With the calendar turning to May, college students throughout the country are preparing to leave campus and head out into the “real” world.
They’ll be bringing four years of education with them. But many will also be carrying substantial debt.
It’s a problem that those who have already graduated college are intimately familiar with and one that is about to rear its ugly head once again. Beginning on May 5, the Department of Education will begin collection on student loans that are in default, including the garnishing of wages for millions of borrowers.
There are currently more than 5 million people who are in default on their federal student loans and, according to the Education Department, only 38% of borrowers are caught up on their loans.
For so many who dream of earning a college degree and those who have already done so at great cost (literally), it’s the latest setback of what in today’s world more and more resembles a Sisyphean task.
The announcement marks an end to a period of leniency begun under former President Joe Biden during the COVID pandemic. Loan payments were first paused in 2020 and interest rates were set at 0% from March 13, 2020 to Sept. 1, 2023.
But now President Donald Trump’s administration will begin involuntary collection through the Treasury Department’s offset program, which withholds government payments from those with past-due debts. The garnishing of wages will kick in after a 30-day notice.
This policy is a perfect reflection of how the Department of Education under Trump is more of a collection agency than a bastion of quality education.
There has been understandable frustration and confusion felt by those dealing with student loans who have experienced whiplash with the changing policies from the first Trump presidency to Biden and back to Trump again.
In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Education Secretary Linda McMahon wrote about the policy’s goal of shaking down borrowers who are behind on their payments.
What she failed to mention was that the policies of her department and the Trump White House are already doing damage to the wallets of many Americans. As the economy suffers from Trump’s tariff debacle, there’s no relief in sight for people already struggling to repay their loans.
The forthcoming debt recollection policy is the latest example of the deterioration of the Department of Education in the Trump era. Massive layoffs have severely affected its core functions, leaving those who remain unable to effectively do their jobs.
Given who is in charge of the department, this new direction probably shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, McMahon’s background is in business, not education. Prior to her current position, she was best known as the co-founder of what would become World Wrestling Entertainment with her husband Vince McMahon. Collecting money is fine when it comes to running a business, but it shouldn’t be the prime motivation when it comes to education.
The threat of overwhelming debt is just one of the challenges soon-to-be college graduates have to face. The rising cost of tuition has sowed doubt among students as to whether a college degree is the best way to find their place in the workforce once they graduate.
The debate between experience and education has reached a tipping point: a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found the widest unemployment gap between new graduates and experienced degree holders in 30 years.
With the number of graduates increasing and the number of opportunities for those without experience declining, it’s fair to wonder whether or not a degree provides the advantages it once did.
All of this means that more kids will be discouraged from attending college in the first place. To be clear, college isn’t for everyone, nor should it be. But the threat of limited opportunities combined with the looming prospect of massive debt only serve to harm the future of higher education.
People are already paying enough to go to school. They shouldn’t be forced to pay for the rest of their lives.
Daily Star, Oneonta