It's 2016 and 43 million Americans are plagued with student loan debt. 'How much?' you might ask. $1.3 trillion in debt. Now, if we do the math, that's about $30,232 worth of debt for each of those 43 million Americans. Of course, that number is not the same for each person, but the example given is to give a better idea of why this issue is such a huge problem.
Sure, student loans are a great thing to have and get you through college, but is it really worth it? Is it worth spending the rest of your life, not only working your life away to provide for your family and yourself, but to pay off your debts from 20 years ago? No, it's not. In 2016, the average tuition for a public, four year college has almost reached $10,000, according to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the U.S. Department of Education. The tuition for a public, four year college in 1980 was less than $1,000. Tuition for students in the U.S. is getting higher and higher as we speak, but why does this matter? This is our future, that's why.
Millennials, as most call us, are doomed. Not only are we having to stress and stay up until 3 A.M. studying to get good grades, but we're also having to worry about what job we're able to get due to if we studied hard enough, and if that job will be enough to financially support us and our debt. It's an ongoing cycle of failure. We are set up for failure. Not only is this such an unfortunate factor for millennials, but the fact that the wealthy are getting wealthier, and the poor are getting more poor, makes everything all the more reason to be depressed.
We should not be depressed at 18, 19, 20-years-old. We should be living our lives to the fullest, worry free. We should have something to look forward to, but when we are set up for failure, and a life full of monotonous payments after payments, what do we have to look forward to? We, the generation of the future, should not be thinking this way. That is why attention has to be called to student debt, and something needs to be done.
