It’s certainly not an easy time to be a student, nor has it been over the past decade. Since 2008, student loan debt has skyrocketed past $1.5 trillion. In an effort to help students, the government has created several student loan forgiveness programs, but so far, their attempts have fallen short. It’s almost as if the government doesn’t want to help at all.
After releasing a new report, the Department of Education has found that 99% of borrowers aren’t receiving any help at all from the programs. The student loan forgiveness program was most likely designed for this purpose: to have the illusion of government help, but without actually getting their hands dirty.
32,601 applications for student loan forgiveness, but only 96 of them actually received it. Those are appalling numbers. Yet, when this program was created back in 2007, the debt still was in the billions. Throughout the economic crisis, less jobs mean people were graduating from college without a job, making life more difficult.
No Cheap Solutions for Student Loan Forgiveness
As many students cheer on the idea of the government forgiving their loans, the government doesn’t want to press the issue. For one thing, you need bipartisan support to pass such a bill. The vast majority of lawmakers want to help, but it has to be a sensible bill that is light on the price tag.
The United States is already over 21 trillion in debt and taking care of college costs is impractical. There is tension between those with student loans and legislators, considering 44 million Americans hold student debt. But that doesn’t mean it’s up to lawmakers to offer student loan forgiveness options or to make college free.
For one, a lot of Americans aren’t interested in picking up the tab because others decide to go to college. In their mind, if you take out a student loan, you should know what you’re getting into. You should have to pay back that loan. It’s no different than taking out a mortgage. You can’t get a mortgage, then expect the government to pay for your house.
There’s no easy answer for student loan forgiveness, and it doesn’t appear the answer will be coming soon. Even so, the programs created now have a lot of red tape and a set of qualifications must be met. It’s almost as if the government created a program designed to help only a small number of people.
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The Red Tape Surrounding Student Loan Forgiveness
The biggest challenge for students is all the red tape surrounding the student loan forgiveness program. First, you must qualify. Qualifying is no easy task. You must have the right type of repayment program, the right paperwork, the right job, the right loan, and file this paperwork every single month.
If any of these conditions aren’t met, you’ll get a denial. Yet, this only scratches the surface of what you need to qualify. Many people have spent a whole decade, believing they qualify, only to find out that they missed the ‘small print’. Don’t expect to find sympathetic ears with your lender. They’re glad to take every dime owed to them.
In fact, Navient, one of the largest lenders in the country, is currently being sued. They were caught giving students the wrong advice in order to trap them. If they don’t meet the qualifications, then their loans won’t qualify for student loan forgiveness programs. With these types of challenges, it’s no wonder why so many people are struggling.
