It is a common belief among older generations that struggling in college is a universal experience, a “character builder.” Couch surfing, ramen for every meal and crushing student loan debt are, supposedly, a regular part of your twenties.
Older generations reflect fondly on their experience scraping through college. However, the romanticization of the college struggle has been hugely detrimental to the students of this generation.
Aside from being out of touch with the rising cost of obtaining a degree, this mindset has driven older people to oppose initiatives to make life better for college students, graduates and even themselves.
When Joe Biden introduced his student loan forgiveness bill in 2022, nearly half of Americans jumped at the opportunity to have up to $20,000 of student loans forgiven. However, according to a poll from Ipsos, 46% of Baby Boomers were in favor of overturning the proposal without forgiving any debt, a percentage much higher than their Gen Z and Millennial counterparts.
Members of older generations see debt cancelation as unfair because of how long they have been paying into their own loans. In 2022, Fox News commentator Geraldo Rivera tweeted, “Canceling student debt is unfair to millions who worked hard to pay off their own.”
Younger generations are finding it harder than ever to make it through college, let alone pay off their debt. From 1995 to 2017, the average amount of student loan debt increased sevenfold, according to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. As for the cost of college itself, the Education Data Initiative found that tuition has increased by 197.4% since 1963.
The “we did it, so you can do it, too” mentality does not reflect the impossibly high rates of tuition and debt that younger generations are subject to. The goliath debt facing young people attending and graduating from college is a crisis unlike any experienced by older generations in higher education.
It’s not like older generations don’t have their own debt. A survey from the Education Data Initiative found that while Gen Z and Millennials hold the highest amount of student loan debt and make the largest monthly payments, Baby Boomers still carry 14.9% of all student loan debt. This debt has caused over half of all Boomer debtors to put off major life purchases.
So, where is the disconnect? Student loan debt cancelation up to $20,000 would help debtors across generational lines. The concept of fairness, or unfairness, seems to keep older generations from expressing empathy for younger ones.
Reforms like student loan debt cancelation wouldn’t just make life easier for people regardless of generation; it would make life possible for young people. Older generations are not leveling the playing field by refusing to help younger graduates on the basis that they struggled before. In the end, everyone is still broke, and a growing percentage of the population is forced to come to terms with the reality that they may never get to leave their hungry college days.
Glorifying resilience, while a respectable feat, has allowed for a heavier burden to be dropped onto the shoulders of young people. Where possible, we should seek to make conditions better for people. Arguing otherwise needlessly prolongs the struggle.
We should strive to have a more educated population. To do that, we need to lower the barriers to accessing quality education and ensure that our college grads aren’t stuck flailing under debilitating debt for the rest of their lives.
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