We typically associate student loan forgiveness with liberal politicians. All candidates running for the Democratic nomination have proposed some form of plan to forgive or reduce these debts. But there is now a former member of the Office of Federal Student Aid that has said student loan debt should be forgiven.
- Wayne Johnson has overseen the Office of Federal Student Aid since he was appointed by Betsy DeVos in 2017. He is quitting his job in hopes of being appointed to a Senate seat in Georgia by Governor Brian Kemp. His platform? Helping to eradicate the nation’s student debt problem.
Many are calling it a long shot for him to be appointed by Kemp, but Johnson is confident that even without being appointed, he would be able to win an election.
Although Johnson is looking at a Republican seat in the Senate, his views of student debt align most closely with Democrat, left-wing politicians that are currently running for the Democratic primary. Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants to forgive up to $50,000 with income restrictions, and Sen. Bernie Sanders is wanting to forgive all student debt.
Many people that argue against student loan forgiveness say that they don’t want to pay for other’s personal decisions of going to a college or university. This is why they are fine paying for public K-12 schools, but believe that if you go to college, it should be on your own dime.
However, going to college is no longer a “personal decision” in American society. To work and be respected in a professional setting in this country, it is necessary to have obtained either an associate degree, bachelor’s degree or even a master’s or doctorate.
Regardless, a college degree comes at a cost. The current total U.S. student debt is $1.4 trillion, with each person carrying an average of $37,000, according to America’s Debt Help Organization.
Johnson resigned with final words to the Atlanta News Journal of trying to fix a “fundamentally broken” system. It is troubling to know that someone who worked directly in the U.S. student financial aid agency is speaking directly against the organization that he previously worked for.
It isn’t only about the mass accumulation of student debt that young adults are being faced with today, but it is the vast increase of the cost of college in comparison to older generations that are keeping these laws in action. When rates are adjusted for inflation, Forbes conducted research that stated in 1989, the average price of a 4-year education was $52,892, and in recent years, the cost is almost double at $104,480 for the same degree.
Despite rises in tuition, wages have not reflected that. It is no longer possible for college students to pay their way through college as our grandparents once did, and that is something that baby boomers are having a hard time grasping.
People against student debt relief are also worried about how much they will have to pay in taxes in order for others to benefit from this loan forgiveness. Johnson doesn’t see this as much of a problem though, calling his revenue generated from a 1% tax on all employers, including non-profits, a “fair, fiscally responsible and future-oriented so that the citizens of Georgia and across America can afford a college education,” according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. This tax is a small cost for a large gain for the majority of the American people.
Graphic: Lizzie Talbert/ The Johnsonian
