How can the ticket to achieving the American dream cost so much?

It’s no secret in New York State that I love college graduations: the excitement and pageantry of the ceremony; the parents beaming with pride, and the anticipation of those about to embark on life’s great adventure. I share the joy and optimism of these young men and women who represent America’s future.

Unfortunately, for far too many students, that joy and optimism is short-lived as the reality of student loan payments kicks in. And that reality is starting to have harmful effects on our nation’s economic and social fabric.

College loan debt affects young people throughout their lives. The looming liability forces undergrads to work a summer job instead of accepting an internship in their field. The need to start repayments prevents graduates from risking it all to start a business that could become the next Apple, Facebook or What’s App. The length of the obligation constrains budgets well past graduation, delaying young people from starting a family or buying a home.

Just take the case of Nina, from New York City. Nina was an honors student her entire life but finished college with a whopping $80,000 in student loan debt. After graduation, Nina wanted to help others so she followed her dreams and worked for a variety of non-profits. It is rewarding work to be sure but, because her debt eats up so much of her low salary, Nina doesn’t think she’ll ever be able to afford a home of her own.

That’s not just wrong, it runs directly counter to the American dream. Students who work hard, do well in school, and go on to serve the public good shouldn’t be locked out of owning a home or starting a business.‎

How can the ticket to achieving the American dream cost so much? How can we stand by and watch an entire generation drown under the weight of this debt?

The answers are simple: it shouldn’t and we can’t. We need to find a solution.

That’s why I have teamed up with Senator Brian Schatz, Senator Elizabeth Warren, the PCCC and many others to launch an effort to find that solution with the hope of, one day, achieving debt free college for American students.‎

I hope debt free college is the next big idea as we fight to make a college education affordable again.

This country’s future rests on our ability to produce a highly-skilled, well-educated workforce. If the price of that education cuts U.S. students’ legs out from under them, then our future is bleak.‎

I hope this idea catches fire, and that one day, we make it possible for millions of students like Nina — students who have their own American dream — to reach graduation day free of the backbreaking debt of student loans. ‎That will certainly be a day to celebrate.