If you watch any bit of Tv or even the Yahoo 'joke' of news, you must have realized that president Obama has been all over the place talking about the federal student loans interest rates. For those of you who have not heard about it; on July 1st the interest rates of the federal student loans could double to a 6.8%. This interest rate is actually really low compared with the average credit card, however, many people are concerned about the change.
As a student, I depend on Financial Aid to pay for my education and I fear that the outcome of this possible change may interfere with my future. Let me break down the fears I share with many other people:
1 - 6.8% is a very low rate compared to a credit card, but a student loan adds up fast and it cannot be paid immediately. In other words, if you have any student debt, you know that you can only pay for interests while you are studying, but cannot start to pay your debt until you graduate. This means that as time passes the interest you pay grows and so does you debt, which takes longer to pay because when you graduate you have to pay the interest plus the imaginary house that you owe.
2 - The tuition rates are rapidly increasing by semester. It is obvious that the more tuition you pay the bigger gets your debt. Some people are already stretching their budget in order to get some
education, and this small 3.4% extra could be a boundary that they
cannot afford.
3 - A bachelors degree does not guarantee you a job anymore. We are familiar with the stories of students who graduated, but did not find a job on their field of study, and ended spending more that half of their minimum wage salary in paying for student loans. Also, the graduate students who did find a job, but it took them almost a decade to pay for their debt.
After considering all this points I think: What does Congress or Republicans think that we students should do in order to get some decent education? Join the army? Not everybody has the courage that takes to fight a war, and not everybody is physically able to do it. Do we have to work several jobs, so we can pay out of our pockets? Again, not everybody can work overtime and study at the same time, while keeping an outstanding GPA. Maybe they just expect us to pay for our student debt for 20 years, after we postponed the normal life that we dreamed after our graduation. The life where we owned a house, and built a family because our education gave us financial stability.
It really bothers me how Obama, Congress, and the Republicans are fighting about how could they fund a the possible extension of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. Obama wants to extend the act by increasing the taxes of the wealthy class, while republicans have found the excuse to cut the budget of the Affordable Care Act. Then, Congress is considering the possibility of cutbacks in the Pell programs, while Democrats had proposed the Stop the Rate Hike Act, which ends unwarranted tax subsidies to big oil and gas companies. I feel that the way that politicians are handling this matter is a joke. What are their priorities? For me is very clear that in this situation the priorities should be in this order:
1 - Keep the country healthy, so the population can grow and be functional. For this reason, not budget should be taken from the Affordable Care Act.
2 - Keep the population educated, so your country can keep evolving. For this reason education should be as affordable as possible.
To increase the economical burden over the lower and middle class while the rich fill their pockets it should not be a priority, so if money has to come from somewhere in order to maintain those two priories, I think the rich and oil companies should pay higher taxes.
For now, I am happy because at least they all agree with the fact that the College Cost Reduction and Access Act should be extended, however, I am afraid that this could not go in effect if they do not find a fair common ground.
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