan debt, equating to an average debt of $37,000 among the 40 million borrowers. While debt relief is important, the Biden Administration has got it wrong. Specifically, they are targeting the wrong age demographic and must focus on current students, not those who graduated decades ago.
Following the announcement of the plan, President Biden said, “The ability for working and middle-class folks to repay their student loans has become so burdensome that a lot can’t repay it for even decades after being in school.” (8 April 2024) However, the government doesn’t have the responsibility of paying the debt off because the people who qualify for relief knowingly took upon the debt. As acknowledged by the White House, “rapid and unforeseeable rises in prices and declines in college wage premia have contributed to” the inability to pay off student loans (8 April 2024). While these concerns necessitates attention, the Biden Administration is addressing the symptom, not the cause. Instead of relieving loans, the White House should raise the minimum wage so graduates can pay off their loans. After all, wages are not solved with student loan relief. Not to mention, Biden’s plan is one taken too late for the people who decided not to receive an education because of high tuition costs. Why should their counterparts be awarded relief when they made a conscious decision to acquire debt?
Biden must use the money for students of today and tomorrow. Currently, higher education is not accessible across socioeconomic lines and the price of college has risen 60 percent in the last twenty years. As outlined by the White House, the spike is the result of filling “the budgetary holes that are left when states cut their support to public colleges” (8 April 2024). Using the relief money in funding public universities—which 70 percent of undergraduate students in the U.S. attend—decreases tuition prices. If executed, it would provide the greatest opportunity for Americans of all socioeconomic classes to afford an undergraduate degree while graduating with a negligible amount of debt.
A strong financial aid system is essential for the success of any academic institution, primarily in assuring the financial success of graduates. Groton School has a strong commitment to financial aid by surpassing the traditional need-blind approach and substantially increasing its financial aid budget. Groton’s director of Financial Aid, Bill Riley, said, “Studies indicate that the return on investment for college is increasingly uncertain” and thus, “Lowering tuition costs for college is crucial.” Not to mention, an expansive financial aid budget allows for diversity within the classroom, which Mr. Riley says “helps students learn from a variety of perspectives,” ultimately, “enriching the learning experience.” The Biden Administration must work to lower current tuition prices rather than focusing on those of the past to make the higher-education system of America equitable in the modern era.
