I keep reading headlines about different plans to eliminate student debt. Unfortunately, most of these plans seem to be attempts to buy votes from the college educated instead of working to fix the problem. It seems that Biden’s plan is to cancel $10,000 of everyone’s debt and more if you work for the Federal Government. However, this is not good enough for many on the far left of the Democratic Party who want it all to just go away.

Certainly, debt can be burdensome, and I would love to have my student loans go away, but the Government cannot afford to bear that cost. Even if it could, will wiping out all of the debt right now solve the problem of college debt? Hasn’t Government subsidy contributed to the ever rising cost of education? The way to solve the crisis of debt is not to wipe it all away. Instead, policies need to change on the front end of education. Student loans are far too easy to obtain. Looking over the requirements, essentially any US student can take out a loan for education. No need to prove the money is needed to pay for school. No need to prove that you’ll be able to pay it off. No need to even prove that the money was used to pay for tuition. If you’re enrolled, you get the interest deferred loan, with little to no questions asked. Eighteen year old students with no life experience receive money to pursue whatever degree they desire without a full understanding of what they are getting into; this is no recipe for success. Trust me, it is easy to breeze through the loan counselling without really paying attention. Meanwhile, every other loan requires credit checks. If you’re credit is not good enough, you’ll need to have cosigner for any other type of loan. I think it is time that we made it more difficult to receive student loans. The amount you can receive should depend on your future ability to pay back, not solely on your current needs.

I understand that there are ties to doing well in school, but that does not indicate ability to repay either. Additionally, I understand that the Federal Government backs student loans because they are risky. Education creates positive externalities, so the Government wants more educated citizens furthering the wellbeing of everyone around them and creating a wider and deeper tax base. However, we have gone too far in providing funds for students. Student loan funds need to be primarily directed towards students who will be able to pay them back. If you’re seeking an electrical engineering degree, you should certainly get more loans than someone who wants to study theater. Furthermore, students who receive loans need to be more educated about those loans. Debt can be burdensome, and you want those electrical engineering students who receive loans to know that sometimes, the economy is bad. They may not be able to find good jobs all of the time, and taking out a loan is taking on a burden.

Ultimately, Government policy is not going to fix the problem of student debt. I genuinely believe that a more rigorous lending system will help, otherwise I would not have brought it up. However, this issue, as with most issues, needs to be tackled at the individual level. Each individual needs to educate themselves. There is nothing inherently wrong with taking out a loan to pay for college; however, people need to take these loans seriously and understand the consequences that come with default. In this area, Christians should differ from the rest by stewarding resources well. If Christian students are going to preach wisdom, they need to make wise financial decisions. Of course, money is not everything, and how we handle it is not the most important part of our Christian lives. That said, if you are not faithful in the small things, will you be faithful in the big things?