Mo’ Money (For College), Mo’ Problems
In 2012, the tallest residential building in the world was built in Dubai. Worth about 2.4 billion dollars, the Princess Tower is Dubai’s most expensive building. Despite its ridiculously excessive price tag, it is still extensively cheaper than the US student loan debt. In fact, it would cost about 6,666 Princess towers to pay off the rising 1.6 trillion dollars worth of student loans owed across more than 44 million people nationwide. In fact, this student loan debt balance is so massive it could buy the entire country of Ethiopia 20 times. I could make all the comparisons in the world, but the truth of the matter is: I don’t think any average person can even begin to comprehend how much this ridiculous amount of money is. Furthermore, despite its significant impact on the nation’s economy, there is no way to calculate or measure the vast damage it has had on individuals’ careers and personal lives.
According to an article by Business Insider, public college tuition rates in the United States have risen about 213% since 1980. What this means for millennials and proceeding generations is increased apprehension toward college enrollment due to lack of financial ability and increased dependency on loans. I know many individuals who are near the age of retirement and to this day continuing to make payments toward their student loan debt. The same article by Business Insider states how the statistics prove about 32% of those who file for bankruptcy carry some form of student loan debt. It is obvious that this country has been burdened with a statistically significant problem far from being resolved. Many politicians nation-wide are working to assist as many as possible with this financial problem, yet it could take much more than that.
The astounding problems our nation faces with student loan debt leads one to wonder how other nations of the world are also affected. College accessibility is in fact becoming increasingly abundant in countries such as Japan, Korea, and Norway, and research shows that the negative impacts of student loan debt have affected this country more than any other. Since 1990, the United States has dropped significantly from the country with the highest number of individuals ages 24–34 with a four-year degree to 12th worldwide proving student loans are burdening this country at a much higher rate. In over 40 countries worldwide, post-secondary education is offered for free while our country’s debt is over 10 times larger than other developed nations’.
Our group picked this topic because it is a problem that needs to be addressed in both our local communities and internationally. This crippling debt lingers all around us, haunting almost every college student we know. It’s time to educate everyone about the cost of their educations.
