I recently read an article by Carrie Burkett,
titled "Bailing out the
Former Student." Upon first reading the title I believed she would be
in favor of the topic, but as the story progressed, I realized she was actually
opposed to it. Carrie begins by explaining her own experience with student
loans, and then proceeds to take full responsibility for her actions; including
the debt she has acquired. I am a firm believer in owning up to your mistakes
as well as recognizing them, in order to prevent wrong doings from reoccurring,
and Carrie did an excellent job by doing so. She was up-front and offered no
room for nonsense, all while illustrating the debt many student place
themselves in, to achieve the "picture perfect college experience." Carrie
then attempts to understand what the strategy of the government is. The
taxpayers would be the ones paying off the loans, and would not offer a great
stimulation to the economy, so what’s the catch? The author believes it is campaign
gold for politicians, and I have to admit I agree with her.
I do not think the government should pay backs the loans of
students, by reasoning of, students are well aware of what they are getting
themselves into when signing loan papers. As a result of this, I do not have
one student loan under my name. Not because I am a wealthy individual who can
pay for my education up front, but because if I do not have the money, I do not
attend college. I depend on other resources
such as scholarships, Pell Grants, or even (gasp) working more hours. It would
be very easy for me to sign my name on a couple of forms and receive thousands
of dollars; but it would be a very hard life to live with massive amounts of
debt weighting on my finances.
