Request that USA President Trump's budget helps USA students in tackling Trillion Dollar USA College Debt problem, and not hurt them
A few short extracts from the article: The $833 billion albatross around the necks of women with college degrees, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2017/05/24/the-833-billion-albatross-around-the-necks-of-women-with-college-degrees/, dated May 24th 2017, are given below:
The burden of student debt is having an outsize impact on women who now hold nearly two thirds of the $1.3 trillion in outstanding education loans, according to a report released Wednesday by the American Association of University Women.
...
The pace of repayment is especially slow for African American and Latino women, who also have among the highest default rates. While a third of all women who were repaying student loans reported having trouble covering living expenses within the past year, the same was true for 57 percent of African American women, the study said.
...
Both the purchasing power of Pell and the future of campus child care are under threat in the 2018 White House budget. While President Trump supports extending Pell awards for three semesters, instead of two, he wants to leave the maximum award at $5,920 and plans to pull $3.9 billion out of the program’s reserve fund. His budget also cuts all funding to a federal program that assists low-income college students with child-care costs, known as the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS).
--- end short extracts from Washington Post article ---
Ravi: As an Indian citizen and resident of India who is a well wisher of the USA people, one of the major concerns with USA higher education that I have is: Terrible burden of student debt that becomes a millstone around the neck of some students for many years after they pass out of college as they do not get suitably remunerative jobs. The above article casts some sad light on some such passed out students.
I have tried to follow this matter for some years now. Here's an extract from a Feb 2014 (update) blogpost of mine, USA: The Student Loan Debt Disaster! Update: Income Based Repayment Plan Seems to be a Superb Solution, http://eklavyasai.blogspot.in/2013/12/the-student-loan-debt-disaster.html:
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_loans_in_the_United_States#Income-Based_Repayment_Plan :
"If a student's loan debt is high but their income is modest, they may qualify for the Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR). Most major types of federal student loans—except for PLUS loans for parents—are eligible for IBR.[25] Income-based plans provide for payment of 15% of disposable income for up to 25 years, then the loan is forgiven."
...
Now there seems to be a new law making the burden even lighter (for students borrowing from 2014) - limiting payments to 10% of (disposable) income (so a reduction from 15% to 10%) and debt being forgiven after 20 years (10 years if person is in public service) if they are making the monthly payments properly. Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/higher-education/ensuring-that-student-loans-are-affordable. I think this makes it even better - so now it seems to be quite OK, unless I am missing something. I mean, even if one does not get a good paying job but gets some job - one pays only 10% of disposable income. That seems really decent.
--- end extracts from my blog post ---
What I am not able to understand is the gap between the extracts above dated Feb. 2014, and the reality in the USA. I seem to have missed something!
Anyway, what I would very much like to see is a clear statement on policy on this USA College Debt problem from USA president Trump's administration including his education secretary Ms. Betsy DeVos. The horrific reality today is that higher education which was seen some decades ago (during my youth) as the way to get a well paid job in many countries of the world including USA and India, is now becoming a horrific debt-trap for significant number of students in USA and not-insignificant number of students in India. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! Such a situation will create new generations with significant number of college educated people who will lose complete faith in, and feel cheated by, the entire social and political system, with dangerous consequences for society.
So, as a well wisher of USA, I earnestly request USA president Trump and USA (federal) Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, to publicize their policy and plans to help students in this USA student debt trillion dollar problem, and allow for open and well intentioned public debate on their policy and plans. Education policy changes can have long-term effects, both good and bad, and so having a well debated and well informed higher education policy related to USA student debt will be the right due-diligence approach to formulating and implementing these policy changes.
Please note that I offered free teaching and project guidance to students in software development, and also contributed to systems management in the students software lab., in the Mathematics and Computer Science department of a deemed university in India for 9 years, from Jan. 2003 to Mar. 2012, with designations of Honorary Staff/Honorary Faculty/Visiting Faculty. Further please note the following two free blogs of mine related to education:
* Indian Computer Science & Information Technology Academic Reform Activism: eklavyasai.blogspot.com/p/table-of-contents.html
* Course material related to computer programming (software lab.) courses: raviiyerteaches.wordpress.com
[I thank washingtonpost.com and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above short extracts from their website on this post dealing with an important social good issue, which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
The burden of student debt is having an outsize impact on women who now hold nearly two thirds of the $1.3 trillion in outstanding education loans, according to a report released Wednesday by the American Association of University Women.
