I would respectfully disagree with everything you have said.

You are so out of touch with the experience of working class Americans to be passing value judgements about "building character"

My father was a working class person in a developing country, which didn't have running water and electricity when he was growing up. He worked hard, up-skilled himself and became what he is today. I'm not comparing him to anyone, but that is what a high value person means to me.

I came to the US with a $100k student loans, $0 wealth and in the worst case scenario, had 1 year to pay it off if my visa didn't go through. I studied for 14 hours a day, everyday, till I found a job that pays well enough for me to pay back the loan in 1.5 years. I budgeted every penny, shared a room with two others to save on rent in an expensive area to be where I am today. So yeah, I know how hard it is to pay off loan, and I believe that it helps build character. It makes you understand the value of money, of not spending $20 on drinks when it could go towards your loan.

I would argue that people who have been born and raised here have no idea what it is like for the rest of the developing world. Have you ever had to walk 2 miles and wait in line for 2 hours to be able to get a day's worth of water?

I agree that not paying off the loan will impact our future, and is not ideal. I am wondering whether I should pay all of it, or some of it and let them pay the rest.