The Student Loan Crisis is worse than You Think
There is, even more, evidence that the student-loan crisis is hitting Millennials; those under 35, hard. A new survey shows how great a squeeze student loans, income inequality, and wage stagnation are putting on younger Americans is.
An astonishing 49.8% of Millennials said they would give up the right to vote in the next two presidential elections in exchange for student-loan forgiveness, a Pollfish survey conducted by the loan refinancer Credible found.
Nor was it just voting some Millennials were willing to give up for student-loan forgiveness. Around 43.6% said they would give up ridesharing apps like Lyft and Uber in order to get student loans forgiven. Another 42.4% of Millennials said they would give up international travel for five years for student loan forgiven.
Student Loan Debt it is worse than you think
Some young Americans were even willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to get student-loan forgiveness; 27% of them said they would move back in with their parents for five years to get loans paid off. The only sacrifice Millennials would not make was to give up texting in exchange for loan forgiveness, only 13.2% of them said they would do that.
It is easy to see why Millennials are so desperate for forgiveness; 42.3 million Americans owe $1.33 trillion in student loan debt to Uncle Sam, the US Department of Education estimated. Another $64 billion worth of student loan payments is estimated to be in collections.
The average student loan balance is $17,000 and the average student loan payment, $222 a month, but many people owe far more. Students with graduate degrees can easily owe over $100,000 by the time they graduate.
Student Loan Debt Explains Bernie’s Popularity
These statistics explain the success of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) in last year’s Democratic presidential primaries. One of Sanders’ key promises was free tuition at public universities for all Americans.
Sanders plan was to finance tuition with a Robin Hood tax on transfers of investment assets. There are polls that indicate Sanders is the most popular politician in America, and that he would have defeated Donald J. Trump (R-New York) in the presidential election.
Credible used Pollfish to survey more than 500 people between September 7 and September 8, 2017, to get these results. If these results are accurate, student loans are sure to be a major political issue in next year’s Congressional races and the 2020 Presidential election. Expect to see politicians of both parties to follow Bernie’s lead and capitalize on the student loan crisis to get Millennial votes.
