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State legislators might not be able to cancel student debt, but they are the manufacturers of the student debt crisis & hold responsibility for ending it. 
: https://twitter.com/LauraSavino747/status/1356793595550924805
: https://twitter.com/LauraSavino747/status/1356793595550924805
Student debt is directly related to austerity. As state legislatures (who fund public campuses) continue to disinvest public funds from public colleges, schools fill budget holes with private payments– ie, tuition & fees.
TL;DR = State funding goes down, tuition goes up.
TL;DR = State funding goes down, tuition goes up.
As tuition continues to skyrocket year after year, it becomes impossible for students and families to afford out-of-pocket payment for their education.
(Stage Directions): *enter the debt market*
Semesterly tuition (at 20, 30, 40, 50k!) starts to be paid thru debt-financing
(Stage Directions): *enter the debt market*
Semesterly tuition (at 20, 30, 40, 50k!) starts to be paid thru debt-financing
Let's explore a local example of this, my home state, Massachusetts ("the education state").
Since FY01, MA has systematically disinvested from public colleges, in turn dramatically increasing tuition & fees.
(source: https://bit.ly/2YEW64o )
Since FY01, MA has systematically disinvested from public colleges, in turn dramatically increasing tuition & fees.
(source: https://bit.ly/2YEW64o )
To hone in on my alma mater, @UMass, the impact of austerity for our students is as such:
From FY01 to FY18, the Massachusetts legislature cut per student spending by $5,100, in turn increasing tuition and fees by $5,600.
!!!!!
From FY01 to FY18, the Massachusetts legislature cut per student spending by $5,100, in turn increasing tuition and fees by $5,600.
!!!!!
(It's also worth noting, at the same time that the MA legislature is cutting off public funds from public campuses, it was also defunding the state scholarship programs. This all led to cost increases for students. In other words, the state was & is privatizing our education)
As tuition& fees go up, so does debt-financing to pay for these increases. From 2004- 2016, per capita student debt at public campuses MORE THAN DOUBLED. In 12 years!!
Student debt for public college students has grown faster in Massachusetts than *any other state* except for DE
Student debt for public college students has grown faster in Massachusetts than *any other state* except for DE
While Massachusetts used to be able to boast having the second lowest average student debt in the country, we now have the tenth highest national average !
Two absolutely ALARMING trends:
1. The average debt holding for public college graduates in MA is almost the same as the debt for private college graduates!
2. MORE students graduate with debt from public colleges than from private colleges in MA!
1. The average debt holding for public college graduates in MA is almost the same as the debt for private college graduates!
2. MORE students graduate with debt from public colleges than from private colleges in MA!
Especially worth noting: the deleterious impact of student debt is unequally felt because it lands along the existing fault lines of social inequalities.
Student loan debt disproportionately impacts Black and low-income borrowers.
Student loan debt disproportionately impacts Black and low-income borrowers.
The structural racism that created & perpetuates the racial wealth gap means BIPOC students & families
are more likely to rely on debt-financing for higher education
(Shoutout @AyannaPressley for leading the national convo on debt cancellation as a racial justice issue)
are more likely to rely on debt-financing for higher education
(Shoutout @AyannaPressley for leading the national convo on debt cancellation as a racial justice issue)
. @Demos_Org reports that more Black graduates (81%) rely on debt-financing than white graduates (63%). This also means that Black students may end up paying MORE for their educations– as early as 12y after graduating, Black students owe MORE than they originally borrowed
(citation for the above tweet: Source: https://bit.ly/2YJYAi6 )
Student debt also hurts our lowest income students– the same DEMOS report finds that 84% of Pell Grant eligible students graduate with debt, compared to less than half (46%) of non-Pell recipients.
Student debt also hurts our lowest income students– the same DEMOS report finds that 84% of Pell Grant eligible students graduate with debt, compared to less than half (46%) of non-Pell recipients.
So while higher ed is supposedly the "great equalizer," we can actually see how it reproduces the social inequalities pervasive in every other aspect of our political economy.
State austerity aggravates this. As Ruth Wilson Gilmore reminds us: austerity is collective abandonment
State austerity aggravates this. As Ruth Wilson Gilmore reminds us: austerity is collective abandonment
All this to say: #CancelStudentDebt.
@POTUS can do this today– with the stroke of a pen. Literally.
And while the legal authority to cancel debt is @JoeBiden's, it is state legislators' authority & RESPONSIBILITY to end the debt cycle by re-investing in our public schools
@POTUS can do this today– with the stroke of a pen. Literally.
And while the legal authority to cancel debt is @JoeBiden's, it is state legislators' authority & RESPONSIBILITY to end the debt cycle by re-investing in our public schools
Further readings:
1. https://bit.ly/3av40D4
2. https://bit.ly/36Cftzh
3. https://bit.ly/3pNtjGS
4. https://bit.ly/2YJYAi6
5. https://bit.ly/2MSY1ji
1. https://bit.ly/3av40D4
2. https://bit.ly/36Cftzh
3. https://bit.ly/3pNtjGS
4. https://bit.ly/2YJYAi6
5. https://bit.ly/2MSY1ji
