My Mom is 1 of 6 kids. I am 1 of 19 grandkids.

I was the 1st to leave a small town, go to college, get a well paying tech job, etc...

Some say, nice job pulling on those bootstraps! Way to go!

But no... My rising out of poverty isn't a feel good story... it's a fucking tragedy

Yes - I retired in my 30s and live a semi-charmed kind of life... the traumas are mostly scarred over

Going to college seemed the way to a better life. I busted my ass to make it work - 18 credits/semester while working 30+ hours/week, worked 2 jobs in summer, etc...

And yet...

For a time I lived off saltine crackers & ketchup taken from the cafeteria

I used credit cards for gas/food to make it through my Sr year

I coughed for months but didn't see a Dr because of $. I shit blood from stress

I almost died in a car wreck due to lack of sleep

Despite this I still had massive student loans even with scholarships and grants.

To pay them down I cashed out vacation and sick time for 5 years. I took 0% interest credit card loans to save the 7-8% loan rate.

I traded mental and physical health for student loan payments

But the worst part of all was the fear... the paralyzing soul-sucking dread...

...knowing that 1 misstep / unexpected event / health issue / job loss / unplanned pregnancy could bring the whole house of cards crashing down

And I had it better than many...

For example, timing

My brother graduated from the same college with the same degree.

Being younger, he paid 50%(+/-?) more in tuition for the same education.

But he graduated in the 2000 tech bust and the job opportunities and starting salaries were significantly reduced.

Also, I did well in High School - my peculiar brain made math and science fairly easy and I could focus during tests...

And I had free public libraries, free school lunches & sports due to being in a low-income household, free government cheese for childhood calories, etc...

I got scholarships / need-based grants / subsidized loans

...but only a fraction of what was available. I was even locked out of some schools because I couldn't afford the fees to apply.

The system itself is broken - you basically need a college education to navigate the system

So my question is, why do we want people to go through this?

Stealing food to get by? Risking death? Sacrificing grades to work to pay rent? Sacrificing mental health, damaging personal relationships, constant struggle and fear...?

This is the American Dream?

And... if this is all so great, why aren't the 18 other grandkids on equal footing or better?

The 250 in my HS graduating class?

The millions who aren't able to go to college?

Why do so many graduate & then struggle with an untenable debt burden?

Some people harp on the costs of helping others... the social safety net that fed me as a child, the grants & subsidies that helped me through school... and now the talk of cancelling student loans

It's too expensive they say

But..

The taxes I have paid only because I got ahead financially has repaid the public investment many times over.

Investing in others leads to their growth and advancement, and success begets success.

More of this please.

All this to say, nobody should have to do what I did to move beyond poverty... education is the tool for most people to do so.

K-12 education is mostly free. It should be K-16, going forward and looking back (via student loan forgiveness.)

Plus more investment in K-12, the health system, public transit, etc...

Thanks.

ps - if you ever shit blood, please see a Dr