Hello, folks. I will admit, I am not the most educated person out there, and most likely far FAR from the most educated even on this subreddit. In fact, anybody who responds will most likely be more educated than I am. However, I posted this as a comment in response to a thread that was started earlier. The OP in question was asking why people think it's a good idea for Biden to cancel student debt, among other questions. Only a couple people really got into the meat and potatoes, but OP decided to attack some of the smaller answers in the form of being a smartass. However, as I went back and re-read OP's original questions in his post, I noticed that their questions were not being answered as well as they could have been. Just a lot of examples being thrown at OP, and I will admit I jumped in on the bandwagon. But it got me thinking, are there good examples that could be pinned/copied/pasted of an explanation that would probably describe the consensus of how a lot of people feel, both acknowledging the faults of the system and its predatory nature, but also highlighting the motivations from OUR end while also taking responsibility for making such a big decision in the first place. I decided to copy and paste this here. I want to know what people thing. I am new to this Debt Strike train, so please go easy. This is not a coercive argument as to why student loans SHOULD BE cancelled, it is answering why WE WANT student loans to be cancelled. (Questions paraphrased to avoid plagiarism/naming names) "People aren't forced into student loans. Sure, education is expensive, and schools convince you this is the only way. Why do you want it forgiven? What were you expecting?" " We (in the US at least) are taught early on to take up an interest and, if it can be capitalized on, to capitalize on it in higher education. School/popular culture/neighbors next door/grandparents express how important it is to have a college education, and how much more it improves your life. They claim you are likely to be respected more by others, more trusted, and viewed highly from employers. Or so we thought. "Get a college education, live the good life." Those preceding us who are successful often have college degrees, and we want to follow suit. THAT is our big example, and it's "proof". School is insanely expensive. So, in desperation, people take out loans to pay for their education. Some do the math, see the end result, and assume they will have a $80k+ job right out the gate, and think they can handle the loan, being completely unaware of how much it costs to live independently, especially with how quickly the housing market (and prices in general) have raised. It is very dif ficult to account for everything. The stress and numbers behind just balancing rent, car payments, car insurance, life insurance, 401k, medical bills, insurances, food, toiletries, etc are all numbers that cannot be accurately predicted in the moment. The economy changes and a number you figured 4 years ago will be different now. Some people DON'T do the math, and haphazardly take out loans anyways, but because they are so desperate to learn more about their subject, engage with it, do do something substantial. To them, they want to contribute to that field meaningfully and they want the be a benevolent force of society. These are people trying to make the world a better place. Sometimes it may be for vanity and clout. The real terms and conditions kick in after some time, making people aware of the grave mistake they have made. College didn't educate them like they thought it would, they weren't able to make good connections due to social reasons (rejection, ill fit, not interested in the same way as other peers, etc etc.), small amount of people in the major that didn't push you to your limits, or even an overabundance of people in the major that drowned you out and left you in the dust. Finding a job in that field is nearly impossible, nobody told them that in order to find a good job, they had to be in the top 5% of their major to even do anything signi ficant with it, otherwise they are relegated to jobs RELATED to that field, which often don't pay well, and sometimes they don't even manage that. Interest rates can fluctuate. Choosing variable interest can turn what was originally 3.4% into 11.3% interest, or you can have a fixed rate of 6.6% interest, so if it goes back down to 3% federally, you still have to pay 6.6% interest regardless. It's a game that makes you pick your poison, but either way, the individual will be met with an end sum that will be far beyond what they borrowed in the first place. "Why is college the only route people consider? Aren't there other ways to be successful with a career path?" People choose to attend a public/private school with outstanding credentials that promises them a stellar education because that is the one metric young adults have that allows them to comfortably invest time/money into them with the greatest con fidence interval that they would make something out of it. Trade schools are often ignored due to less word-of-mouth, less notoriety, and unfortunately, lack of social clout. Factor in for-pro fit institutions that take great advantage of students and you have an easy choice: go the accredited public/private college route. Other varying means of success are not discussed, and most people you speak to (whom have been to college) attribute non-college related job success with luck rather than hard work or intuition. Sad, but true. There are many, many contrarian examples, but many will ignore that. It is territory that is not discussed in the mainstream, thus is not discussed much at all. "If student loans are forgiven, what are the economic effects? Do loan companies have to be bailed out?" [AS FAR AS I KNOW WITH THE KNOWLEDGE I HAVE] It is the unpredictability. The changes are hazardous. Having the 1.7 trillion go back into the economy and not just the creditors (because a lot of it will just be lended back out anyways) would make a world of difference. Sure, a lot of it would end up back in the creditors hands, but the money would disperse much further than that. People fail to understand just how much 1.7 trillion is, it is so large that your mind literally can't process how much that can cover. That is the difference between your job paying you $25 an hour with no raise for the next 3 years, or $25 an hour with a 50 cent raise every 6 months if you have performed well. Or it is the difference between a company offering robust 401k plans and insurance as well as a competitive salary, or providing cheaper variations of those with a signi ficantly lower salary and not being able to take care of their employees -- the former has the extra funds to allow optimization of perks/bene fits. In the long term, that is signi ficant for many people. 1.7 trillion can cover far more than we realize. It is massive. These, OP, are the reasons we WANT student debt cancelled."