...
The pace of repayment is especially slow for African American and Latino women, who also have among the highest default rates. While a third of all women who were repaying student loans reported having trouble covering living expenses within the past year, the same was true for 57 percent of African American women, the study said.
...
Both the purchasing power of Pell and the future of campus child care are under threat in the 2018 White House budget. While President Trump supports extending Pell awards for three semesters, instead of two, he wants to leave the maximum award at $5,920 and plans to pull $3.9 billion out of the program’s reserve fund. His budget also cuts all funding to a federal program that assists low-income college students with child-care costs, known as the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS).
--- end short extracts from Washington Post article ---
Ravi: As an Indian citizen and resident of India who is a well wisher of the USA people, one of the major concerns with USA higher education that I have is: Terrible burden of student debt that becomes a millstone around the neck of some students for many years after they pass out of college as they do not get suitably remunerative jobs. The above article casts some sad light on some such passed out students.
I have tried to follow this matter for some years now. Here's an extract from a Feb 2014 (update) blogpost of mine, USA: The Student Loan Debt Disaster! Update: Income Based Repayment Plan Seems to be a Superb Solution, http://eklavyasai.blogspot.in/2013/12/the-student-loan-debt-disaster.html:
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_loans_in_the_United_States#Income-Based_Repayment_Plan :
"If a student's loan debt is high but their income is modest, they may qualify for the Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR). Most major types of federal student loans—except for PLUS loans for parents—are eligible for IBR.[25] Income-based plans provide for payment of 15% of disposable income for up to 25 years, then the loan is forgiven."
...
Now there seems to be a new law making the burden even lighter (for students borrowing from 2014) - limiting payments to 10% of (disposable) income (so a reduction from 15% to 10%) and debt being forgiven after 20 years (10 years if person is in public service) if they are making the monthly payments properly. Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/higher-education/ensuring-that-student-loans-are-affordable. I think this makes it even better - so now it seems to be quite OK, unless I am missing something. I mean, even if one does not get a good paying job but gets some job - one pays only 10% of disposable income. That seems really decent.
--- end extracts from my blog post ---
What I am not able to understand is the gap between the extracts above dated Feb. 2014, and the reality in the USA. I seem to have missed something!
Anyway, what I would very much like to see is a clear statement on policy on this USA College Debt problem from USA president Trump's administration including his education secretary Ms. Betsy DeVos. The horrific reality today is that higher education which was seen some decades ago (during my youth) as the way to get a well paid job in many countries of the world including USA and India, is now becoming a horrific debt-trap for significant number of students in USA and not-insignificant number of students in India. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! Such a situation will create new generations with significant number of college educated people who will lose complete faith in, and feel cheated by, the entire social and political system, with dangerous consequences for society.
So, as a well wisher of USA, I earnestly request USA president Trump and USA (federal) Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, to publicize their policy and plans to help students in this USA student debt trillion dollar problem, and allow for open and well intentioned public debate on their policy and plans. Education policy changes can have long-term effects, both good and bad, and so having a well debated and well informed higher education policy related to USA student debt will be the right due-diligence approach to formulating and implementing these policy changes.
Please note that I offered free teaching and project guidance to students in software development, and also contributed to systems management in the students software lab., in the Mathematics and Computer Science department of a deemed university in India for 9 years, from Jan. 2003 to Mar. 2012, with designations of Honorary Staff/Honorary Faculty/Visiting Faculty. Further please note the following two free blogs of mine related to education:
* Indian Computer Science & Information Technology Academic Reform Activism: eklavyasai.blogspot.com/p/table-of-contents.html
* Course material related to computer programming (software lab.) courses: raviiyerteaches.wordpress.com
[I thank washingtonpost.com and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above short extracts from their website on this post dealing with an important social good issue, which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
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