vitalwholeness

The result of not renewing the student loan interest rate levels is in effect doubling them – for those who began at one level and now have another. With a great increase in those choosing to pursue a college education 2007-2012 (coinciding with the economic downturn) the generation most affected will be our rising bubble, the largest in decades, the Millennials. This is precisely the demographic of young people we most want to empower to pursue education and bring the fruit of it to our republic. Instead of providing encouragement and practical support, we are penalizing them.

The move is not only stupid but duplicitous; we engage in a classic game of bait and switch. We entice you with one interest rate and offer you an increased one once you have acquired the debt. We also make it harder for the up and coming generation to finance an education, the price tag of which is dramatically rising year by year.

Our government is already yielding a handsome sum from the interest gained from student loans. It is not a crisis for the government but we are making it one for our most precious resource – the youth and young adults of our country. This reveals a conspicuous lack of vision. We will pay for it in the end, our meager savings reflected in less capacity among those who should be emerging as the greatest resource this country has ever realized.

Our congress flunked the required course, Virtue and Intelligence 101. They should be required to take it over and at least get a C. And if they won’t we should find others who do evidence moral fiber and vision superior to their own.