Should we be forgiving student loan debt?

In June we witnessed another cycle of graduations, from nursery school events through high school, college and advanced degrees.

Depending on our age, education level and life experiences, we view the days of graduations differently. While there is joy and happiness, there is also fear of the unknown and worry about success in the future. Parents and grandparents are proud; graduates are happy that goals have been met. Degrees have been attained. Certainly it’s a time of excitement, mixed with some fear.

Is it finishing something, or beginning something? Obviously it’s both. Hopefully, college graduates are embarking on careers in fields that they love and have spent a great deal of time studying and preparing for. We hope they find fulfilling jobs in their chosen fields.

Most enter the world of work with some level, maybe a huge level, of student loan debt.

When I graduated, my debt seemed minuscule by today’s standards, but things were different then, and even though my debt was small compared with that of many of today’s college graduates, my salary was also small by today’s standards, and the debt weighed heavily on my mind and pocketbook. I knew I had to get a job, get to work, start my career, pay that debt and save for the future.

When I hear talk of student loan forgiveness, I immediately think of the wise advice that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Why should the government forgive college loans? Loan forgiveness is only a temporary solution to the costs of higher education. If loans are funded by the government, they are not forgiven, they don’t go away — taxpayers assume the debt.

So who decides what else should be forgiven? My mortgage? A small-business startup loan? The car loan that I need to buy a vehicle to get back and forth to work in? The tools I needed to buy to start my contracting business?

Loan-forgiveness programs punish the hard workers in this country. They also discourage the desire to work hard. Why should I work hard if my debts are forgiven? People need to work to keep our economy growing and strong, but too many folks want to get paid for doing nothing.

Just because college costs are way out of line doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have to pay. You expected to pay it back when you signed for the loan — that’s what borrowing means. Moving forward, should all college just be free? That’s a silly thought. Who would pay for the maintenance of the physical plant, all the staff and professors? Where would forgiveness end?

I would assume criminal forgiveness is next, but wait — we’ve already seen that.

Get a job, work hard, pay your debts, establish good credit and build a life for yourself, your family, your community. It’s a whole ethics thing. Accepting “free money” that adds to the national debt and burdens every taxpayer and future generations of taxpayers doesn’t seem very responsible or ethical. What happens to the generations who, for decades, paid their debts? Should there be reparations for past college graduates who paid their student loans? Proponents of student loan debt cancellation claim that it will jump-start the economy. How does encouraging people not to work help the economy?

If you couldn’t afford college in the first place, why didn’t you modify your life plan to enter the workforce right after high school? Now, that would jump-start the economy. People working, earning money, paying their bills, and saving for restaurants or resorts. That seems like a solution. Saving your money to pay-as-you-go for college.

I could rant that I paid my student loans, and now you should as well, but my point goes deeper than that. I planned for my education and my career and my responsibility for my debts. You learn nothing if all is forgiven.

There was a satisfaction to paying my own way. I appreciated my professors and learning experiences more. It was like buying my first car, when I took such great pride and care of it. Friends who were given cars for free usually destroyed them. They had no sense of pride or ownership.

Take pride in yourself and your work. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get a job!

Ed Fare is the mayor of Valley Stream.