College Debt is Hurting the Economy

I, like many other 22 year olds, have just graduated college with a degree that will hopefully propel me into the working class of Americans. My four years were educational, interesting, and sometimes a blur. It was a nostalgic experience when my graduating class was welcomed into the "real world". That nostalgia has turned into fear, and although I can only speak for myself, I am sure that the same emotion is felt by many others. Student debt is now at the forefront of many graduate's minds. Unemployment rates scare the hope right out of many who now have an average of $24,000 debt (NY Times article, "Burden of College Loans on Graduates Grows" by Tamar Lewin). How are graduates supposed to begin their life when they have no money to do so? Well, that's where I think the government should step in.

Because of the problems with national debt many think it would be foolish to throw in more money to cover the expenses of many young adults. But, there are benefits to supplying Americans with higher education. First things first, a population with higher education has always been known to convince businesses to invest jobs. If college was paid for then there would be an incentive for many Americans to join the scholastic force. Google, HP, and Microsoft depend on a highlyeducated workforce, thus the more educated people able to do the job the more likely these companies would invest in the United States.

On top of this, student loans stop graduates from spending lots of money. In June 2011, consumer reports estimated that 2012 would ring in the arrival of $1,000,000,000,000 of national student debt (trillion). Look at all those zeros! Young adults tend to spend, and think of what they could buy with all that money. We have a consumer run economy, and the more we buy the better it runs. This money, hypothetically, would be spent on cars, electronics, and hopefully houses. Instead of renting apartments for the first ten years after graduation we might see a boom in the housing market which many analysts say is the corner stone of the American economy.

History has shown this idea works. After World War Two, the veterans were given the chance to recieve a free education, fronted by the government. Let's remember that many American boys from 18-22 were drafted meaning that they all were given this oppurtunity. Only a decade aftrerwards, America entered its golden years in terms of economic prosperity. Granted, there were many other reasons we did so well in those years, but more people with more education allowed us to create and sell the products that made this county so wealthy.

This policy also reshaped and cemented the middle class. It expanded the amount of households between poverty and large amounts of wealth. There is extreme importance in this. The middle class has always been where many of our entrepaneurs have lifted off, where government has collected most of its taxes, and can be thought of as the foundation for democracy. Education allows people to obtain jobs and create a comfortable world for themselves, thus keeping democracy alive. In a world where there is a river between the rich and poor and no bridge to connect them, is one where true class warfare reigns. Take the Athenians for one of many examples. Tyrants were welcomed by the poor to overthrow the rich on many occassions. Before you begin to think of me as a conspiracy theorist, think of a more recent example.

FDR was welcomed into office over the incumbent Hoover. Hoover was thought to represent the rich and FDR was seen as the people's protector. Although there was no blood shed, Congress and the people gave him unprecedented power to guide us out of the Great Depression. In times of utter fear humans have the tendency to do this. The middle class can fix that because they are moderate by nature. They are comfortable and connect the rich to the poor, creating a more fair class structure. Education is the pillar that keeps the bridge from collapsing. The government now needs to reinforce higher education so the middle class can stay strong.

The philosphical and pratical reasons for a new federal funding of higher education is something that cannot be ignored. The policy may not play out to be completely federally funded, but some type of reform is overdue. Let's help the men and women who have just entered the ranks of the "real world" so that America's tradition of prosperity and freedom can be secured by all of her citizens. Thanks for reading, please comment and tell me your opinion.