STUDENT LOANS WERE NOT ALWAYS LEGAL. They changed everything. A thread.

In the 20th c, we created an economic system that made college crucial to financial success.

Then we claimed we were "increasing access" by making the student loans we know today legal in the early 90s.

Gen X was the frist student loan generation, but universities had BIG PLANS for Millennials & Gen Y.

Starting in the Reagan years, Business douches were all the rage. Ppl began to talk abt the NEED for govt & education to be run by business sharks like businesses.

This was bc the Reagan years were also the beginning of "I should never have to pay any taxes," "small government," & "screw the poor." We went from "War on Poverty" to screeching demands to cut welfare. Racism was a massive component of this-- the "Welfare Queen" lie.

Suddenly doing your civic duty by paying taxes to help fund schools & poverty abatement programs was out of fashion. "Greed is good" was in fashion & became a central feature of the modern Republican party.

"We should run govt/universities like a business" became the fad.

For universities, the idea was that putting business douches in charge would create profit, decreasing education's reliance on govt funding. Before this, actual educators were in chanreg of education & admin was part of the faculty.

So when student loans became legal, these business douches that we had put in charge of uni administration & budgeting decided that students could now afford MUCH HIGHER tuition through loans. They realized they could dramatically increase tuition & fees w/o losing "customers."

Suddenly, student loans were a REQUIREMENT for everyone who wasn't wealthy. They went from "assistance for lower-income ppl who would like to attend top-tier unis" to a requirement for everyone, everywhere.

This came into its full flower for Millennials, as universities slowly but steadily jacked up tuition & fees. Last I checked, it was increasing at ten times the rate of inflation. Boomers used to be able to pay their entire tuition AND housing w a part-time service job. Imagine!

Now with Gen Z headed off to college, student loans are not just required, they're onerously large, even for less prestigious universities. Even state schools have jacked up tuition & fees.

Meanwhile, they've made tenure-track positions a rarity. Most classes are taught by adjuncts making *literal* poverty-level wages. The most I made as an adjunct was 27K a year. IN THE BAY AREA, one of the most expensive places in the world to live.

And don't say "just move." I was BORN HERE. My kids were in school. My husband's a public school teacher-- a move to another district means starting back at entry-level salary. We couldn't afford to live here OR move. I got a job teaching private school.

I lost that job in June. But I'm one of the lucky ones-- I'm old enough that my student loan debt was very minimal, and it's now all paid off. My ability to pay off my student loan debt doesn't stop me from wanting justice for these kids today.

Student loans + university tuition increases + massive tax cuts for the wealthy = predatory practices for students today.

Forgive student loans. Make them illegal. Make college free for everyone. How do we pay for it?

The day I was born, the top tier income bracket was 70%.

The day my father was born, the top tier income bracket was 88%.

You see where I'm going with this.

Tax the rich. Tax the HELL out of them.

Student loan forgiveness will boost our flagging economy for *everyone*.

Why aren't Millennials buying houses? you ask
Why aren't Millennials investing? you ask
Why aren't Millennials having kids? you ask

BECAUSE THEY'RE PAYING $425 a month in student loans and you refuse to pay them more than 32K. Is why.

Poof! The debt is gone. Now they're saving for a house AND buying the crap your industry sells, whatever that crap is. Now your industry is booming.

This benefits everyone, even retirees. More sales = more sales tax = more funding for infrastructure. More prosperity benefits everyone.

All those city projects- libraries, parks, bridges, roads, hospitals, post offices- have you ever wondered how we were able to build all that?

Why is every city crammed w public projects from the 60s & 70s, all of which are crumbling now, physically (buildings) or in program reach/ability (education)?

Bc we built it all when taxes on the very rich were 70%, no one had any student loans, & the avg wage was the equivalent of $57K in today's dollars. The avg wage today is $40K.

So no, I'm not mad abt student loan forgiveness. I need a job! If we forgave student loans today, the bounce wld create SO MANY jobs. It makes me MORE fired up abt economic justice that I paid my loans off. I don't want these kids to go through that. I want better for Americans.

Ppl on here talking abt student loans like they always existed, or like college tuition was always out of reach, or that we always thought nonprofits should be run "like businesses." UNIVERSITIES ARE NOT BUSINESSES. The goal should not be profit. We shld not be paying admin $340K

For that matter the government is not a business either.

OK, rant over. I'm going to finally go get my flu shot. A shot paid for by my husband's insurance THANK GOD. Because I need a damn job, & selfishly I would love to see loan forgiveness so we can start hiring ppl again.

But mostly, I want loan forgiveness because I want a better world for these kids. I want justice going forward. A hugely disproportionate amt of this debt is carried by BIPOC women, so this is a *juctice* issue through & through.

theeeeeeee end