I took out student loans right out of high school because I was raised by a mother who lived on welfare most of my life. I saw a college degree as the ONLY way for me to end the cycle of poverty that I grew up in. But what I didn’t count on was paying an absurd amount for out of state tuition and despite being in forbearance, the loans accumulated interest. So my $30,000 in student loans has blossomed into approximately $60,000 (even with a bankruptcy), with little to no hope that I’ll be able to ever pay it back. I will die with student loan debt and it’s ridiculous.
People who don’t understand the cycle of poverty in this country, like to throw around terms like “entitlements” or “self indulgence” or “lazy” and it’s bullshit. Quit applying your situation to every other situation in existence. If anyone in this thread is self indulgent, it’s you.
Colleges set you up for failure. They are money making machines who whose main purpose is garnering new students at whatever cost. Most are not interested in your success (in school). Most aren’t even interested in the quality of your education. Our country needs to wake the fuck up and realize that a quality education, free of encumbrances, is the only way that we’ll ever make this world work.
Knowledge is power and the fat cats in power are so afraid of empowering everyone with knowledge, that they have made the entire system into a house of smoke and mirrors. There is a plethora of resources available to everyone. Life isn’t a zero sum game. There is plenty to go around and we should all share in the benefits.