Student loan debt has been a looming issue for some time now, like a dark storm cloud overhead. A cloud that has hung over the heads of many young people trying to better themselves for the workforce.
The most unfortunate part of this problem is the contempt older generations have for young folks wanting some sort of help. The most frustrating part of the problem is the utter lack of awareness by older generations as to just how good they had it regarding access to higher education.
Now, I understand that not everyone has an average home life and other extenuating circumstances, but for argument’s sake, I am going to use tuition and wage averages.
In 1979 the average tuition for a 4-year public school was $738 per year according to the National Center for Education Statistics and in 2023 the average tuition for a 4-year public school was $11,260 according to College Board. While the U.S. Department of Labor keeps the history of minimum wage changes over the decades.
When you account for the minimum wages at the time, $2.90 in 1979 and $7.27 in 2023 that means the amount of time you would have to work at minimum wage to pay your tuition in 1979 – 299 hours, however in 2023 to do the same thing you would have to work 1,931 hours.
With all that said, I seriously struggle with taking criticism from a generation who, on average, had to work seven times as few hours to pay for just their tuition. If you calculate the total cost of attendance, in 1979 hours worked jump to a whopping 850 whereas in 2023 that number jumps to 6,249.
As the richest country in the history of the world, we should not be having issues with young folks getting buried in student debt. There should be an abundance of opportunities for people to get the education/skills they want, whether they attend a two/four year school or a trade school. Especially considering older generations were able to take whatever degree they wanted and live their lives fully yet they want to take that freedom of self-determination away from young people.
However, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Biden came to the rescue for public service workers: teachers, emergency service workers and nurses, by recently canceling 6 billion dollars in student debt, which is a great move. Eliminating the unnecessary and burdensome debt of America’s bravest and most important workers is the least that we can do. It opens these folks up to opportunities they would otherwise not have had, such as owning a house or starting a family.
I can only hope that we can see more debt eliminated, allowing for more young folks to have a fair shake at obtaining the American Dream that conservatives and liberals crow about protecting. Though I would truly like to see more funding put toward education overall to prevent a problem such as this in the first place, action such as this is certainly a well-needed step in the right direction.
Timothy Fitzpatrick can be contacted at
tfitzpatrick@kscequinox.com
