Student Loan Debt is Crippling America
As the baby boomer generation begins to retire and die, the fate of America’s economy is falling onto the shoulders of the millennial generation. The baby boomer generation didn’t ask questions, they worked themselves to the bone for 30–50 years, they took out mortgages they couldn’t afford, they brought the global economy to its knees, and thanks to a lack of understanding of simple economics, they encouraged, borderline coerced, their children to go to college, get a degree and get a “good” job. The baby boomers encouraged their children to sign on the student loan dotted line without asking questions because they were raised and instructed to not ask questions, to obey, to respect authority. Even after the housing crisis that brought the global economy to its knees (caused predominately by baby boomers), they did not question whether or not it made good economical and financial sense to borrow money for a college education. And now, they have the god damn audacity to point their fingers at our (millennial) generation for nearly all that is wrong in America today, citing a lack of respect, irresponsibility, rebellion, and immaturity.
I am one of the millions who heeded the “wisdom” of my parents who CONSTANTLY preached the importance of getting good grades in high school, to get into a good college, to get a good degree, and get a good job with a 401(k) that would pay the bills. I am also one of the millions who finished college with over $100,000 in student loan debt with exorbitant interest rates and no manageable repayment plan. For three years, I was paying over $1000 per month toward my student debt. This was a modified, 30-year repayment plan, with a REDUCED monthly payment! I’ve paid anywhere from 30% to over 50% of my monthly income toward these loans at any given time. I’ve been homeless, gone a full week without food, haven’t had health insurance in 18 months, have nearly had my car repossessed multiple times, gotten behind on virtually every bill to my name, have re-worn the same pair of daily contact lenses for 6 months, and even got arrested for driving an uninsured vehicle because I couldn’t afford to make the insurance payment. I can’t afford even the shittiest of studio apartments available on the market. My car is but a few miles away from dying beyond repair. I have 75 cents in my bank account and zero money saved. I have no investments. Nearly all of my possessions were seized as I couldn’t afford to pay my monthly storage unit bill.
I do have a “job” lined up that will soon enable me to once again pay my bills, however it is not something I am passionate about and is likely to be a temporary means. Ultimately I’d love to generate enough income via blogging to not starve, and perhaps one day earn a reasonable living with the time freedom to do what I want to do when I want to do it. I love learning the nitty gritty about things that peak my interest. As such I’ll continue blogging and hope to provide value to at least one person every day.
I’m not one to play the blame game, but the baby boomers are, without question, the most unintelligent, blindly obedient, and fiscally irresponsible generation America has ever seen. We millennials are the ones who are burdened with not only paying for their mishaps, but need to somehow figure out a way to repair and rebuild this country for ourselves and for future generations.
I do not claim to have the answers. However, I do believe that the more we, as a generation, are able to limit consumerism, save and responsibly invest our excess disposable income, and spend more time doing the things we truly love to do, the less anxious and more happy we will become and the closer we will get to a country that is once again worth living in. I can’t stress enough how important it is that instead of trading our time for money for 40 years, we find a way to generate income for the value we provide to others, regardless of the time it takes. Shouldn’t we be compensated for the value we provide to others? Doesn’t this fundamentally make more sense than being compensated for the amount of time we spend “working”. The exchange of money for time has been among the worst systems of exchange to have plagued this country. I tend to lean a bit more toward the conspiratorial viewpoint on this. It seems evident to me that the 9–5, compensation for time, and promise of eventual retirement (40 years down the road if lucky), is a system of control specifically designed to stunt creativity, deaden our sense of purpose, replace happiness with consumerism, replace spontaneity with monotony, destroy the unique individual and replace it with the cloned employee. That is what I see when I look at the corporate America business model.
I could’ve worked a minimum wage job post high school for four years, be completely debt-free, own a car and have plenty money saved to purchase a plot of land. Instead I’m in a hole so deep I can barely see the surface.
I’m in not position to dish out advice, but every day I work towards my escape plan. I recently lost just about everything I had to lose and had gotten to a point where I couldn’t possibly be further away from my eventual escape. As such, I’ve never been more committed to doing whatever it takes (ethically and within reason) to reach my escape. I will get there and I will get there on my terms and as fast as humanly possible…my own personal happiness, satisfaction, purpose, and sanity depend on it.
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Also be sure to read this article about what it is like to be flat out broke.
Lots of love to all my fellow klimbers ❤
shane@klimbhigh.com
