Ever wondered how to avoid the issue of student loans? Look no further than this tweet from a self-described “freedom fighter.”
I presume that this tweet is in regards to Bernie Sanders’ (and other politicians) suggestion of erasing student debt.
Want to leave college debt free? Then stop spending money on
iPhones
MacBooks
Tattoos
Going out to eat
Alcohol
Drugs
ConcertsIf you’re buying things that aren’t absolute necessities, you shouldn’t be asking politicians to steal from hard working people to pay your loans.
— Ashley StClair 🇺🇸 (@stclairashley) September 11, 2019
Ah, why didn’t I think of this. Okay, so I don’t buy any of this stuff. I avoid these expenses. Let’s say I save $20,000 over four years. I’m debt free. Wait, no.
What’s this tuition cost? Oh, over $100,000! Looks like I’m still in debt.
Of course, this tweet isn’t really about giving advice in good faith. It is typical fiscal conservatism that frames paying student loan debt off as another commie plot that will take money away from hard workers and give it to lazy, entitled millennials.
Posts like this sometimes make me wonder if people actually realize how flawed the arguments are, but also realize their base will still eat it up. Or, if the poster is just genuinely out of touch.
Let’s look at that suggestion to avoid buying a Macbook.
First, a student will need a computer of some sort. If they are able to stay at home during university, with a short commute, maybe they can get away with a desktop that their parents already have. If not, they will need a laptop. So, when you make the decision about which one to buy, let’s say you go cheap and get something for $200. I’ll even argue that this cheaper version will have all the features a more expensive one would have and will allow students to access online learning systems, which many universities use to post class information and for submission of assignments.
Congratulations, you saved about $800, but you still have another $99,000 in debt.
Did this woman go to university?
Let’s say you go the community college route. You work hard, do extracurriculars that give you experience and look really good on the resume.
There will be jobs where they might specifically require a university degree.
Even if that doesn’t happen, let’s say you apply and your resume looks pretty good. Now keep in mind a lot of big companies just use automated systems to review resumes and cover letters, checking for keywords. Therefore, you don’t have that personal touch of someone peering through each resume and cover letter.
So, what if this applicant’s skills and experience put her/him in the top 10 applicants, but some other applicants have degrees from places like NYU or Harvard?
A degree does not always indicate more intelligence (as the Ivy League scandal indicates) but employers are still conditioned to judge someone’s skills, work ethic, intelligence etc. by what school(s) they went to.
What if someone wants to become a doctor more than anything? Should they just forget about going to med school since it’s expensive. After all, people like the aforementioned “freedom fighter” will just see them as lazy and entitled if they ever bring up the issue of crippling debt.
Education should not be so expensive but we have to accept that it is, and likely won’t get better. You can work hard and teach yourself without a degree, but a lot of fields still require rigid and formal methods of validation e.g. law school, med school. Even in Suits, the hard-working and intelligent Mike Ross goes to jail for practising law without a valid law degree.
Don’t lecture people about working hard and then turn your back on them when their pursuit of their goals leaves them with $200,000+ in debt; telling them that it isn’t right for them to ask for help from hard-working people like yourself.