College graduate Malik Singleton.
In America, the average cost of student loan debt for a four-year degree is $38,000 dollars. For a majority of students, this amount would only cover one school year. Accruing debt for education is causing many graduates to enter into a life of obligation before they are able to start a career. Political campaigns and promises have long promised a solution for the overwhelming effects of student loan debt. However, many current and former students are still awaiting that relief.
During his 2020 presidential campaign, Joe Biden ran on a platform endorsing the cancellation of student loan debt and subsequent payments for all college graduates and current students. Some students have begun to see some reprieve. More than 400,000 students with total and permanent disability have seen $7 billion dollars in relief. However, since the now-President election into office, an overwhelming majority of students have yet to see the proof of this promise.
Malik Singleton, a recent graduate of Harris-Stowe State University, has accrued $34,000 in student loans. The Detroit native attended the historically Black university for its overall tuition costs.
“Harris-Stowe State University is the only HBCU that is the most affordable. It’s around $20,000 to $25,000 [per year],” said Singleton. “It’s the most affordable school in Missouri.”
For this student, applying for and receiving student loans was a natural part of the college experience. For many students, including a high number of Black college-bound students, it is impossible to attend a college or university without the additional financial support loan assistance offers.
“All of us do [have student loans]. No matter what school — Michigan State, Howard, everyone has some student loans and debts from being in school. I may have met one or two that got lucky and had a great GPA, but the majority of us have student loans,” said Singleton.
In addition to educational expenses, students utilize loan monies to help survive day-to-day college life. In lieu of part-time work, some students use the extra funds to create financial safety while pursuing a degree.
“I took out extra student loans, being greedy and wanting to live comfortable [sic],” said Singleton. “That’s where a lot of my loans come from. I believe loans are investments to make sure you’re comfortable in school. People are like ‘oh my God don’t take loans out’, but I feel like loans are whatever. It’s going to get paid back eventually by somebody. Why not be comfortable right now so I can finish my degree and not try to work and finish my degree?”
In America, students hold a combined $1.73 trillion in loan debt. President Joe Biden announced another extension on the repayment of student loans. Now, students have until May of 2022 before payments would resume. The NAACP has been vocal in its stance on student loans. Setting Twitter ablaze, Derrick Johnson, 19th President and CEO of the organization, had this to say:
“If you can afford to pause student loan payments over and over again, you can afford to cancel it.”
Shared more than 15,000 times on the social platform, students are rallying behind the sentiment and questioning President Biden’s stance.
“We lost about a million people due to COVID and that’s just COVID by itself. Think about those people who possibly had student loans and can’t pay them back now,” said Singleton. “You can’t say one thing to get our votes and then say never mind. That’s how it’s looking right now.”
Without doubt the economy has suffered greatly through the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The job market is in constant turmoil from worker shortages to the closure of businesses. With the effects on the job market, how are students expected to successfully re-pay their debts? The NAACP is calling for action.
“We can finally take a breath knowing that student loan payments will be paused again. But true relief will come with the cancellation of student loan debt at a minimum of $50,000 for all borrowers. To provide financial relief during Omicron, cancel student debt. To boost the economy, cancel student debt. To address the racial wealth gap, cancel student debt. And to fulfill your campaign promises, cancel student debt,” said Wisdom Cole, national director of Youth and College Division for the NAACP.
Student loan repayment is not the only fiscal hot button issue going into 2022. Parents who depended on the child tax credit will soon see that money leave their monthly budgets. The American Rescue Plan was the catalyst for the child tax payments to parents during 2021. However, the push for the continued payments in 2022 is facing an uphill battle in Congress. Passed in the House of Representatives the bill is now awaiting Senate approval. Going into the new year, the government remains at a standstill on extending the child tax credit for an additional year.
Democrats are pushing for an extension of the benefit and have included language for it in Biden’s $1.75 trillion Build Back Better bill. Unless the bill is passed, parents will not receive additional assistance and low-income families will be forced to find new ways of making ends meet.
Voters will be on watch as these issues come to a head over the next several weeks.
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