Why does everyone think student loans should be forgiven?

People have been talking about the predatory and frankly absurd interest rates, as well as how you can never get rid of the loans, but I want to talk about this from another angle.

Like it or not, higher education at a bachelor’s or beyond is necessary to fulfill many of the essential functions of society. Would you trust a system where doctors didn’t have to go through med school, or civil engineers were just let loose with some AP physics classes? The incredibly specialized knowledge needed for our world to function requires, for most people, specialized education to make things safely happen. Now, assuming everyone makes the “smart” choice and goes into professions without these loans - where does that leave us? 1 out of every 5 doctors are already planning to resign in 2 years, according to recent polling. Even if people wisen up, how will civilization function when some of the most-needed jobs require shackling yourself to a lifetime of crippling debt to get into?

Something needs to change, and making it so you don’t have to shoot yourself in the foot just to fulfill basic societal roles and help others is at least a start in getting us out of the self-destructive insanity we’ve gotten ourselves into.

/r/TooAfraidToAsk Thread